The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
2003-2004

Wray Herbert
Director of Public Affairs
Association for Psychological Science
Washington, D.C., USA
Website: We're Only Human

TOPIC: Explore how mental illnesses are being treated under the Americans With Disabilities Act

The Children of War
The former child soldiers of Mozambique's civil war offer insights into morality and human resiliency.

Psst. Want to Know a Secret?
A women's deodorant company recently launched a major promotional campaign that encourages women to "Share your Secret." In national TV ads and on outdoor billboards—including one in New York's Times Square—women are being applauded for their candid revelations of long-buried shames and thrills. "M" finally unburdens herself about her 20-year struggle with bulimia, while Donna fesses up that she has slept with 70 men, not the mere four she told her husband. Wendy has had both her nipples pierced for a year and nobody knows.

Marketing and Mind Control
Imagine that I have $100 and I offer you $20 of it, no strings attached. You'd take it, right? Any fool would; it's a windfall. But imagine further that you know I must give away part of my $100 or lose it all. All of a sudden my motives aren't entirely altruistic, but I'm still offering you free money. Take it or leave it, but no negotiation allowed. How would you feel? What would you do?

Go Ahead, I Dare You
A new study asks why teenagers do stupid and dangerous things. The answers might surprise you.

A Bunch of Little Scrooges?
Studies of children indicate that people may be inherently prejudiced against those less fortunate. Bah, humbug, indeed.

When Best Intentions Aren't Good Enough
Recent Studies Shed Light On Why It Can Be So Difficult To Stick To Our New Year's Resolutions.

Oops, I Did it Again
New brain research may help explain why some people don't seem to learn from their mistakes.

Are We Who We Think We Are?
Some intriguing research with kids finds that personality is a lot more malleable than previously thought.

Get Lost, Grim Reaper
In the 1975 movie Love and Death, Woody Allen's spoof of the brooding sensibilities of Russian literature, Allen plays the cowardly soldier Boris. Under assault by Napoleon's troops, Boris asks his lover Sonja (Diane Keaton), "Are you scared of dying?" Sonja ponders the question for a few seconds. "Scared is the wrong word," she finally replies. "I'm frightened of it."

Destined to Cheat?
New research finds those who believe in fate over free will are more likely to act immorally.

Red Mind, Blue Mind?
What our political views may reveal about our personalities.

Sucker or Saint?
The surprising ways we shore up our self-esteem when we feel foolish for not being able to say no.

Just Say No to Aging?
A provocative new book from a Harvard psychologist suggests that changing how we think about our age and health can have dramatic physical benefits.  Imagine that you could rewind the clock 20 years. It's 1989. Madonna is topping the pop charts, and TV sets are tuned to "Cheers" and "Murphy Brown." Widespread Internet use is just a pipe dream, and Sugar Ray Leonard and Joe Montana are on recent covers of Sports Illustrated.

Talking the Talk
A new study looks at whether announcing your goals helps you follow through on them.

Why We Don't Pick the Right Baseball All-Stars
Forget talent, it's the human need to connect that drives the selection of our cultural icons.