Sociological Imagination in the Ways of Knowing: Why the Age of Marriage is Increasing - Essay Example

? Sociological imagination in the ways of knowing: Why the age of marriage is increasing 9 October Introduction Sometimes,it is just enough that people know information that is relevant to them, but more than that, they should also question how they know the things they know, as well as how their resources determine what they know. Determining the knowing process is pertinent to critical thinking, a skill that involves an independent, analytical, and systematic attitude in understanding and evaluating knowledge. The ways of knowing what people know are particularly important to sociological research because they describe the fundamental arguments about what knowledge is and how valid knowledge can be attained and proven. Several ways of knowing are practiced across disciplines, but in general, the scientific method is the dominant way of knowing. This essay explores the ways of knowing and applies it to the issue of marrying older for many people, who have higher educational background and socio-economic status. The Ways of Knowing When thinking about the social world, people use one or more of the four processes of knowing: 1) observing through the five senses, 2) making generalizations of what have been observed from other people, events, and places, 3) reasoning about observed connections in the world, and 4) “reevaluating” the understanding of the social world through these processes (Schutt, 2012, p.5). These are the basic means of acquiring and changing knowledge. Moreover, they can also be ways of learning, if something in the person changes because of the process of knowing. The aforementioned ways of knowing, however, are not always “scientific,” which means that they can lead to faulty knowledge, and so scientific ways of knowing have been developed to aid a more logical and credible way of acquiring knowledge. On September 13, 2012, the class discussed the basic ways of knowing and they are experience, traditions, social expectations, formal training, and research. These examples show that some people may rely on traditions to build their knowledge, while others depend on experience. Social scientists, however, mostly learn through formal training and research. The class syllabus talks about the ways of knowing with a focus on the scientific methods of knowing. The Importance of Understanding the Ways of Knowing in the Sociological Research Process The ways of knowing are important to the sociological research process because it wants to gather social patterns, not stereotypes, about society and individuals. In the lecture on 30 August 2012, the class discussed C. Wright Mills and his ideas on sociological imagination. Mills differentiated social patterns as something can that can be empirically proven while stereotypes are based on overgeneralizations about people and their groups and societies. Sociology is not interested in finding generalizations, but in analyzing social patterns as they are, and at times, finding how to use these patterns to enhance the quality of human life, or the performance of organizations. The ways of knowing, in addition, impact how knowledge is gathered and understood. On September 13, 2012, the class discussed the concepts of paradigm, context, theory, epistemology, and methodology. These concepts impact how sociologists gather and analyze information about social patterns. A paradigm pertains to a model that interconnects concepts and ideas to guide people’s thinking. Context refers to the set of interrelationships in people’s conditions and societies. A theory is a logical representation of suppositions. Epistemology is the science of knowing. Methodology is a field of epistemology, or the way of finding out knowledge. Some of the paradigms that affected or continue to affect social science are based on different assumptions on what is knowledge and how it should be obtained. In the syllabus, several paradigms are mentioned. Auguste Comte, also called the “Father of Sociology,” proposed that science is based on an objective reality that can be observed. This gave way to empiricism, which argues that reality that can be known through observation, as it provides credible knowledge. This is a paradigm shift from its predecessor that relies on religion and traditions to develop knowledge. Positivism gave rise to objective reality and general laws. Positivism argues that the goal of knowledge is simply to portray the phenomena that people experience. The purpose of science is to study only what can be observed and measured, and eventually find patterns that can help predict future social patterns. For positivism, science is majorly a mechanistic or mechanical affair. Positivists employ deductive reasoning to hypothesize theories that can be tested; and they can revise or debunk theories based on the results of their studies. This practice indicates that new theories are made that can better predict reality. In addition, the positivist believes in empiricism. Empiricism is the idea that observation and measurement are the centers of scientific endeavors. The key approach of the scientific method is the experiment, the attempt to distinguish natural laws through direct manipulation and observation. The Reasons and Purposes in Pursuing Science The main reason for pursuing science is to enhance the accuracy and validity of collecting and establishing data and information that can result to knowledge (Schutt, 2012, p.5). The scientific approach to answering inquiries about the natural and social worlds diminishes the errors of using personal reasoning (Schutt, 2012, p.5). Social science uses the scientific method in studying