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INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
NATURE, SCOPE, HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, AND BRANCHES OF
PSYCHOLOGY

NATURE OF PSYCHOLOGY

DEFINING PSYCHOLOGY

The term Psychology is derived from two Greek words psyche and logos that mean soul and
science respectively. Thus, etymologically psychology means the science of soul. This definition
of Psychology has been rejected, and now psychology is held to be the science of behavior and
cognitive processes. It is important to understand how and why this change came about.

Psychology is the science of soul

This definition, given by Aristotle, is based on the literal translation of the word psychology. The
Greek philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato gave a very important place to soul in human life.
They felt that life has no meaning without the soul. In Greek times, philosophers studied all
aspects of knowledge. Thus, psychology was regarded as only a branch of philosophy. Their
definition of the term persisted over the centuries. In English, when Rudolf Goeckle first used
the term psychology in 1590, he also defined it as the science of soul. However, as psychology
became more scientific, this definition was rejected for the following reasons:
 The concept of soul is very vague. The philosophers could not clarify the origin, nature, or
the place of soul. Some said that the soul is as big as the thumb; others believed it to be the
shape and size of the human body. Yet others said that the soul is as large as the universe.
Nor could they explain the relationship between the soul and the body.
 The concept of soul brings in the concept of God, which is as mysterious as the soul. It has
religious implications that are against the spirit of science, and can retard the development of
psychology as a science.
 Soul is a metaphysical concept beyond experience and knowledge. It cannot be observed,
measured, analyzed, or experimented upon. It cannot be verified. Consequently, it is an
unscientific concept.

Psychology is the science of mind

This definition was emphasized by the structural school of psychology who established
psychology as a science distinct from philosophy. Wilhelm Wundt, the father of Experimental
Psychology, first established a psychological laboratory in the University of Leipzig, near
Vienna, in 1879, and thus established psychology as a science distinct from philosophy. His
student, Titchener, gave a systematic account of Psychology in his influential book Experimental
Psychology, wherein he defined Psychology as the science of mind. This definition was also
eventually rejected for the following reasons:
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 The concept of mind is very vague and ambiguous. Mind may be conceptualized as the
whole nervous system, just the brain, a mental process, the sum total of experience,
conscious or unconscious, as a part of personality, or personality itself. We do not know how
it relates to the body.
 Mind is a metaphysical concept that cannot be observed, measured, analyzed, or
experimented upon. It cannot be verified. Mind does not exist as an object. What exists is the
brain, which is a part of the body and not distinct from it. Mind is thus an unscientific
concept.
 Mind is restricted to a particular individual, who alone can tell us what is going on in his
mind. Others cannot observe one’s mind. Thus, this definition reduces psychology to an
individual, private search within oneself. Introspection is the only method, which delves into
the mind, but introspection has been shown to be a faulty method.
 Titchener reduced mind to three elements – sensation, affection, and images. However, he
did not clarify how these elements were made up and what principles of organization they
followed.
 The definition of psychology as a science of mind not includes overt behaviors of human
beings, particularly their social behavior, that is a major topic of study in psychology
nowadays.
 This definition also excludes the study of animals, abnormals and children, who cannot tell
us what is going on in their mind.

Psychology is the science of consciousness

William James the philosopher, who was the harbinger of functionalism, defined psychology as
the science of consciousness. This definition is based on the fact that we are always aware of
mental and motor behavior, and whatever exists outside awareness does not exist for the
individual. However, this definition was rejected because:
 There is little agreement on the meaning of consciousness. Moreover, it is difficult to
measure consciousness in quantitative terms. A concept that cannot even be measured cannot
be experimented upon and hence is unscientific.
 Consciousness, like mind, is a subjective concept, and hence can be studied through
introspection only. It is not open to experimental investigations.
 The psychoanalytic school maintains that 90% of the individual mind is unconscious.
Consciousness is only the tip of the iceberg, the rest of the mind is submerged and hidden,
not only from others but also the individual himself. If we define psychology only as the
study of consciousness, we fail to understand a large part of the behavior of the individual
that springs from the unconscious.
 This definition also excludes the study of animals, abnormals, children, and groups, who are
either not aware of the reality around them or cannot report on it. Their consciousness cannot
be studied, and this reduces the scope of psychology.
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Psychology is the science of behavior

