Saturday, April 23, 2011

End of Semester Freak Out

Yep.  Here it comes.  I am approximately one week from the end of the semester and was HOPING to get through it without a freak out.  But here I am, freaking out.

I have a paper to write for my psych course that I cannot for the life of me figure out.  In a nutshell, I have to pick a myth or superstition and explain how I can use 2 of the following methods to evaluate it: observations of behavior, self-report (surveys, testimonials, etc), psychological tests (tests meant to evaluate limits or abilities directly related to the superstition), physiological measures (measuring based on heart rate, blood pressure, etc) and/or task performance (for example, measuring verbal abilities via crossword puzzles).

One little caveat: We can't chose a superstition that has to do with food or drink, OR that could possibly bring harm or death to participants (even if it seems impossible).  

I am beyond stumped.  Every time I think I have one, I can come up with ONE way to test it, but can't figure out how to test it a second way.  Oh, did I mention I actually have to execute one of the tests, too?  Yeah.  This paper's due on FRIDAY.  I haven't been able to pick a damn superstition yet, let alone come up with a way to test it, so clearly I don't have any willing participants signed up either.  

I'm about at the end of my rope, kids.  I mean, I could take a break and do some other studying, but it's pretty clear to me that I need to get the ball rolling if I'm going to finish on time, so I feel stuck. :-(  

Thanks for letting me vent, dear readers.  Enjoy the weekend and happy Easter!

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