individuals, societies, and social processes (Schutt, 2012, p.5). Social science has particular purposes that are based on motivations, and some of the basic motivations are political, academic, and personal motivations (Schutt, 2012, p.11). Policy research needs science that will support policymaking and prepare and evaluate public programs. Academic motivations do not always have to be supported by policy needs, but they are more tailored to questions that social scientists believe must also be answered for learning purposes. Some social scientists have personal motivations in conducting social science studies, such as improving the lives of communities and the effectiveness of organizations (Schutt, 2012, p.12). The methodology of the research can be categorized into qualitative and quantitative methods. Quantitative methods record differences in social life through numbers and other values with an ordered magnitude, while qualitative methods focus on capturing experiences, and so the data collected are written or spoken words or experiences that have no numerical value (Schutt, 2012, pp.16-17). Basic science and applied science are different from each other in terms of their practical concerns and applications. Basic science, such as pure sociology, aims to describe individuals and their societies, as well as the meaning they place in their social connections and processes (Schutt, 2012, p.17). Applied science, or applied sociology, is interested in using science to make the world a better place (Schutt, 2012, p.18). Sociological Imagination and Marrying at Later Stages in Life Immediately after World War I, marriage and having babies was a boom, but since 1960, this social pattern is on the reverse in many parts of the world, not just the United States (Schneider, 2011, p.627). More and more people are marrying later than before, and those who do marry early or later do not immediately have children (Schneider, 2011, p.627). While some sociologists and economists are concerned of how dropping marriage and fertility rates will affect the demographics and economics of developed countries, this paper is concerned of understanding why some people decide to marry later. The specific sociological questions are: What are the reasons why people decide to marry late? Do people who marry later have higher educational background and socioeconomic status? The context of marrying at later stages of life can be based on both developed and developing countries, but specifically for people who have attained a high level of education, such as college and post-graduate degrees, and belong to the middle or upper class. Though many in the working and lower class also marry later, the emphasis of this study is on the group of people with high education and middle to upper class socioeconomic status. This means that the verstehen or point of view will come from these people with a high educational attainment and comfortable social lifestyle. Marrying at a later stage of life is an important social pattern because it reflects changing beliefs about family and marriage, which are basic social institutions. Knowing more about the patterns and motives of marrying at an older stage can give better understanding of how educated people see themselves as spouses and parents. Several studies and interviews are used to know about this topic. Findings showed that people marry older because of diverse personal, social, economic, and cultural reasons, predominantly the need to establish identities and careers and finding the “right” person before tying the knot. In order to know what must be known about this topic, an empirical approach is undertaken, with a combination of positivist and symbolic interaction paradigms. The positivist aspect of the study comes from the range of scientific studies done on the topic, while symbolic interaction concerns the symbolic meaning that people give to objects, behaviors, and other people (Schutt, 2012, p.41). The studies used for this paper combined qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Some analyses based on these studies are further applied on two interviews with people who married in their early to late 30s. Personal reasons cannot be detached from why some people decide to marry later. In a personal interview with 35-year-old Sarah Klum on October 6, 2012, who married just last month, she said that she married because she personally believed in waiting for the right person and being prepared for marriage. She stressed the importance of marrying at the right time and with the right person because her mother did not have such a successful marriage with her father: “My mom and dad married when they were seventeen, and now they are divorced. They grew apart when my mom wanted to study and have a career of her own.” She emphasized: “I want to marry at my own time and with the right person who has the same values, interests, and goals as I have.” 38-year old Billy Bryant agreed with Sarah. He married when he was 37 years old. He stressed that marriage is too hyped, when it is both trashed and epitomized by many people: “People think that marriage is special, but they also get divorced all the time. Me, I got married when I was ready to settle down. I have been with my girlfriend for ten years before we tied the knot. And we don’t have regrets.” These people based their choices on their own experiences and what they know about marriage from their observations of other relationships. Because of their surroundings that provided a poor image of marrying early and their personal values, they decided to marry later, at then the time when they feel prepared and sure about their future spouses and themselves as spouses too. Rational and economic choices drive some