Watson, the founder of behaviorism, popularized this definition. By behavior, he meant overt
behavior that could be independently observed and experimented upon. He felt that all
phenomena that cannot be observed should be banished from psychology. Thus, he did not
include thinking, imagination, creativity, motivation etc. in Psychology. Taking his cue from
Watson, Skinner emphasized the experimental analysis of behavior. He felt that all behavior
should be reduced to the elementary, basic level of stimulus, response, and reinforcement, so that
it can be measured precisely and studied scientifically. The definition of psychology as the
science of behavior prevailed through most of the last century. However, it was not without its
problems:
 The advent of computers since the 1930s led to the cognitive revolution in psychology in the
1960s. Showing a revival of interest in the cognitive processes, which cannot be directly
observed, many psychologists worked in the areas of thinking, memory, intelligence,
problem solving, etc. These psychologists were not satisfied with the definition of
psychology as a science of behavior.
 The gestalt school and the humanistic school, both of whom emphasize the global, molar
level of behavior, have criticized the reductionist view of behavior. They feel that
psychology should study all aspects of human behavior in totality, specially the aspects that
are unique to human beings such as their intelligence, their tendency to form social bonds,
and above all their striving for self actualization.

Today psychology is in a state of flux. The links with behaviorism have not been broken, but
new advances have been made in the area of cognition. Currently, psychologists define
psychology as the science of human behavior and cognitive processes. Some specific definitions
are:
1. Lahey (1998): “Psychology is defined as the science of behavior and mental processes.”
2. M. Eysenck (2000): “Psychology is the science that makes use of behavioral and other
evidence to understand the internal processes leading people and members of other species to
behave in the ways they do.”
3. Baron (2001): “Psychology is best defined as the science of behavior and cognitive
processes.”

PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE

Psychology is today generally defined as a positive science of behavior. Science is not a set of
principles, it is not technology or advancement, and it is not the use of mathematics. Rather it is a
way of thinking which is based on the experimental method. The idea that theories should be
tested out in the real world in an experiment is the essence of science. Science cannot exist
without the scientific method. Science has certain goals, assumptions and particular methods.
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Psychology is a science because it shares the goals, assumptions and methods of science.

Goals of science shared by Psychology

The goals of science shared by the Psychology are in a hierarchy. They are:

 Description: Description refers to the procedures used to define, classify and categorize
subjects and their relationships. Descriptions allow us to establish generalizations and
universals. By gathering information on a large group of people, for instance, a researcher
can describe the average member or the average performance of a member of the specific
group being studied. By observing different human behaviors, psychologists determine what
is normal and healthy and what is unhealthy. Psychology analyzes the thoughts, feelings,
actions and goals of people through the help of various case studies, observations and
surveys. E.g Pavlov noticed that his dogs were salivating as the result of a stimuli – the lab
assistant approaching – before food was even presented to them. This observation acted as a
description of what was happening. Once psychologists can describe a behavior or
phenomenon, they can use that as a basis for learning more about that behavior.

 Explanation: Why does this behavior occur? Under what circumstances will it occur again?
In order to explain a behavior, psychologists must conduct experiments to ensure that the
behavior is not an anomaly. For example, In the case of Pavlov, he was able to conduct an
experiment using multiple dogs that all seemed to behave in the same way. Through this
experiment he was able to notice a handful of important things about the behavior of others.
And thus, classical conditioning came to be. Skinner on the other hand uses reinforcement as
an explanation for learning. According to Skinner learning is not possible without
reinforcement.

 Prediction: Based on past observed behavior, a psychologist aims to predict how that
behavior will appear again in the future and if other people will exhibit the same behavior.
When psychologists finally understand what causes a particular behavior, they're better
able to predict when it's likely to occur. For example, if psychologists know what
combination of personal circumstances and traffic conditions cause road rage, they can
foretell when drivers are likely to engage in violence. Similarly, if they know what
situations cause former addicts to return to drugs, they can predict when relapses are likely.
Similarly in our daily lives, phenomena can be predicted using psychological principles. E.g.
Yerkes Dodson Law states that an optimum level of arousal is necessary for good
performance. This can be seen during exams where highly aroused students do not perform
well and neither do those who are low in arousal. In fact, it is students with a moderate level
of arousal who our-perform the others.
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 Control/ Influence: Control has been achieved in the psychology laboratory to quite a great
extent. In real life situations, it is difficult to control human behavior though it is not
impossible. Many aspects of human behavior are controlled. E.g. Teachers use the principle
of learning and reinforcement to control the behavior of students; clinical psychologists try to
manipulate the behavior of their patients. Similarly, criminologists change behavior of
criminals and prisoners using psychological principles. Nevertheless controlling every single
person in a desired way is not possible.

