Sociology & Psychology: Anthropology and UFOs
Generic introduction
I will start my overview of sociological, psychological, and psychoanalytic work on UFOs in the US by isolating several key genres in the many fields concerned with UFOs.
A first genre is the analysis of the social psychology of UFO belief. Jung (1991) was among the first to take this approach with his psychoanalysis of saucer reports, though he also focused on the psychological profiles of self-identified UFO witnesses. His broader analytic work has served as a point of departure for later studies of the symbolic content of UFO reports, alien folklore, and sci-fi entertainment. Studies in this latter group often point out the structural similarities between alien contact narratives and fairy lore, treading the frontiers of psychoanalysis, folkloristics and ufology (compare Rojcewicz 1995 to Vallée 1993 [1969]).
A second genre is the micro-level study of UFO enthusiast and religious groups. Festinger et al's When prophecy fails (1956) remains the most prominent and influential publication on this subject, if only in the sheer number of citations it receives. Since, as with most cultic groups, a great deal of the character of "UFO cults" revolves around the psychological makeup of the leader and its influence on the internal and external dynamics of the group, such studies also appear in psychological journals.
The third genre I will highlight is the heavily psychological issue of the psycho-physiology of the UFO experience. I distinguish this from the first genre dealt with by virtue of its focus on both the individual (as opposed to the more broadly social) and on psychodynamic causes and effects. John Mack (1994) and Michael Persinger (1989) lie at opposite ends of this theme's spectrum: Mack, a psychiatrist, assists self-identified abductees in clarifying memories of alien contact, rendering support to hypotheses of alien contact; Persinger, a laboratory-based psychologist, technologically elicits what he identifies as the contact experience in nonabductees in order to undermine the argument for alien abduction. Some work in this genre relates UFO experiences to religious and mystical experiences, trance states, shamanic initiations, and other alternate states of consciousness, coming into contact with anthropology in the process.
Issues in the sociology & psychology of UFOs
Out of these genres we can derive a couple of major issues for sociological, psychological, and clinical approaches to UFOs.
First we see the attempt to elucidate the functions of UFOs and aliens as mythic figures for individuals as well as for social groups.
The mass hysteria of UFOs and the Salem Witch Trials share many similarities between each other. Some that were stated were the fact that people claim that they have witnessed UFOs or witnessed a Witch. These claims also lead to the similarities of how people were split in both topics, never agreeing to one side of the hysteria. A difference was also expressed in this paper saying that in the Trials people died compared to UFO sightings where no one died related to them. Overall they share many similarities and differences and there are many more that can be
The preserving modern folk tale that is the invasion of aliens, is fully knotted within the cultural fear that one day in the near future, a threat of some unknown origin will be more powerful, more capable at warfare than we American’s can ever be. No mater the impossibility, it is a perceived end to the very short colonization of the North Americas. In 1947 a few miles from Roswell, NW, Mack Brazel found debris from an unidentified flying object scattered in a three-mile arc on his land. According to the myth told by the International UFO Museum Research Center in Roswell, NW, the metal had strange pictorial writings on the “I” beams and were purple in color. (IUFORMC NM Inc.) This tale is so widely told in Roswell, that there has been a whole industry developed there to preserve this ledged of the alien crash landing and the Military’s collection of the debris and cover-up of the visitors from outer space.
The U.S requested the also be given the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande was south of Texas and clearly belonged to Mexico (refer to figure 1). The U.S felt that the Rio Grande was part of Texas and should be given to the U.S with Texas. Mexico would not give up the Rio Grande because they were certain that the Rio Grande belonged to them. America's greed is THE major reason this conflict occurred. The U.S also believed the Mexico should have to pay for any of the U.S's debts that were incurred during Mexico's conflicts with Spain. America was in debt 3 million dollars because of the Mexico and Spanish conflicts and America very strongly believed that these debts were Mexico's fault and they should have to pay for them.
