If I say, “I’m an electrician,” or, “I’m a plumber,” nearly everyone will think, “He knows more about wires or pipes than I do.”
If I say, “I’m a psychologist,” many people will think, and some of them will say, “So am I. I don’t have a degree, but I don’t need one. My work as a salesman (or bartender or whatever) has given me all the training I need. I couldn’t do my job well if I wasn’t good at reading people.”
Surprisingly, some self-proclaimed experts make faster and apparently better judgments about strangers than we professionals do. They naturally think it proves that they don’t need degrees and formal training.
Wrong!
It really proves that they think like amateurs. They may have a great feel for people, but they are still amateurs. Professional psychologists are taught, DON’T MAKE QUICK JUDGMENTS!”
Why?
Because after you label someone, you will unconsciously make several mistakes. You will:
1. Look for evidence that supports your label.
2. Overestimate the value of that evidence.
3. Not look for evidence that disagrees with your label.
4. Ignore or underestimate the value of any negative evidence.
Every well-trained psychologist knows about these mistakes, and every one of us has made them. Despite years of training, we are still fallible humans. But we don’t make as many or as serious mistakes as the amateurs.
The tendency to see what we want or expect to see is so powerful that the FDA will not approve a drug until it passes Double Blind studies. “Double Blind” means that some patients take the drug and others take a placebo. Placebos look like the drug being tested, but they don’t contain any useful chemicals. Neither the patients nor the doctors evaluating the results know who got the drug or placebo.
It’s easy to understand why patients have the placebo effect; they want to get better. But you may be surprised that doctors make similar mistakes. Doctors are as human as psychologists, and EVERYBODY is affected by our biases.
We professionals are taught to examine ourselves, admit our biases, and work hard to minimize their effects. Amateurs don’t even know they have them. They just “go with their gut.” When they’re right, they feel brilliant. When they’re wrong, they ignore their mistakes or make excuses for them.
So what’s my professional advice? If you’re smart, you don’t ask amateurs for medical advice. They may be brilliantly intuitive, but their advice is unlikely to fit you. When you have a medical problem, you see trusted physicians, and you follow their advice.
Apply the same principle when you have a psychological problem. Avoid the amateurs, consult professional psychologists, and follow their advice. Pay special attention when they say something you don’t want to hear. The less you want to hear a professional’s advice, the more you need to hear it. They wouldn’t say something unpleasant if they didn’t believe you can’t afford to ignore it.
Another reason to consult professionals is that we all know that bad advice can destroy us. Because we are professionals, we are expected and required to give good advice. If we don’t, we can lose malpractice lawsuits.
If you sue an amateur for malpractice, you won’t get a penny. The courts will essentially say, “You should have asked a professional.” Since they know they are safe, amateurs can say anything they wish, even if it is utter nonsense, even if they are deliberately lying to make you feel good or to take advantage of you.
Amateur psychologists are as dangerous as amateur brain surgeons, but there are too many of them and too many suckers who believe them. Don’t be a sucker. Get professional advice.
Dr. Al Schoonmaker
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