Assumptions of Science shared by Psychology:-

 Determinism: It implies that every phenomenon has a natural cause that can be discovered
through the appropriate means. Effects are not attributed to chance, God, etc. in scientific
explanations.

 Invariance: The relationship between various phenomena remains the same from time to
time and place to place, if all other conditions remain the same. E.g. the psychological
principle that a certain amount of practice leads to improvement in a particular task remains
true. However, if this principle has been originally derived on normal individuals, it may not
apply in the same way to mentally retarded individuals or highly creative persons.

 Empiricism: Empiricism is the idea that only the knowledge gained through senses is valid.
This implies that mental ideas are tested out in the real world. If the observation in the real
world do not confirm to our mental ideas then the idea is wrong. Scientific laws and
principles are based on experiments. E.g., Practice leads to learning is a mental idea which
can be easily demonstrated in a laboratory on animals or in a classroom situation with
children.

 Operationism: It is a principle that all scientific concepts must be defined in a measurable

way. E.g. for defining beauty various aspects can be considered like physical walking style,
hair etc.

 Objectivity: Science assumes objectivity on the part of the scientists. This implies that
personal biases, prejudices or ideas of the scientists in no way effect the design, result, and
interpretation of his experiments. Objectivity is perhaps the most important assumption of
science because it leads to the self-corrective nature of science. The fact that science
corrects itself as it finds that it’s principles or laws do not conform to the real world or there
is a different, simpler theory explaining the same phenomenon (Law of Parsimony). In
Psychology, a very good example of objectivity comes from Hull. In 1936 he stated that
motivation comes from drive alone. However in 1951, he revised his theory because of
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evidence that incentives were also powerful motivating factors. Another example is of
Milgram (1949), a Jew psychologist persecuted by Germans. He started a research
programme to find whether the Germans are more authoritarian than other nationalities or
not. However, his well-designed research showed that this was not true. Germans were no
different from other in their obedience to authority. Most people blindly confirm to
authoritarian orders, sometimes even going against universal moral values.

Scientific Method shared by Psychology

According to Kerlinger (1986), “Scientific research is a systematic, controlled, empirical and

critical investigation of natural phenomena guided by theory and hypothesis about the presumed
relations among such phenomena”. This definition emphasizes the following characteristics of
scientific research:

 Systematic: Scientific research is a rule bound procedure. Sometimes, based on specific data
we frame a general law. This is the process of inductive reasoning (specific to general).
Conversely, at times we derive specific information or hypotheses on the basis of a general
law. This is called deductive reasoning (general to specific). Thus scientific research is not
haphazard.

 Controlled: Control implies manipulating the independent variable to see its effect on the
dependent variable. At the same time, other potential variables are held constant. Greater the
control, more exact the results and more do they conform to the truth.

 Empirical: Scientific research implies the experimental method. All mental ideas are tested
out in the real world.

 Critical Investigation: The term critical investigation implies that scientific research is a
strict and object evaluation of existing laws and principles (theories). It is based on
objectivity on the part of the scientists and leads to the self-corrective nature of science. The
aim of scientific research is to uncover the relationships among phenomenon. Thus, the
investigation needs to be critical and not biased in a pre-determined way.

 Investigation of natural phenomena: Essentially, scientists are curious about naturally

occurring phenomena and it is this curiosity, which leads them to the more complex
phenomena. Sometimes they even experiment and invent new things or phenomena to study.
Nevertheless the search starts from naturally occurring phenomenon and results of the search
have to be relevant to the natural phenomenon.
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 Guided by theory and hypotheses: Scientific research is not based on hunches. Rather
research is based on hypotheses which may be based on theories and existing data.

 Presumed relations among phenomena: Scientific research seeks to understand various

phenomena by putting them in relation to each other. The scientist always tries to structure
his environment in terms of an interrelated system. One special case of relationships is a
causal relationship in which the cause and effect relationship between a two phenomena is
studied in experiments.

Essentially, the scientific procedure involve a gap in knowledge, research and review of previous
ideas regarding the gap, framing the problem in specific terms so that it can be solved, framing a
possible answer to the problem (hypothesis), conducting the test of the hypothesis, finding the
results, and finally interpreting the results, which in turn gives feedback to the original gap in the
knowledge which is now narrowed down.

