For many centuries, the study of human thought and emotion was not considered a very fruitful pursuit. Not that it hasnt fascinated many people down the ages it has. But the most interesting insights into human psychology came not from scientists but from poets and writers. In that respect, it is possible to find interesting observations and illustrations in the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Shakespeare, and Milton.

All that changed with the advent of psychology as a serious science. Freud, Jung, and Adler broke the ground that has, since their pioneering work, become the venue of intense and abundant research. Since the late 1950s, men and women have delved deeper and deeper into the mechanics of human thought and behavior. The result is that we have learned more in the last six decades than we have since the beginning of recorded time.

Psychology, and its parent science psychiatry, find numerous applications today. It is no longer just a way of getting in touch with yourself or a topic for idle college dormitory chatting sessions. Psychology is an immensely useful tool in some major aspects of modern social life. Apart from its primary concern of mental and emotional welfare, it has yielded new parameters for education, employment, crime detection and prevention, market analysis, national security, marriage counseling, and sports.

Psychology, at first seen as a pointless area of research, is now included in many formats of formal education as a required subject. One does not have to be aiming for a degree in mental health or for a job in law enforcement to derive incalculable benefit from its study. A basic knowledge of psychology gives one a better understanding the driving force behind human relationships, ambitions, expectations, and behavior in general.