The phenomena of the religious life offer a fruitful field for the social psychologist. Reli gion itself, in so far as it concerns the relation of man to a higher personality, is a product of the social instincts, the desire for companion ship and protection and is closely related to the gregarious, parental and sex instincts. In the striking phenomena of sudden conversions we have an interesting illustration of the ultimate effect of suggestions which have been resisted. Their effect has nevertheless been registered in the "subconscious') or unconscious regions of the nervous system, and the sudden transforma tion of the individual's life and ideals is due in all probability to their having accumulated suf ficient force to break down the resistance of fered to them by processes in the conscious lev els of the nervous system. Persons of a hys terical temperament, who are subject to disso ciation or splitting of consciousness, are more likely to experience sudden changes of heart and ideals.
Closely related to social psychology, and in deed forming an essential supplement to it, is folk psychology. This is the study of the ori gins of social phenomena, such as social groups, language, religion and art. These origins must, since they lie in a past long preceding the dawn of history, be studied chiefly through the in vestigation of the phenomena of savage life.
It is difficult to say how far these really repre sent primitive levels of culture. In the case of
religion, the remarkable longevity of religious rites enables us to trace certain religious ideas back into prehistoric times. The facts point toward the existence, as the earliest known germ of religion, of a prepersonal type of reli gious attitude, marked by rituals designed to use the supernatural power or virtue, the Mana, in various objects and animals which aroused man's awe; a stage of totemism which preceded belief in gods. In the case of art, a study of savage customs strongly suggests that one group of arts is derived from the dance, which with its power of forming psychological crowds is a great factor in the life of primitive peoples. Music, poetry and the drama are all probably in debted to the dance for their origin. The deco rative arts can be studied almost from their beginnings through the preservation of buried objects and of drawings on the walls of •caves. It is more difficult to trace the early history of language than that of either religion or art, owing to the rapid and complicated processes of change which it undergoes, and to the fact that when in a primitive state it is not written. The reader will find interesting material on folk psychology in Thomas' Source Book of Social Origins,' and in Wundt's 'Folk Psychology> (translated by Schaub).