One may conclude that psychology as a science is a systematic search for laws governing an
individual’s relationship with his environment and the application of such principles and laws to
daily life.

Problems of Psychology

Psychology is not a complete science i.e. it cannot predict and control behavior to the same
extent as physical sciences because its subject matter is a human being. The fact that psychology
deals with human behavior leads to the following problems:

 Availability of human subjects: In earlier times, it was thought that human beings are sacred
and hence should not be studied. Many people still believe that the human mind should not
be studied because if it is studied, eventually we will want to control it, which is against
human dignity and individualism and is hence not an attractive idea. Even if human beings
are not considered sacred and the researcher decides to study human behavior, subjects do
not want to spare the time and effort for psychological research. It is a tough job getting the
subject to the laboratory at all.

 Social desirability: even if the subject is willing to participate in a research program, there is
no guarantee that he will reveal his real self to the researcher. Psychological research is a
social interaction between the researcher and the subject. The subject desires, consciously
and unconsciously, to show his good self to the researcher. This is the factor of social
desirability. Instead of giving true answers, the subject gives good answers.
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 Subjectivity of the researcher: The researcher herself is a human being. She has her own
motivations, desires, attitudes, personality, and intelligence. In all sciences, these qualities
influence the research process. However, in psychology, they assume even greater
importance because all psychological research is an interaction with the subject who is going
to be influenced by these characteristics of a researcher. These characteristics may also
unknowingly influence the design and conduct of the experiment or the interpretation of the
results. Thus, the subjectivity of a researcher is an important problem in psychological
research.

 Complexity of Human Life: It is difficult to predict human behavior because it is complex.

Human beings are the most complex organism on earth. Consequently, their behavior is
difficult to manipulate, understand, and predict. The predictor is himself a part of the human
race. Secondly, human life is complex because man exists in a society and his behavior is
largely determined by social norms. Thirdly, human life is complex because of a rapid pace
of change.

 The problem of generalization from the laboratory: This problem is perhaps unique to
experimental psychology, not shared by other branches of psychology, The laboratory is an
artificial situation. Many experimental effects are weak. Moreover they are obtained under
ideal conditions. It is questionable how far the laws and principles generated in the rather
simple situation of the laboratory are applicable in the complex real world. In the real world,
interaction between various factors is the rule rather than the exception. But such interactions
are difficult, if not impossible, to study in the laboratory. Experimental psychologists have
tried to overcome this problem by conducting field experiments. Thus they have traded
control for realism. This has made experimental laws less reliable but more valid. However,
it has also decreased the “pure science” nature of psychology.

 Animal Research: Since research on human being has the above stated problems, and some
researches may also be stressful to human beings, some researchers feel it is easier to conduct
research on animals. However, it is difficult to generalize results from animals to human
beings except for laws governing very simple basic behaviors such as learning.

 The problem of ethics: All Psychological research involves manipulating human behavior.
There are people who believe that manipulation or control of human behavior is against
human freedom and dignity. Nevertheless, psychologists believe:
(i) When manipulation is done for good ends, and if the research program involves informed
consent and debriefing then psychological research is justified.
(ii) Secondly, freedom, dignity, and other such terms are myths. Skinner, in his book Beyond
Freedom and Dignity shows how almost all aspects of life and behavior are controlled by
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their consequences. He holds that control and manipulation of behavior is an inalienable part
of human life. Freedom and Dignity are mere words. When we exercise control for the
benefit of human race we are not against human hangs, we are for them.

Place of Psychology in Science

As scientists, psychologists do not always agree on whether they are allied with the natural
sciences or social sciences. If we turn to the history of psychology for a solution, we find that
psychology evolved due to the interaction between natural sciences and epistemology (a branch
of philosophy which studies knowledge). Wundt was a physicist by training, but he also served
as a laboratory assistant to Helmholtz, widely considered the greatest physiologist of all times.
Not surprisingly it is often said that if philosophy is the mother of psychology, then physiology is
the father. However, despite his training Wundt worked on psychophysical problems i.e. how
the mind responds to the sensations received by the sense organs from the external physical
environment. Thus, experimental psychology is the synthesis of mental philosophy, physiology,
and physics. Watson, in his quest to make psychology even more scientific, decided that
psychology should study only overt behavior. Nevertheless, soon after the beginning of
psychology, psychologists became impatient with the restricted scope of psychology and
broadened it to include social, cultural and inter-personal problems. The experimental method
was then applied to these aspects of human life as well.

