Professional Entry and the Adviser Relationship

Abstract

A longitudinal design was used to examine socialization of professional newcomers (n = 134) at entry into professional doctoral training and at the end of 1 year of training. Anticipatory and encounter experiences are related to commitment and research productivity within the program and for a 5-year period following. As hypothesized, a supportive adviser relationship was strongly and positively related to socialization outcomes and moderate socialization processes. Contrary to hypotheses, however, more supportive adviser relationships appear to offset other socialization processes or to be associated with negative outcomes from socialization.