Strung from the antenna of a taxicab parked in front of the Quadrangle flies a single American flag about the size of a piece of notebook paper.
For this particular cabbie, like so many Americans these days, bearing the Stars and Stripes is a way of mentally adjusting and reacting to the shocking events of Sept. 11.
"There's nothing, I suppose, that makes a person more attached to a piece of their identity than when that piece is attacked," Psychology Professor John Sabini said. "The United States has been attacked, and they feel that a piece of them has been attacked."
Psychologists expect the outpouring of patriotism and generosity to continue in the immediate future. Sabini described it as a sort of defense mechanism.
And the ubiquitous American flags and patriotic paraphernalia that appeared after the terrorist attacks will probably not disappear any time soon either.
"This kind of event really shakes our world view," Psychology Professor Melanie Green said. "We think of America as this great country. So you want to search for things that reaffirm your worldview... [to try and] reconnect with the community and show that symbolic support for the nation."
Some psychologists believe that displaying Old Glory, as well as contributing to relief efforts, has been part of the healing process over the past two weeks. People have clung to the idea that doing something is better than nothing at all.
"I suppose it's a desire to right the wrong and to be part of a larger group," Sabini said. "I think that people have done many things out of a desire to want to do something... knowing, of course, that they can't repair the damage."
Psychologists say that volunteering to help others and erecting memorials to those who were lost will help people to find closure, but that the passage of time will be the the strongest therapy available.
After the attacks, some people said nothing would ever be the same, while others slipped easily back into daily routines. As days passed following the attacks, Americans slowly moved from feelings of shock and disbelief to an entirely new set of emotions -- fear, anger and sorrow.
Psychologists say that just as the events resonated differently for everyone, each person will respond differently both to attempts to put the terrorism behind them and to the ongoing war effort.
"I think that there are a lot of variables," Green said. "This was obviously a very traumatic event -- it takes different amounts of time for people to get back to normal. I think that individuals and the nation as a whole are moving back to normal, but it could take a while to get there."
"Some of it will depend on where things go from here, whether the government seeks retaliation... are people able to have closure on this issue," she added. "Usually they say if you're not directly affected, after a month you will start to feel less depressed about it. But I think that in this case there will be a lot more uncertainty."
And while some people may feel relieved by the government's efforts at retaliation, psychologists said that the reality is that military action may not help to heal emotional wounds.
"For some people there will be some sense of justice, and that may make them feel better," said clinical psychologist Roy Eidelson, executive director of the Solomon Asch Center. "I don't think military action will help people put this behind them... except for the way in which we will think, `Well, OK, we have done something.'
"But also what I think is striking and more important is the number of ways people have found to do something," Eidelson added.
However, if the conflicts continue, the incidents will have effects that impact daily life in the United States. In particular, efforts at retaliation may mean sacrificing personal privacy and other individual liberties that have long stood as a part of American ideology.
"As this becomes more commonplace... we can habituate to almost anything," Eidelson said. "It's probably going to produce changes in the way we live, and there are going to be issues about individual rights versus protecting people in airports or elsewhere. We gradually come to expect it, but I don't think we plan or want to end up in the situation where we have to be that vigilant on an ongoing basis."
But no matter what action occurs in the coming months, the last few weeks will be unforgettable for most Americans.
In fact, the terrorist attacks share the same characteristics as events that trigger what is known as flashbulb memory -- clear colorful memories of traumatic historical and nationally significant events. Flashbulb memory is often associated with events such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the attack on Pearl Harbor -- where people still report clear recollections years later.
"If there's some very intense event, that seems to be registered in our brains with extra strength," Green said. "Strong emotions seem to make our brain register impact more fully. And also the [historical impact] of this event was a factor."
But other psychologists are quick to add that flashbulb memories are often false -- tricks that our mind plays on us. Sabini explained that this discrepancy was first noticed by a psychologist who remembered hearing about Pearl Harbor during a baseball game, but later realized that there were no baseball games in December.
"It has to do with people forming very clear and distinctive memories of very traumatic national events," Sabini said. "People have the sense of remembering very clearly, but people confuse clarity with accuracy. They're often wrong."