Despite similar aims and assumptions, psychology as a natural science differs from psychology
as a social science:

PSYCHOLOGY AS A NATURAL SCIENCE PSYCHOLOGY AS A SOCIAL SCIENCE

Believes in physiology as the basis of human Do not favor physiological explanations. They
behavior emphasize environmental/cultural factors.
Focus on the individual apart from the society. Focus on the individual in the context of
society, particularly the relationship of
individual with other people.
Emphasizes on past factors in present Emphasizes the contemporary factors to
behavior. explain behaviour.

It must be understood that the physiological and social are only two aspects of the same
individual. The future will decide if psychology becomes a part natural science or joins the camp
of social sciences or simply remains as it is.
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RELATION OF PSYCHOLOGY WITH OTHER SCIENCES

Relationship of Psychology with Philosophy

In the beginning Philosophy meant any general theoretical concern, including what we now call
science, but excluding religion (though not entirely). E.g. in the 18th century physics was called
natural philosophy. Gradually as each science became self-supporting it broke away from the
parent stock of philosophy and became an independent entity. Today philosophers believe that
philosophy is not a factual science describing important aspects of the world rather it is an
analytical discipline clarifying how we think about the world.

For many centuries, before Psychology emerged as a separate science, philosophers also debated
psychological questions. Conceptual disputes were settled through reasoning, argumentation, and
logic. Earlier, psychological problems were solved through dialectical reasoning and are now
solved by scientific reasoning.

The branch of philosophy that deals with psychological issues and concepts is the Philosophy of
Mind or Philosophical Psychology. The two main problems of Philosophy of mind, which
Psychology has inherited, are:

1. The mind-body problem debates how the mind and body are related. The question is
whether mind is distinct from the body, and if so, what is the relationship between the two.
Some philosophers say that there is no distinction between the two (Monism). However
others argue that there is a distinction between them (Dualism). Dualism is of three types:
i) Interactionism: The theory holds that the mind can affect the body and in turn the
body affects the mind.
ii) Parallelism: The theory holds that mind and body are distinct, exist separately, and
there is no interaction between the two.
iii) Epiphenomenalism: It is the theory that the relationship between the mind and body
is one way. Bodies can affect the mind but the mind cannot affect the body.

2. The problem of other minds is how we can come to know other minds or indeed whether
other minds exist at all. How can we come to know what is going on within the other person’s
mind, more specifically how can we know what the other person is thinking.

Another area in philosophy, which contributes to Psychology, is Epistemology. It is the theory of

knowledge and it has contributed a lot to Cognitive Psychology. Another part of philosophy is
Ethics, which tells us the difference between good and bad –issues and problems of moral
judgement. Social Philosophy studies concepts and ideas that describe social behavior. Social
issues are studied by Social and Applied Psychology.
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Relationship of Psychology with Sociology

Sociology is the science of society, which makes a scientific study of human relations and
behavior. As a science of behavior it focuses on groups. Psychology is a science of individual
behavior. It includes social relationships of the individual in its study. We cannot understand the
individual without the knowledge of the society to which he belongs. Similarly the society or
any group in the society cannot be studied without understanding the individual who is the basic
element of society.
In spite of the overlap between Psychology and Sociology, there are some significant differences
between the two:
1. Difference in attitude: According to the psychologists every action of man has
some psychological basis. According to sociology, the basis of social behavior of man is his
tendency to live in groups.
2. Difference in unit: The unit of psychology is the individual whereas the unit of
sociology is the group. The psychologist studies an individual apart from his cultural, social, and
geographical environment. Sociology studies man in the context of society and as a part of it.
3. Difference in method of study: The preferred method of psychology is
experimentation in the laboratory. It provides better control and hence more predictability. In
contrast sociology favors observation and surveys as a method of gathering information.
However, in recent times, field experiments have also become popular.
4. Difference in scope/subject matter: Sociology stresses on external behavior in
interaction with others such as socialization, interaction, communication, social institutions and
organizations, etc. Psychology stresses on internal, within the individual processes such as
sensation, perception, learning, memory, thinking, imagination etc.

