There are a few things that seem to be related to people’s attitude that Psychology is easier than other sciences. For one, children think it would be easier to learn about aspects of Psychology than to learn about the natural sciences. They are also more sure that adults would know how things work in Psychology than in the natural sciences.
The authors did rule out one explanation. They found that children and adults were no better at distinguishing between facts that are true and false in psychology and in other sciences. That is, people don’t believe that Psychology is easier because they actually know more about it. They believe that Psychology is an easier science than the natural sciences because it feels easier.
A key aspect of thinking about Psychology is that we all have minds. We all have conscious experiences of what it is like to think. Those experiences give us intuitions about the way our thought processes work. Even though those intuitions are often misleading, it feels like a good scientific explanation for those thought processes are just beyond our grasp.
The authors point out that this facet of Psychology has some important practical consequences. For example, judges in legal trials are often much less likely to allow Psychologists to give expert testimony on the workings of the mind than they are to allow other scientists to give expert testimony. The judges see the relevant Psychology as part of a juror’s common sense.
