- 4 mysterious UFO sightings that are still unexplained<\/a><\/li>\n
- Conspiracies and FBI secrets: Why we love UFOs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
Aliens vs religion<\/h2>\n
Andrew Abeyta, assistant professor of psychology at North Dakota State University in the United States, studies the meaning of life. In 2017, he was co-author of a study called \u2018We are not alone<\/a>\u2019, which found that people who believe in aliens are less likely to believe in religion.<\/p>\n
\u201cReligion is a really robust source of meaning in life. It gives us a sense of purpose. We feel important. It feels like our lives are planned, that they\u2019re purposefully designed,\u201d says Abeyta. \u201cAnd when we reject religion, what we argue is that need to explain, that need to find purpose, that desire to feel important and meaningfulness doesn\u2019t go away.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who tend to report a stronger belief in UFO conspiracies and little green men and things like that, tend to also report a higher sense of meaning in life. They want to go somewhere else to help restore that meaning. So it\u2019s sort of like we\u2019re trying to capture this compensatory process.\u201d<\/p>\n
This doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that anyone who leaves the church will start believing in alien abduction. But it does demonstrate a common human desire for answers to an age-old question: \u201cWhy are we here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Research by the University of Fribourg found that those who believe in a higher purpose, the literal truth of the Bible and divine creation, were also more likely to believe in conspiracy theories<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u201cBelief in conspiracy theories does tend to correlate with religious belief,\u201d says Karen Douglas<\/a>, professor of social psychology at the University of Kent. \u201cIt also correlates negatively with education. For instance, people who are more educated are more likely to reject conspiracy theories. Some studies have also shown that disadvantaged groups are sometimes more likely to believe in conspiracy theories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more about aliens:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- Alien life in our Solar System: 5 best places to look<\/a><\/li>\n
- What do aliens look like? Animals on Earth may hold the answer<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
Desire for escapism<\/h2>\n
The desire for escapism through conspiracy theories is understandable. And in some countries, conspiracy theories are extremely prevalent. In January 2020, an Ipsos poll in the US found that almost one in two Americans think that UFOs exist<\/a> and have already visited the Earth. The study came out before the pandemic took hold. Since then, many people are more anxious and uncertain about the future. If the survey was repeated today, would figures go up?<\/p>\n
\u201cConspiracy theories do tend to thrive in times of crisis,\u201d says Douglas. \u201cWhen people feel isolated and frustrated, they might be more inclined to turn to conspiracy theories in an attempt to make themselves feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n
How memories influence our expectations<\/h2>\n
The problem with conspiracy theories \u2013 whether aliens, 5G masts or vaccines \u2013 is that people can also write off a logical explanation as part of the conspiracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are most susceptible when important psychological needs are not being satisfied,\u201d says Douglas. \u201cSpecifically, people need knowledge and certainty, to feel safe, secure and in control, and to feel good about themselves and the groups they belong to. When people are not fulfilled by official or conventional explanations for events, conspiracy theories might seem appealing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The most famous UFO conspiracy theory demonstrates this. In July 1947, not long after WWII, which had removed certainty in most people\u2019s lives, the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) recovered debris from a crashed high altitude weather balloon in Roswell, New Mexico. At least, that was the official story. The Roswell Daily Record<\/em> front page reported it somewhat differently: \u201cRAAF captures flying saucer on ranch in Roswell region\u201d.<\/p>\n
The conspiracy that launched a global industry of books, TV series and movies involved a spacecraft and recovered alien bodies. It continues to this day. In 1994, even though the craft was confirmed as a weather balloon as part of the military\u2019s secret Project Mogul, people continue to believe the balloon was a UFO and that its wreckage, and the preserved body of an alien, is hidden somewhere in the Nevada military base, Area 51.<\/p>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Jesse Marshall, who initially investigated and recovered some of the debris from Roswell in 1947 \u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n Psychologist Chris French<\/a> is not surprised. \u201cThe important thing is prior belief and then what we call top-down processing,\u201d says the emeritus professor at Goldsmiths, University of London, and former editor of The Skeptic<\/em> magazine. \u201cIt\u2019s the way that your beliefs and expectations can shape what you actually perceive.\u201d<\/p>\n
A case in point is the common description of UFOs as \u2018flying saucers\u2019. The phrase originated just a few weeks before the Roswell incident when businessman and amateur pilot Kenneth Arnold reported, after a private flight, nine unusual craft moving at speeds far greater than any available technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the really interesting things is that when he talked about a saucer, he wasn\u2019t talking about the shape of the craft at all,\u201d says French. \u201cHe described the motion as being like a saucer skipping across water. But this phrase \u2018flying saucer\u2019 was loved by the media.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe even drew what he saw at the time \u2013 it looks more like a boomerang than a saucer. But what did people then start to report seeing after that? Saucer-shaped craft. It\u2019s a lovely example of the influence of top-down processing.\u201d<\/p>\n
If somebody believes in UFOs, that person is then more likely to believe a light in the sky is a flying saucer and either see or recall features of a physical craft than a non-believer. Reliability of memory too is at play.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone maybe is trying to be as honest and sincere as they can possibly be, but they may well end up adding in details of things that perhaps were not, in fact, really there,\u201d says French. \u201cSo it\u2019s those basic kind of psychological biases that can often come into play here.\u201d<\/p>\n
False memory experiments reveal how easily people can be mistaken. One commonly used test features a list of associated words. French provides a simple example: snooze, snore, dream, nap, bed, blankets. \u201cAll these words are closely related to sleep,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen we test memory afterwards quite a lot people will report the word \u2018sleep\u2019 \u2013 even though it wasn\u2019t presented.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fear, nightmares and alien encounters<\/h2>\n
Research into memory and alien abduction at Harvard University also sheds light on human susceptibility.<\/p>\n
A 2002 study led by Prof Susan Clancy compared three groups: one with conscious memories of an abduction; a second who believed they\u2019d been abducted but couldn\u2019t remember it; and a third group with no such claims. The experiment found that the first group of people were more susceptible to false memories<\/a>. The people who didn\u2019t believe they\u2019d been abducted were the least susceptible.<\/p>\n
It is a reminder of the power of the mind and the psychological human desire to believe in something. \u201cWhat you\u2019ve got there are people who are interpreting various things in their lives, that they can\u2019t explain, as being down to alien abduction,\u201d says French.<\/p>\n
There are other theories for belief in aliens. There is ongoing research into whether some of those with alien abduction claims may have experienced childhood abuse.<\/p>\n
- What do aliens look like? Animals on Earth may hold the answer<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
- Conspiracies and FBI secrets: Why we love UFOs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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