Due to the close interaction between the two sciences, a new area of study had emerged called
social psychology. Social Psychology is the study of human behavior in the context of the
society. Social Psychology studies topics such as social interaction, social perception, attitudes,
prejudice, socialization, disadvantage, groups, Crowd Psychology, leadership, cooperation,
competition, social learning, imitation etc. Social Psychologists have devised a unique method to
study their topics called the field experiment. It involves manipulation and control of behavior in
natural settings for the purpose of scientific study.
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Relationship of Psychology with Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of man. The development of human beings from their origin to the
present times is the aim of study of anthropology. The vast field is divided into:
1. Human Evolution: It studies the evolution of man in all aspects from the stage of a
unicellular organism to the stage of multi-cellular, complex being.
2. Physical Anthropology: It is concerned with the bodily characteristics of racial groups, their
biological reactions and the influence of environment on them.
3. Archeology: It attempts to reconstruct the social life of pre-historic man.
4. Cultural Anthropology: It is also called social anthropology and deals with human culture –
with its elements, organization, changes, and organs of culture.
5. Linguistics: It seeks to investigate the characteristics of various cultural groups and their
changes through the studies of the languages of mankind.
Psychology is closely related to Cultural Anthropology, human evolution, and linguistics.

Cultural Anthropology deals with various cultures – the different types of personalities found in
each culture and the influence of culture in personality Cultural Anthropology is interested in
comparing cultures and it must be remembered that the group can’t be studied without studying
the individuals consisting the group. On the other hand individual behaviour can never be
completely understood if we do not know anything about the individual’s society and culture.

Linguistics contributes to Cognitive Psychology; particularly the area of language development

and verbal learning. Language is a unique accomplishment of human beings. As such it is
important to study this aspect of behavior to understand the person as a whole.

Relationship of Psychology with Biology (Physiology and Medicine)

Biology deals with the structure and functioning of all living beings, including human beings.
Physiology – the branch of biology that studies the functioning of the body has the maximum to
contribute. Thus psychological and physiological states underlie or form the human behavior. It
has been shown through experiments that mental processes have great impact over the
psychological processes. E.g. mental state such as depressions is accompanied by physiological
changes such a rising level of certain hormones, a great desire to sleep, constant fatigue etc.
Vice-versa changes in body affects the mental state e.g. intake of alcohol or drugs changes the
behavior of individual. The human organisms react as a whole to the environment.

A special branch of Psychology called Biopsychology or Physiological Psychology exists to

study the physiological aspect of human behavior. It studies the sense organs, the nervous
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system, the digestive processes, etc. as they affect the human behavior and are in turn affected by
the psychological processes such as emotions, learning, remembering, thinking, and motivation.

Medicine is the application of biology to promote health. The specific areas in medicine close to
psychology are psychiatry and neurology,

The recognition of the intimate interaction of body and mind has resulted in a new branch called
psychosomatic medicine. It has been noted that one third of physical patients have no definite
bodily cause of the disease. Their symptoms are essentially due to psychological and emotional
causes. The psycho physiological disorders (a new name for psychosomatic disorders) include
diseases like asthma, ulcers, hypertension and blood pressure, aches that originate from
continuous emotional tensions. Even in the case of organic disorders, psychology can help. It has
now been realized that physical symptoms may have both organic as well as psychological basis.
Organic diseases are usually complicated psychological-emotional conditions and the patient
must be treated psychologically as well as medically. The recent approach to the patient as a
whole has resulted in a closer relationship between psychology and general medicine.

Relationship of Psychology with Religion

Before the modern science of psychology developed, religious priests used to provide treatment
to mentally ill people. Many came to grief at the hands of religious quacks that exercised the
most unwarranted cruelty on the mentally diseased persons and applied crude methods of
handling under the garb of treatment. In many places such events continue to this day. Religion
has generally acted as a barrier in the development of psychology.

However, at times religion was also beneficial to psychology. Religious philosophy contributed
and fuelled interest in human behavior. From the humane aspect of religion were born many
humane methods and techniques of curing mental illness. Ancient Greek and Egyptian healing
temples, Christian shrines such as that in Gheel, and the Hindu ashrams, which provided care and
comfort to the old, infirm, or mentally ill, are shining examples of what religion can do when it is
rid of rigid superstitions.

Religion is a great motivator. Existentialists hold that many problems of the modern world come
from the gradual movement away from God. Modern psychologists who are humanistically
oriented such as Maslow and Erikson believe that religion can be a source of strength for many
people. By providing an anchor it can reduce the anxiety that comes from grappling with a fast-
changing, confusing world. Thus religion, in the true sense of the word, would promote human
welfare if only it frees itself from superstition and bigotry. Perhaps psychology and religion need
to work together for the benefit of mankind.