"When I say that I'm a psychologist, it's, 'Oh, that's nice.' Then they are off to get something to eat--quickly. If I say that I'm a coach, it's, 'Oh, really!' [People] step toward me. 'I've been wanting to do that!'"
--Clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist Sandra Nahan, PsyD, in an article about the emergence of the field of 'life coaching.' The Los Angeles Times, Oct. 4.
"People strap on the armor when they get into the car, they become road warriors. With two tons of steel around you, you feel like you're in a chariot, and if anybody threatens you, it's like they're going to war with you."
--Stephen Simmers, PhD, formerly a psychology professor at Syracuse University, who now leads seminars on road rage, in an article about road rage. Alameda Times-Star, Oct. 5.
"The diagnostic value of this type of testing is no more than that of astrology or tea-leaf reading."
--Psychologist and former head of the FBI's Quantico, Va., research laboratory Drew C. Richardson, PhD, discussing traditional polygraphs in an article about the alternative of using brain waves to detect lies. The New York Times, Oct. 9.
"It's an extreme situation, and in the way that horrible situations can sometimes bring to us important truths, people realize: Life is short. Life is fragile. Life is precious. [It] is this sense that, damn it, I'd better live for the moment, and if I have somebody that I love, I better show that love and show that commitment now, because it might be taken away."
--Psychologist Alan J. Lipman, executive director of Georgetown University's Center for the Study of Violence, discussing the human response to catastrophe in an article about a couple who decided to be married immediately as a result of the tragedies of Sept. 11. Washington Post, Oct. 10.
"It's very appealing to think that laughing is good for you, because it's so enjoyable."
--Clinical psychologist and humor researcher Rod A. Martin, PhD, of the University of Western Ontario, in an article about the benefits of humor in illness and pain tolerance. [Kentucky] Messenger-Inquirer, Oct. 4.
"Driving is much more cognitively and mentally demanding than people realize. Even if they just turn on the radio, they are making a trade-off. They are not getting it for free."
--Psychologist Marcel A. Just, PhD, of Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging, discussing brain activity in an article about driving behavior. The New York Times, Oct. 10.
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