Atlantica - 01.11.2000, Qupperneq 48

46 A T L A N T I C A
THE ARMCHAIR PSYCHOLOGIST IS NOT A SCIENTIST
So, now Gísli is working not only to bring the benefits of his research into the
courtroom but also with the police to help them understand why things go wrong
when they do, and develop working procedures that will make the system less
vulnerable to miscarriages of justice. “You can’t say miscarriages of justice
happen because people deliberately go out of their way to create them. What
often happens is that some police officers have blind faith in their ability to know
who is guilty and who is not. This is very typical in America where there is a ten-
dency for many police investigators to believe they can take things as far as they
can on the basis of their gut instinct and then present it with confidence as
evidence. It can be dangerous to be overconfident in one’s abilities to read the
truth. Life is not that simple. This can also happen with some judges and experts,
who form the opinion that a person is guilty on some gut feeling and then gets
slanted in that direction,” says Gísli.
He is keen to stress that psychology is a discipline following scientific method-
ologies, something that the armchair psychologist lacks. However, he adds that
gut instinct can be a good thing, given that it can lead one in the direction of a
certain hypothesis to investigate.
“I use my gut feeling. One might get a gut feeling that something’s not quite
right but it is actually understanding what that means and unduly relying on it
without independent corroboration. Intuition can be used as a means to explore
things, and it can guide you. Just don’t take it too far.” This uncompromising
scientist started out as a cabinet-maker student at the Technical College in
Reykjavik, Iðnskólinn. He explains that at 15 he had yet to discover his passion and
at this time cabinet-making had seemed to be a sensible career option. However,
a technical education in Iceland involves a broad-based academic curriculum out-
side the learning of the craft itself. From there he travelled to England where he
first studied English at a summer school in Crystal Palace before going on to
complete ‘A’ Levels and qualify for university: an academic venture which ended
with the highest acclaim.
Throughout his university years, Gísli travelled home to Iceland to do his
research and thus formed ties with the psychology movement here, which he
sustains today. He has what he describes as “an ongoing love affair” with his
homeland, and returns around three times a year to visit family, work and relax.
Of course being a psychologist demands more than simply following methodolo-
gies and understanding theory: there must be some kind of interactive skills
involved.
But how does a person manage to get someone to let them into their most
intimate thoughts and feelings?
The answer to this is quite straightforward. “Just treat people with decency,”
says Gísli – a motto that would surely benefit every walk of life.
Gísli takes some time out for a swim before returning to a hectic schedule. Since
he encounters some of the darker sides of human nature in his work, he explains,
it is important that he keeps a focus on the lighter aspects too.
A trip home to Iceland goes some of the way towards redressing the balance. 
PUSHING THE FRONTIERS
"Intuition can
be used as a
means to
explore
things, and
it can guide
you. Just
don,t take it
too far."
Jennifer McCormack is a freelance
writer living in Reykjavík.
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