“She represents the type of womanhood America needs, strong, red-blooded, able to shoulder the responsibilities of homemaking and motherhood. It is in her type that the hope of the country rests” (Martin & Watson, 2004, p.3). This was Samuel Gompers sharing his thoughts about the very first “Miss America”, Margaret Gorman. The Miss America Pageant was established in the most fitting of all decades: the 1920s. During a time when women were just starting to experience newfound independence and rights, the Miss America Pageant strengthened the idea that women had more freedom to express themselves. The competition began as a simple tourist attraction, but the fact that the Miss America Pageant survived throughout the decades exemplifies that the competition was so much more.
Anderson, Kevin V. "Report of the Board of Enquiry Into Scientology." The Anderson Report. State of Victoria Australia, 21 Feb. 1997. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Cohen, Daniel. The Encyclopedia of the Strange. New York: Dodd, Meod & Company, Inc., 1985.
Ever look up at the sky and just wonder if there is life anywhere else? Have you seen anything in the sky that is almost unexplainable? What if your thoughts really came true? The thought of the existence of aliens seems to have been around since the beginning of time. There is one incident in particular that really hits home when talking about the subject, the UFO incident of Roswell, New Mexico.
Mexican-American War, also known as the Mexican war or the invasion of Mexican, which occurred from April 1846 to February 1848. This war is very meaningful to the United States, which determined whether it could become the most powerful nation or not, also established the size of the United States. The war involved American and Mexican fighting over Texas, after the United States had annexed Texas as the fifteenth slave state. There were several causes for the war happening, some of which major and the others of which minor. However, the most important reasons were the idea of manifest destiny, Texas War of Independence, westward movement of the American, the refuse of negotiating of Mexico and the border dispute.
Researchers have found a few different theories that can explain some aspects of people claiming to experience alien abductions, but they have not been able to account for every abduction case (Pelletier and Patry). So far, there has not been a theory that was able to perfectly decode the mystery of alien abductions (Pelletier and Patry). All of the theories of why “abductees” claim to be abducted by aliens are possible, however, they require further research and examination. The concept of extraterrestrials has affected many aspects of society. Relying on just what the “abductees” say as true evidence is an important decision that can change the universe as we know it.
. At the town of Roswell an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) crash landed in the quiet little town. Many Roswell residents testified that they saw a burning object plummet toward the ground before exploding upon impact. The Air Force's initial reaction to the incident was to tell the world that they did not know what it was. This shows me evidence that they had no “protocol” for this kind of occurrence, thus the Military leader stepped in and covered everything up. This incident caught the attention of citizens of the United States, local officials, and the media. It has especially gained interest in a variety of Special interest groups/ groups that specialize in researching and investigating events that involve UFO’s.
...t al. "Paranormal Encounters as Eyewitness Phenomena: Psychological Determinants of Atypical Perceptual Interpretations." Current Psychology 29.4 (2010): 320-327. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
What if UFOs are both a rare and a jealous phenomenon? What if there is a core of real UFO sightings that are sightings of intelligently controlled craft whose pilots try to avoid appearing before large groups of people whenever possible?
Whether or not the Roswell incident truly involved a UFO remains unclear. How ever, the military cover-up only served to fuel the fire of our imaginations. Interest continues to grow, as questions remain unanswered. Even Bill Clinton has been quoted as saying “…If the United States Air Force did recover alien bodies, they didn’t tell me about it either, and I want to know”(qtd. in Wright 105).
... Earth’s Moon. The first one known as the Fission Theory states that the moon was once a part of the Earth but was separated from the Earth. The Capture Theory states that the moon was formed somewhere else but was then captured by Earth’s gravitational pull. The condensation theory states that both the Earth and the Sun condensed together from the original nebula that created the solar system.
Astronomers now believe the Moon is the remains of a giant cosmic traffic accident. In its very early days, the Earth was hit by a runaway planet the size of Mars. White-hot molten rock were splashed into space, and solidified into a ring of rocks around the Earth. These th...