Do You Believe in UFOs?

UFOs are getting some press recently. U.S. intelligence agencies are expected to deliver a report on “unidentified flying objects” to Congress next month. UFO stands for “unidentified flying object”, but the US Navy prefers to refer to such objects as UAPs, or “unidentified aerial phenomena”. The Senate Intelligence Committee called for the creation of an interagency process involving representatives from across the military and intelligence agencies. People want to know how the government is handling sightings and whether there is any credible evidence of them.

Although I have not personally witnessed a UFO, I know of several reliable and mentally stable (in my opinion) people who claim to have witnessed or interacted with them. I don’t have a strong opinion on the existence or presence of UFOs. I will let others sort out good science from bad science or pseudoscience, and facts from fictional conspiracy theories. But I think the study of these objects is fascinating. I find it of particular interest to understand who believes in them and why.

It is not abnormal to believe that aliens exist. It is normal for humans to form all kinds of bizarre or unusual beliefs. In January 2020, a poll in the US found that almost one in two Americans think that UFOs exist and have already visited Earth. In a 2019 poll, 16% of people who answered the poll said they have personally witnessed a UFO. People who believe in UFOs can be wildly different. Some different reasons and attitudes get people thinking about UFOs. Some people are just curious. Others approach it as a religious endeavor. Still others see UFOs as a threat.

Karen Douglas, professor of social psychology at the University of Kent indicates that when people feel isolated and frustrated, they might be more inclined to turn to conspiracy theories in an attempt to make themselves feel better. “People are most susceptible when important psychological needs are not being satisfied. Specifically, 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.”

Psychological scientist Clay Routledge found that the less religious people are, the more likely they are to endorse empirically unsupported ideas about U.F.O.s. Routledge demonstrated that the link between low religiosity and belief in advanced alien visitors is at least partly explained by the pursuit of meaning. The less religious participants were the less they perceived their lives as meaningful. This lack of meaning was associated with a desire to find meaning, which in turn was associated with belief in UFOs and alien visitors.

Certain personality traits make people far more likely to believe in UFOs. For example, data suggests people who are open to new ideas are more likely to believe in UFOs. However, they may also be more vulnerable to false ideas.

People can easily find support for a belief in UFOs on social media and form a community of believers. Yet, confirmation bias is such that once you have a belief system, you fit the facts into that belief system. Your evidence has become skewed.

Carl Jung has been called one of the founding fathers of paranormal explanations of the UFO phenomena. Yet he was uncommitted on the issue of whether they were real or unreal. He advocated for healthy skepticism. Many researchers see UFOs as an interesting subject that is worthy of serious study.

I enjoy a quote by actor Charlton Heston, who said, “I can’t help thinking that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man.”

If you are interested in the study of UFOs, I recommend MUFON. It is an all-volunteer, non-profit 501(c)3 charitable corporation and the world’s oldest and largest civilian UFO investigation & research organization.