A study by Arizona State University found that people would generally react positively to the discovery of extraterrestrial microbes, although they were less sure about how their neighbors would feel. Another study by Glocalities found that 61% of respondents from 24 countries believe in life on other planets.
What if people on Earth discovered that we are not alone in the universe, even if that discovery only meant the existence of extraterrestrial microbes? Michael Varnum, a psychologist at Arizona State University, wanted to find out if there would be mass hysteria or welcoming acceptance. He researchers recruited participants on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing website to answer two questions: How would they personally feel if scientists announced the discovery of alien microbial life? And how do they think the general public would respond? The researchers found that, in general, people reacted positively, although they were less sure their neighbors would feel the same optimism about the alien life forms.
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“We are more likely to find microbes or viruses than, say, intelligent civilizations living on Venus,” Varnum said.
Varnum also analyzed word choice used in news articles related to potential extraterrestrial discoveries and noted that the language tended to skew more positively than negatively.
In a separate study conducted by consultancy firm Glocalities, 26,492 people from 24 countries shared their beliefs about life on other planets. Most respondents (61%) said they believe there is life on distant planets, despite a lack of evidence.
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