people’s intention to marry later in life. Some people want to reduce the risks of divorce through cohabitation or marrying only after attaining personal career goals. In “Desperation or Desire? The Role of Risk Aversion in Marriage,” Spivey (2010) studied how risk aversion affected people’s aversion to marriage. He employed information on risk preferences from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) to determine how interpersonal differences in these preferences affect the time to marriage decision. Findings showed that risk aversive people married later and this is especially true more for men than women. Women, who are highly educated and have high social economic status, tend to think rationally about marriage and decide to marry later. These are the findings of Pastor (2008) in “Highly Educated Women Marry Less: An Analysis of Female Marriage Rates in Spain” and Mahay (2003) in “What a Difference a Year Makes: Age and the Desire to Marry.” They both stressed that educated people marry later because they want to establish their careers and wealth first. In the study of Glenn, Uecker, and Love (2010), they discovered that people who marry later tend to have longer marriages in “Later First Marriage and Marital Success.” In “Does Similarity Breed Marital And Sexual Satisfaction?” Zhang et al. (2012) noted that women who have high educational background want to marry men who have the same education and culture as they have. The same findings are attained by Dribe and Lundh (2011) in “Cultural Dissimilarity and Intermarriage: A Longitudinal Study of Immigrants in Sweden 1990-2005.” People often wait to marry the right people who share the same cultural values and wealth as they have. Thus, people seem to be more critical decision-makers when it comes to marriage than fifty years ago. Aside from economic and rational reasons, marrying later in life further has cultural and social roots too. Kornblum, in the video clip “Role of Sociological Imagination: Parades,” defines sociological imagination as the ability to see people in the context of their social world, so that individual biographies and the fate of whole societies can be better understood, because society affect individual lives (as cited in desoriente0, 2010). If parades are visualizations of the social order, marrying late also reflects the existing social and cultural beliefs and attitudes of people regarding the institutions of marriage and family. Ehrhard (2012), in the article “A Case for Later Marriage,” believes that making decisions to marry at a later stage in life can also be cultural, especially because of the rise of divorce rates and the need to improve the quality of relationship before getting married. Fillion (2009) promoted the cultural aspect of marrying beyond the early 20s in “Marrying Late.” She noted that men and women want to enjoy their single lives first before they settle down. Some cohabit, while some have fun with many relationships. This is the culture of individuality and freedom that are central aspects of American culture. Finally, the culture of materialism and appreciation of material wealth also impact marriage patterns. In “Wealth and the Marital Divide,” Schneider, (2011) observed that many women, including blacks, want to marry someone who have enough wealth to bring into the marriage. At the same time, many believed that they should be materially comfortable enough before getting married. Hence, material concerns greatly affect the decision to get married. Passion and romance are not enough anymore to make people decide to marry in their early 20s. The social pattern of marriage shows that people who have high education attainment and social status tend to marry later. Furthermore, many people want to establish their careers and relationships first before settling down. Moreover, people collect knowledge about marriage patterns through their experiences and personal needs and aspirations. Their epistemology is largely rational, economic, social, and cultural in nature. Hence, society continues to shape why people decide to marry and when. References desoriente0. (2010, September 11). Role of sociological imagination: Parades [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BWN3XmAXhs&feature=youtu.be Dribe, M., & Lundh, C. (2011). Cultural dissimilarity and intermarriage: A longitudinal study of immigrants in Sweden 1990-2005. International Migration Review, 45 (2), 297-324. Ehrhard, E. (2012). A case for later marriage. First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion & Public Life, (219), 21-22. Fillion, K. (2009). Marrying late. Chatelaine, 82 (10), 93-98. Glenn, N.D., Uecker, J.E., & Love, R.W.B., Jr. (2010). Later first marriage and marital success. Marriage and Family in the New Millenium: Papers in Honor of Steven L. Nock, Social Science Research, 39(5), 787-800. Mahay, J. (2003). What a difference a year makes: Age and the desire to marry. American Sociological Association 2003 Conference, Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, 1-34. Pastor, J.I.M. (2008). Highly educated women marry less: An analysis of female marriage rates in Spain. South European Society & Politics, 13 (3), 283-302. 2 Schneider, D. (2011). Wealth and the marital divide. American Journal of Sociology, 117 (2), 627-667. Schutt, R.K. (2012). Investigating the social world: The process and practice of research (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA : Sage Publications. Spivey, C. (2010). Desperation or desire? The role of risk aversion in marriage. Economic Inquiry, 48 (2), 499-516. Zhang, H., Ho, Petula S. Y.., & Yip, P.S.F. (2012). Does similarity breed marital and sexual satisfaction? Journal of Sex Research, 49 (6), 583-593. Read More