Why Do People Who Take One Psychology Class Think They Are Qualified to Diagnose People?

There is a time in child development when children live to ask, and hear answers to, natural “why” questions. During this time, parents are gods and children hear their answers as absolutes. Sadly, by the time these children enter third grade, they have projected this pattern onto out-in-the-world mommies and daddies. And by the time they enter college, most are primed to believe whatever the current authorities say. Or at least, act like they do. After all, to get passing grades (like children learning to please parents), students must parrot what they get told is true.

As for psych 101 classes, some things, like psychological “observations of natural things,” are simply the best stuff to know in the Universe. Knowing these things helps people to make better decisions in their lives, as they function like human engineering. But psychological logic which explains why people do things causes most people to regress to that earlier “my parents are gods” time. And being these “answers” are mostly unscientific, pure bullshit guesses, it’s fortunate for colleges that students are willing to accept these things as true. They then parrot these same things on tests, all the way to licensing exams.

To answer your question then, as to why people who have taken one psych class feel qualified to diagnose people, this is largely due to the state of mind they were in when they got taught these things. They felt certain these things are true.

Experienced therapists never feel this certain. “Certainty” proves a mind is closed. Whereas certainty’s complementary opposite, “curiosity,” proves a mind is open. Hence I love your description of you and your fellow engineering students.

Next time this happens to you then, please see it for what it is. These folks are like three year olds parroting their parents, as if the gods have taught them this stuff. If you then ask them for their evidence (including accounting for the diagnostic differential), their confidence will rapidly fall apart. At which point, do try to find it in your heart to see them as mostly well-meaning, caring children, as most of them surely are.