Hypothesis
Individuals with higher education levels prefer working in a foreign country.
Independent Variable
The level of education: What is your level of education?
The response categories are primary, secondary, diploma, bachelors, masters, and doctorate levels
Dependent Variable
Preference to work in a foreign country: Do you prefer working in foreign countries?
The response categories, in this case, are ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
Basic Assumptions of the Theories and Their Application
The first assumption of symbolic interaction theory is that humans are social products, which are actively shaping the world (Brinkerhoff, Ortega, and Weitz 11). The second assumption of the theory is that humans shape shaped their world based on the social reality they ascribe to reality through social interaction (Denzin 305). As the third assumption of theory, humans, and society are inseparable for their interaction gives meaning to life and shape human behavior. The symbolic interaction theory supports the hypothesis that individuals with higher education levels prefer working in a foreign country. Since individuals with higher education levels have extensive social exposure and multicultural competence, they are more likely to interact with everyone comfortably than individuals with lower education levels.
The conflict theory assumes that social inequality exists in society as people fall into different categories such as gender, race, class, and education level. Moreover, the theory holds that people in privileged categories have a domineering influence in society (Andersen and Taylor 21). In this view, the conflict theory supports the hypothesis that individuals with higher education levels prefer working in a foreign country. The supportive explanation is that individuals with higher education levels belong to the privileged class, and thus, they have more domineering influence than individuals with lower education levels.
Opinion
The symbolic interaction theory offers the best explanation since it indicates how social exposure and multicultural competence allows individuals to interact effectively with others.
Works Cited
Andersen, Margaret, and Howard Taylor. Sociology: Understanding a diverse society. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2008. Print.
Brinkerhoff, David, Suzanne Ortega, and Rose Weitz. Essentials of sociology. New York, NY: Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
Denzin, Norman. Studies in symbolic interaction. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.