Dr. De La Torre / The forgotten factor : the psychological effect of the UAP phenomenon
Professor Gabriel de la Torre draws attention to the need to study UAP not only from the physical and technological perspectives, but also through the psychological effects on witnesses.
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN UAP DIGITAL AND IS REPRODUCED HERE WITH PERMISSION, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
We are living a turbulent time in the current landscape of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or also known as UAP. On the one hand, we have the increasing number of groups, foundations and associations of scientists advocating for a declassification and scientific study of this phenomenon, and on the other hand, the authorities, divided, try to take the heat off the matter and call for investigative commissions. Recent examples include the latest statements by military personnel before the U.S. Congress, the NASA and Pentagon reports, and various responses in the media and on social networks.
All of them have a common denominator: the focus is on the objects. Objects are of enormous interest to both sides. Undoubtedly, understanding these phenomena which seem to defy our understanding of physics is a great challenge and holds an interest that goes beyond mere curiosity, as they may represent the greatest enigma in our history. What world power would not be interested in understanding how something, an object, a technology can overcome the current limits assumed for speed, acceleration, invisibility, etc. It could be a decisive advantage in the strategic field. Therefore, UAP may represent a threat to national security as has been stated in various forums, but they also present an opportunity, an opportunity for technological advancement, a technological singularity.
It is important to remove the stigma surrounding UAP sightings.
On the other hand, we have a phenomenon that for years has been underestimated, ridiculed and generally forgotten by the scientific community. To science, they were things seen in the sky and probably had reasonable explanations such as birds, balloons, stars, etc. However, recently some new objects have appeared on the scene that have added confusion and concern, the drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). These drones can vary greatly in size and characteristics, and have one quality that makes them concerning: they can be difficult to detect and can sometimes be mistaken for UAP.
What would happen, then, if pilots, military, and civilians witnessed UAVs flying over areas of strategic interest or simply places where object don’t usually over, and did not report them for fear of ridicule because they look like UAP? This had to change, the stigma had to be removed not only in science but in society. We must be aware that the enemy can use this UAV technology, these drones over national territory and go virtually unnoticed (for example the case of Chinese balloons). We need to look at the sky and analyze, report, and study objects that we previously remained silent about for fear of the consequences.
Therefore, it is necessary to start with awareness about new aerial threats. The hitherto “useful” UAP stigma has lost its usefulness once UAVs have entered the scene and if we add to this the differentiating potential of data obtained from studying UAPs for technological development, the paradigm shift seemed inevitable, though with reservations, logically.
Information continues to flow in dribs and drabs, incompletely and with great difficulty, sometimes in loops. Years ago there were already several study programs on the so-called UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects), all of them unsuccessful, although some of them yielded interesting data. Dr. Allen Hynek was one of the first scientists to study this subject, first from the skeptical perspective and then from the other side.
The technological factor overshadows the human factor
It is worth asking which factor is hegemonic in the current study and interest in the UAP phenomenon both by the scientific community (groups, associations, foundations, etc.) and by the authorities at different levels. The answer in my opinion is clear: technological.
In this materialistic approach, we forget, from my point of view, the fundamental factor, the human factor. Usually UAPs are linked to a person, even if it is a person interpreting a sensor measurement, a human piloting an aircraft, etc. or a group of humans interacting at a given moment with one or several UAPs and sometimes apparently even with their crew members. In many cases, this human factor has been invoked out of skepticism, to discredit the witnesses or to explain the sightings. Curiously, these arguments have rarely been contrasted by experts in psychology or neuroscience, with some exceptions.
Nowadays, it seems as if the phenomenon is being reviewed, but missing references to those scientists who once studied it, not without difficulty, attending to those aspects more related to the psychological and sociological, such as Kenneth Ring or John Mack, to give a couple of examples, however, references to Jacques Vallée, astronomer, are common.
In my opinion, the psychological factor is key to understanding UAP. Of course, it is good to understand their physics, but if they are intelligent objects, what is their purpose, what effects do they produce on the observers? At first glance, one might think none. However, there are examples of some cases where there have been physical effects on the witnesses, but there is one effect that has often been ignored, the psychological effect.
Our study on the psychological aspects related to UAPs
In our study ("Psychological aspects in unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) witnesses"), recently published in the scientific journal International Journal of Astrobiology, we precisely focus on the analysis of these psychological variables in UAP witnesses.
The study consisted of a series of questions, mostly Likert style, divided into 5 fundamental sections.
First, we collected basic information about the participants (245 volunteers from different countries) such as educational level, age, etc.
In a second section, we asked several questions about the popular videos of UAPs and the U.S. Navy which were published and received so much attention. Also included, were several questions about the stance of governments and science on this issue.
In a third section, we asked questions on the subject of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Many of these questions were related to the different strategies, hypotheses and theories used by scientists in this field.
A fourth section was devoted to the UAPs themselves, their characteristics, origins, etc.
The fifth section was only visible to those participants who reported having directly witnessed a UAP sighting or experience (93 subjects). In this last section the questions were related to the particular incident, and we emphasized the collection of data and information regarding possible psychological, physiological or physical sequelae and the evidence they might have.
The results of our study yielded some interesting data. It seems that UAPs have a common effect on many witnesses, basically one could say that they get, so to speak, into the minds of the witnesses, and generally the topic of UAPs will occupy a relevant place in the witnesses' thinking.
The "triad of deep relationship with UAP"
We identified what we have termed the triad of deep relationship with UAP consisting of three fundamental factors:
Witnesses feel somewhat obsessed with the phenomenon (not pathologically)
They need to talk about it, even if it is not about their own experience or event.
The UAP theme is present in their thoughts at some point during the day, every day.
UAPs have a transformative effect on the people who witness them and on their belief systems related to life in the universe, primarily. A kind of change of consciousness occurs. Considering that over the course of a year there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of sightings, one could say that the effect is global and perhaps intentional?
Our participants reported to a lesser extent physiological and in some cases perceptual effects even days after the event or sighting.
The psychological profile of UAP witnesses
The psychological profile of these witnesses is also interesting, with characteristic details such as the non-relevance of the religious component, although spiritual, and resilience to traumatic events, among others.
The information provided by witnesses is very relevant for understanding the phenomenon, in our opinion. While we dedicate ourselves to try to understand certain physical characteristics that go beyond our current understanding, we are losing a valuable source of information which, although it has been attended to for years of research in the phenomenon, was not addressed by the academic or scientific community to the same extent.
That is why we understand that, in the face of a phenomenon that is incomprehensible to us, not necessarily aerial, such as UAP, the search for more interesting patterns and data may be where we have looked the least, in the witnesses. Imagine if one day we went to Mars and found a nuclear facility and a Martian, what would be more interesting to study the Martian or its nuclear technology?
I have written before about how easily our attention and perception are diverted due to the limitations of our own mind, our brain. The so-called cosmic gorilla effect was proposed (De la Torre, G.G. & Garcia, M. A. (2018). The cosmic gorilla effect or the problem of undetected non-terrestrial intelligent signals. Acta Astronautica, 146, 83-91.), based on classic Psychology studies (Inattentional blindness/ Gorilla Invisible (Chabris and Simons in the 1990s and 2010), how even if an extraterrestrial were right under our noses, we would not see it, we would not perceive it, we would not be aware of it. We are distracted by other details, while the important ones go unnoticed. Attention is related to perception and action, but, more importantly, to Consciousness.
Prof. Gabriel G. de la Torre
Neuropsychology and Experimental Psychology Laboratory
Cadiz University