History of Psychology - Essay Example

Same is with the study of different kinds of areas of education. Psychology is a kind of social science that has emerged to be one of the prime aspects of life today. All the marketing activities are revolving around the concepts of psychology which have evolved over the last 100 years. The research and development that has taken place has multiplied with each passing year. All the fundamental aspects of human life and functioning are now explained through the various concepts of psychology. Hence psychology has become an integral part of our lives.

The type and extent of research that was done at the start of 1900s was different from what it is today. Methods of research are increasing, and developing; providing room for improvement to the research that was already present. Also the theories and concepts which were popular in the start were not as important as more concepts were coming as research was growing. A cross-sectional analysis of the studies which were conducted in two different time frames would provide one with a better picture regarding the difference of opinions, topics and concepts in different eras.

For this purpose, two articles have been chosen pertaining to different eras of the 1900s. Thorough analysis of these articles would help us understand the evolution of research and concepts in psychology. The first article that has been chosen was published in 1914 in the Psychological Bulletin/ Psychological Review Company, named as "Psychology of religion". This article was written by Elsworth Faris and advocated the different concepts prevailing regarding religion in the world and their linkage to the psychology of human beings.

The other article was chosen from the same journal but published in 1958. The opening remarks from the symposium on relationships between religion and mental health, delivered by Herman Fiefel, were chosen to be analyzed. Like the previous article this article also talks about the relationship between religion and its effect on the mental state of mankind. (Faris, 1914)To start off with, religion has a fundamental link with the mental health and stability of a person. It has been established that believing in the presence of the unknown power above us helps us to live better/accountable lives in this world.

It makes us responsible for our actions and can help make the world a better place. This topic has been discussed and researched upon over the years by scientists and results have shown linkage between the two aspects of life. While going through the first article, one notices that the common concept of psychology and religion, pragmatism, is being discussed; the fact that at that time all the concepts were considered important only when they were proved. Pragmatism talks about the purposes behind everything and not a single purpose; it strives to prove to concepts.

In the article, the author believes that the faith Christianity is the epitome of the riddle of existence. Although the article clearly mentions that education is an important factor in the development of sound religious concepts. Education helps the person identify with the key facts of the religion; these facts are the presence of a single power which can help them with thing; the fact that they will be offered redemption, the existence of evil and the presence of self-esteem of man. These beliefs are