Psychological research in cyberspace: the role of interest, group adherence and knowledge in accepting ufological beliefs

Authors

  • Marcos Emanoel Pereira
  • Joice Ferreira da Silva
  • Paula Bacellar e Silva

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v10i2.7696

Keywords:

shared beliefs, ufology, aliens, knowledge

Abstract

This research aims to identify the differential patterns of beliefs shared by people who are taking part or not in ufological research groups. The variables studied for their influence on the belief in UFOs and aliens were degree of knowledge, interest taken in research and adherence to ufological groups, as well as religion, age, gender and education. The items in the questionnaire were arranged in five groups of beliefs, in accordance with the level of similarity displayed by them: aliens and humankind; alien interference on the Planet Earth; aliens and humans; aliens, science and scientists; conspiracy theories. The questionnaire was made available on-line and, by the date of writing the present paper, 617 people completed it. Results point to a differential adherence pattern, which means that participants with a deeper knowledge, interest, and linked to research groups tend to embrace the beliefs of other participants more faithfully than participants with dissimilar behavior. Additional analyses seem to indicate that the variables participation, adherence and level of knowledge help to explain the variability in accepting each of the beliefs.

 

Keywords: shared beliefs; ufology; aliens; knowledge.

Downloads

How to Cite

Pereira, M. E., da Silva, J. F., & Bacellar e Silva, P. (2006). Psychological research in cyberspace: the role of interest, group adherence and knowledge in accepting ufological beliefs. Interação Em Psicologia, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v10i2.7696

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2006)

Section

Articles

License

The approval of articles implies the immediate acceptance, with no imposition, that the journal Interação em Psicologia will have the exclusivity of the first publication of the article. The authors will, notwithstanding, keep the copyrights for future publications. In case of republication of the articles in other media, it is demanded the mention to the first publication in the journal Interação em Psicologia. The authors also authorize their articles to be available in all the indexes of which the journal is included. 

The Editorial Board is not responsible for the concepts or statements expressed in the published works, which are the sole responsibility of their authors.

The journal Interação em Psicologia offers immediate open access to all its content, following the rationale that offering gratuitous scientific knowledge to the public promotes the democracy of knowledge and published works tend to produce higher impact. The published articles in the journal are available under the Creative Commons License CC-BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). According to this license, the access, distribution, reusing of the articles for non-commercial sources are allowed, provided that the authors and the source is referenced. When submitting articles to the journal Interação em Psicologia, authors agree with making their texts legally available based on this license.