The Effect of Marital Status and Income on Perceived Education
Allison Sharp
Do Marital Status and Income Change the Way People Perceive Education?
When you look at an image of a homeless teenager or adult, do you see them as having a college degree? This is an example of perceiving someone who is homeless to not have a college degree.
This study goes over the correlation of marital status and income on perceived education.
Income
- Construct definition
- The yearly amount of money one family brings in as a whole.
- Operational definition
- This variable was manipulated by one of four conditions of the short story saying “John”s” parents made $30,000 or $150,000 annually.
Marital Status
- Construct definition
- The state of being married or divorced
- Operational definition
- This variable was manipulated by one of four conditions of the short story saying “John” had married parents or divorced parents.
Perceived Education Level
- Construct definition
- The highest, or lowest level of education someone has attained.
- Operational definition
- We measured this variable by asking participants what they think “John’s” level of education is after reading one of the four short stories given by random assignment in the survey.
Hypotheses
| Income | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Low | ||
| Marital Status | Married | Low Perceived Education | High Perceived Education |
| Divorced | High Perceived Education | Low Perceived Education |
Picture of Figure of actual results
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Discussion
- No control variable
- Good External Validity
- Educators can gain insights of these factors to support their academic success.
Take Home Message
- Ultimately, results did not support the hypothesis, but there is a relationship between marital status and income affecting the way people perceive education. Next time you see an image of someone on the streets, make sure to think about these factors before making an assumption.