V.J. Ballester-Olmos & Richard W. Heiden (Eds.), The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony, UPIAR Publisher, 2023.Available as a free download at: www.academia.edu/101922617/The_Reliability_of_UFO_Witness_TestimonyPart TwoPart One of this review covered the first 17 chapters under the Case Studies section, this part reviews the 12 chapters that look at Psychological Perspectives. Part Three reviews the remaining chapters: On Witness Testimony, Empirical Research, Anthropological Approach, Metrics and Scaling, and Epistemological Issues.Psychological PerspectivesFaith in the existence of extraterrestrial life, rather than evidence. What evidence that supports this faith ‘is always at risk from exaggeration and distortion by biases born from faith’ according to Dr. Thomas D. Albright in his chapter, On Eyewitness Reports of Extraterrestrial Life. He notes: ‘These descriptions of alien creatures are so far beyond the ken of normal human experience thatit’s tempting to dismiss them without cause.’ Furthermore, unregulated and sensational stories are now spread quickly over the internet and this is compounded by a general disrespect for expert judgements or critical research.Dr. Jorge Conesa-Sevilla in Close Encounters of the “Other” Kind: On the Psychology of “Alien Abductions” observes that you cannot simply use one theoretical and empirical umbrella to study witness testimony. He looks at sleep paralysis and states of consciousness as…
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Reliable Witnesses. A Guide to the Evidence. Part Two
