Psychology EE - Nearly due!

[ChikkyD]

Hey guys.

So my EE final copy is due in a few days time and I have a few questions that I would like answered, if possible . My supervisor hasn't really been engaging nor helpful so I've been a bit lots my whole EE journey

The main idea that I'm arguing is the validity of this sort of hypothesis that some psychologists (Treffert and Snyder, if anybody is interested ) have created about savantistic abilities and the acquisition of them by "normal" people. There is no given name for this hypothesis as far as I have researched... and I have done quite a bit of searching. Is it acceptable to just... give it a name? Throughout my essay I've referred to it as "The Latent Abilities Hypothesis" but since it's literally just a name I've come up with to describe it, is it okay to use it? I've said something along the lines of "The Latent Abilities Hypothesis, as it will be referred to throughout this paper....". So is that okay?

I also have another question. My essay deals mainly with dysfunctional case studies, however at times I need to refer to those who are not considered dysfunctional by society. Throughout, I've described these people as "normal" <-- Exactly like that, with inverted commas... but I'm not sure if that's... PC enough. Is there a better way to put this? Case studies I've read (eg Baron-Cohen et al) use the word "normal" to describe these people, so I'm wondering if it's okay if I refer to them in the same way?

Also, (last question, I promise!) is there a point at which a Psychology EE becomes more of a Biology based essay? I've heard of students falling into this trap, and while choosing research questions, I too, fell into this conundrum. I've included a few case studies which require explanations about brain structures and neurons and I think I've even mentioned active potential in there somewhere. Should I cut it down a bit or leave it in there?

Thank you so much

Edited July 12, 2011 by Lillian

[ps99]

I like your topic! ^^

I think it would be ok to call it the latent abilities hypothesis, but you could also just use the psychologists' names (Treffert and Snyder's Hypothesis)

I'm not too sure about using 'normal' but you can always use the word in your essay, defining what you mean by it in the beginning of your essay and in your evaluation just write about the limitations in defining what is normal.

I don't think yours would be biology based...it could just be that your topic falls partly under the biological perspective as well. I used a study which dealt with brain structures as well (as long as you use psychology terms and look at it from a psychological aspect)

Good Luck! haha

have you tried emailing one of those who did the experiment?

Edited July 12, 2011 by ps99