On the record

"Motoring, as some call it, is a part of the American tradition. It's an American pastime and we are brought up on advertising that tells us about the pleasures of driving on the open road....People never think that bad things will happen to them. All that bad stuff happens to other people. A driver's expectations of being involved in an accident is, simply, zero."

--Thomas Ranney, a traffic psychologist, on why drivers speed. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dec. 10.

"In the United States, we need a pretty significant cultural change for people to acknowledge this is a good thing to do, as opposed to 'You're stupid, lazy or dumb if you take a nap.'"

--Mark Rosekind, PhD, on why napping on the job could be a good thing. After a nap of up to 45 minutes, he says, workers usually feel more alert and productive. CNN.com, Dec. 5.

"The greatest danger is an unsuspecting person with a more serious emotional problem being in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to handle it."

--Dorothy Cantor, PsyD, expressing concern over philosophical counseling. Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, Dec. 4.

"It puts these girls in a very vulnerable situation as they grow up, and it is essential we do more to help them cope. We must also determine the causes of this phenomenon. Common sense tells us that the environment is a likely suspect. Public-health officials should be examining whether early puberty is found more in locations where children are exposed to significant levels of chemicals that could cause this trend."

--Diana Zuckerman, PhD, in response to a Time article about young girls physically developing at earlier ages. Time, Nov. 20.

"I know that not everyone agrees with me, that some people think of being gay, lesbian or bisexual as an abomination, ungodly, un-American even. I'm not going to try to change anyone's mind, but I want to point out that centuries of hatred, oppression, condemnation and abuse have not worked very well in ridding the world of this phenomenon. Maybe it's time to try something different, even if your goal is for everyone to be happily heterosexual. I also want to point out that it starts to get very suspicious when people protest too much about the evils of homosexuality. Why do some people have such a need to prove they have no room in their hearts, or their schools, or their families, for 'those people?'"

--Lawrence Cohen, PhD, Boston Globe, Dec.7.

"When you're famous, people respond to your public image, not to you as an individual. But direct human connection is an important key to healthy recovery."

--Niki Moyer, explaining why public figures can have a greater risk of recurring substance abuse. Time, Dec. 11.