SCS 100 - Marriage Graphic Organizer: Biases, Types, and Questions

This assignment, completed for an SCS 100 course, explores various facets of marriage through a graphic organizer and short answer questions. The student first identifies personal biases related to marriage, stemming from cultural and religious influences, then analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of polyandry, arranged marriages, and walking marriages from a culturally relativistic standpoint. The assignment also prompts the creation of a social science research question related to marriage. Furthermore, the student provides examples of implicit and explicit biases, discusses the importance of understanding these biases, and analyzes the impact of cultural, social forces, media, and advertising on human behavior and understanding of social norms. References from academic sources are included to support the analysis.

SCS 100 Theme 2: Marriage Graphic Organizer
Using the three different representations of marriage presented in the learning block (polyandry, arranged
marriages, and walking marriages), fill in the graphic organizer below. In Part A, you will have to first
identify the biases you have regarding marriage and their influence on your perspective of marriage. In Part
B, you will then take an objective stance and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these types of
marriage. In Part C, you will create a question a social scientist might ask to further the investigation of
marriage.
A) In this first step, do your best to identify three of your biases on marriage due to your culture and religion.
The American culture and legal system generally allow only one type of marriage. What type of bias does
this embed in us? The religions that people belong to and practice can also impact their biases toward
marriage, depending on how their chosen religion defines marriage. How does this influence your
perspective of marriage in general? How does this bias influence your perspective on these specific types
of marriage?
Biases Bias 1:
The Christian
religion limits one to
have only one spouse.
Bias 2:
The Islamic religion
allows polygamous
marriage of utmost
four partners.
Bias 3:
Some cultural
communities in
Kenya for example
the kalenjins gives a
man the priority to
marry as many wives

as possible unlike in
women.
Influence of
the Biases
This opinion has
creates a positive
impact in me in that I
feel assured that I
share my spouse with
no one thus building
more love towards
him.
This opinion arouses
high level of
insecurity in me once
married to a Muslim
because I tend to think
the spouse don’t love
me that much because
the love has many
shareholders.
This idea creates a
feeling of inferiority
as a woman because I
perceive it unfair that
men can marry as
many wives as they
can but women are
only supposed to have
one partner.
B) While it is impossible to “check our culture and biases at the door” and become totally objective, we
can identify our biases (as you have already done above) and try to ignore them in order to consider
other points of view. In this next step, take a culturally relativistic standpoint (in other words, try to
overcome your biases) and consider the tenets of each type of marriage. Why might these other forms
of marriage be more successful or advantageous in certain contexts than the Western concept of
marriage (based on love and monogamy)? Then, from that same culturally relativistic standpoint, also
consider some possible drawbacks to these forms of marriage.
Type of Marriage Advantages Drawbacks

Polyandry 1. It helps in controlling
world’s population.
2. All the financial
constraints are
distributed among
husbands.
3. It helps in making joint
families appear stronger.
4. It ensures equality of
rights between spouses
while dissolving
marriage.
1. It increases the level of
infertility among
women.
2. It tampers with the
health of women.
3. It has led to increased
divorce rate.
4. It poses a great threat to
social progress.
Arranged Marriages 1. They eliminate stress
that is accompanied by
dating.
2. They give parents the
opportunity to choose
the best partners for their
children.
3. They help in maintaining
peace and harmony
among family members.
1. They limit people the
chance to choose whom
they want to act as their
spouse.
2. They may cause
disagreements within the
family due to great
involvement of relatives
in the couple’s life who
act as a third party in the

4. They play a key role of
preserving traditions and
customs norms.
relationship.
3. They may lead to
marriage between people
who are not compatible.
Walking Marriages 1. Divorce is not a big deal
since the partners are not
bound together.
2. There are no conflicts
over the ownership of
the child since the child
belongs to the mother’s
extended family.
1. Children lack to access
both parental care and
love since the parents
are not bound together.
2. One parent may neglect
his or her responsibilities
because there is no
sharing of
responsibilities among
partners.
C) Create a question: In this learning block, you were given a lot of information about marriage and what
marriage means in different cultures. You were also asked to think about what marriage means to you.
The next step is to take the information you have been given and create a question a social scientist
might ask to further the investigation of marriage. For example, after reading about arranged marriages,
you might ask: Are rates of depression higher in women in arranged marriages? Social scientists use
existing information to come up with new questions. This is the iterative process of social science

research.
An arranged marriage is defined as that planned and agreed by the families or the guardians of
the couple. In my own opinion, I feel it’s suitable because the couple gets full blessings from the
family thus the high probability for the success of relationship. What is the effect of this marriage
to both spouses? The involved parties feel relaxed because in times of conflicts the relatives
might get involved in creating peace thus ensuring a peaceful environment in marriage.
1. Provide an example of an implicit bias and an explicit bias. The examples may be from your own
life, from something you have observed, or from the resources reviewed in this learning block.
An example of implicit bias that I have come across is when I was in middle class and due to my
good behavior, my teacher always expected me to be always smart in all other areas of life.

An example of explicit bias that I have come across is when I was going home at night and I had
lost my way while footing. I approached a white lady to ask for directions and she had to put her phone
and the cash she was holding into a purse as she thought I was planning to attack her.
2. Why is it important to understand these biases? How can these biases influence human behavior?
It is important to understand the biases as they can help in forming effective relations with others.
Additionally, understanding the bias can avoid negative thoughts towards others. Moreover, understanding the
biases can help in determining whether certain believe or thought is wrong or right. The biases can influence
human behavior in various ways. The implicit bias can make a person to develop untrue believe towards others.
Additionally, implicit bias can make an individual to underrate or overate the knowledge and skills of others.
Explicit bias can lead to negative thoughts and suspicious behavior in some occasions.
1. What sort of cultural or social forces impact how we think and behave?
The Religion, politics, family structure, education and technology are some of the social forces that
impact how we think and behave.
2. Describe an example of a behavior that is impacted by socialization and cultural influences.
An example of behavior that is impacted by socialization and cultural influences is the one
adopted from the media. People will always watch certain news or wear certain clothes depending on
their cultural and socialization influences.
3. How do things such as media and advertising impact our understanding of how we should act or
behave in a culture or group?
The media or advertising can affect our actions and behavior in various ways. When watching some

adverts, we might be tempted to try some outfits which are either not acceptable in our culture, or are not
common in our culture. Additionally, when using a certain media platform, we might be tempted to behave like
the people we find in the specific media platform. The media or advertising can influence our actions or
behavior both positively and negatively.
References
Cole, C. (2017). Relationship quality in long-term marriages: A comparison of high quality and low quality
marriages. Lifestyles, 7(4), 248-257. doi: 10.1007/bf00997105
Kawaguchi, D., & Lee, S. (2016). BRIDES FOR SALE: CROSS-BORDER MARRIAGES AND FEMALE
IMMIGRATION. Economic Inquiry, 55(2), 633-654. doi: 10.1111/ecin.12411