The History of Psychology

Solution Preview

The history of psychological study dates back to thousands of years ago, and the historical perspectives on psychology of different groups of people throughout the world, have been very influential to the current practice of psychology. In ancient Egypt, there were profound breakthroughs in the understanding of the human mind, as well as the function of the human mind, which led the ancient Egyptians to develop the keen understanding of the relation between the mind and body, and to utilize this knowledge in order to develop remedies and cures for a host of mental illnesses. Although a variety of their remedies were metaphysical in nature, and involved spells/incantations, as the Egyptians progressed in their knowledge, that study of the psychology of human beings began to take on a more scientific approach, which began to rely on a more physiological-based approach to treating the biological aspects of the brain and body in tandem. The ability of the Egyptians to gain insight into understanding the biological basis for mental illness, laid the foundation for our current study of biological psychology, as well as experimental and cognitive psychology. These early studies of the mind, as well as the positive effects that nutritional and herbal remedies can have on the mental condition of individuals, were pioneering scientific efforts that have had a strong effect on the psychological studies and perspectives of following generations of psychology practitioners. Early Egyptians also understood the effect that affirmations had on the mind of individuals, and that positive affirmations were also a methodology by which individuals could be treated for depression and other psychological conditions. This was another groundbreaking aspect of the scientific psychology that was practiced by the ancient Egyptians, that has been very influential on the current practice of psychology, due to the fact that hypnosis relies on affirmations of some kind in order to be effective.

Another group of individuals that have had a profound effect on the history of psychology, as well as a profound influence on the current practice of psychology, were the Chinese. The Chinese were one of the earliest groups of individuals to understand ...