Psychology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence

Harrison, Albert A.; Elms, Alan C.

doi:10.1002/bs.3830350304

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…It is now up to SETI researchers, including exopsychologists (cf. Döbler and Raab, 2021;Harrison, 1997;Harrison and Elms, 1990) andsociologists (cf. Schetsche and Anton, 2019), to hypothesize about the capabilities and skills that an extraterrestrial life form must exhibit in a given environment for their skilled intentionality to lead to the emergence of technosignatures.…”

Section: Search For Extraterrestrial Forms Of Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Döbler and Raab (2021), among others (cf. Freitas, 1984;Harrison, 1993Harrison, , 1997Harrison and Elms, 1990), have recently argued that within this search, we should examine not only possible extraterrestrial techno-signatures but also the psychological requirements of producing them. Serving this purpose, they re-proposed the idea of a psychological discipline called "exopsychology," which examines not only human presumptions and conceptions of extraterrestrials but also their hypothetical psychological configurations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Affordances in Outer Space: Forms of Life, Material Engagement, and Meaning within Space Exploration and SETI

Döbler¹,

Carbon²

2023

Preprint

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Exploration of outer space is a mesmerizing and thought-provoking endeavor. The fascination about what may be out there only matches by asking who might be out there. Exopsychology is concerned about how humans think about extraterrestrials, but also how extraterrestrials may think. It strives to find generalizable psychological theories to enrich the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Here, we apply the psychological theory of affordance (PTA) and specify the role of the relation between brain, body, environment, and material engagement in the context of SETI. Producing technosignatures requires that a species skillfully realizes the relevant possibilities for action, which the Umwelt offers in all its socio-material richness. These so-called are not fixed but relational to individual and collective available abilities and customs. A successful first contact requires a mutual attunement to species-typical diachronic backdrops, which constitute meaning. One possibility for a meaningful message form and content is the reference to the material environment and its respective engagement. Meaningfulness of affordances is conserved in a form of life and transmitted via social interaction. Considering the affordances within SETI fosters an understanding of how the thinking and behavior of life forms in the Universe emerge in relation to their material environment.

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Section: Search For Extraterrestrial Forms Of Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affordances in Outer Space: Forms of Life, Material Engagement, and Meaning within Space Exploration and SETI

Döbler¹,

Carbon²

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Serving this purpose, they re-proposed the idea of a psychological discipline called exopsychology [cf. [7][8][9][10], which matters of interest are not only human presumptions and conceptions of extraterrestrials but also their hypothetical psychological configurations. Notably, Döbler and Raab rejected "intelligence" as the main desideratum of SETI.…”

Section: Affordances In Outer Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

Affordances in outer space: Forms of life, material engagement, and meaning within space exploration and SETI

Döbler

Carbon

2023

Acta Astronautica

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“…anthropologists, economists, political scientists, psychologists and sociologists. 5,6,7,8 Astrosociology parallels astrobiology but encompasses the efforts of behavioral and social scientists to further our understanding of space exploration, 9 the search for extraterrestrial life, 10 and the protection of Earth from asteroids and comets. 11 More specifically, astrosociology applies sociology -quite literally, the study of society -to astrobiological issues.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting from Airports to Spaceports: An Astrosociological Model of Social Change toward Spacefaring Societies

Pass¹,

Harrison

2007

AIAA SPACE 2007 Conference &Amp; Exposition

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As contemporary post-industrial societies advance, a most interesting question arises: What will be the social structures and cultures of tomorrow? The changes that initiated and sustained the space age may provide the roots for our own future. We present a model of a spacefaring society in which all major social institutions, the larger culture, subcultures, and human values shift away from our planet of origin and re-center on space. Under this scenario, everything from the economy to everyday activities shifts from a terrestrial to an extraterrestrial orientation. Right now, when we have just begun to take our first steps beyond Earth, such a future would be difficult to predict. Still, within the framework of astrosociology -sociology focused on human activity in space -we can develop a theoretical model of a spacefaring society as an "ideal type," an abstraction that outlines in broad strokes how our society might eventually appear and a reference point for evaluating changes in our society over centuries to come. I. IntroductionN the early 1950s, when the V-2 and its variants were the only way to break the shackles of gravity, von Braun, Oberth, Kraft-Ehricke and other scientists teamed with artists, writers, and the media to present the public with awesome visions of our future in space. Lifelike, highly detailed renderings of magnificent interplanetary cruisers and space settlements adorned the cover of major popular magazines of the day, and television viewers were treated to enthralling animations of voyages in space. As Howard McCurdy 1 points out, these efforts did much to generate support for the U.S. space program, but achievements so far have never come close to the high hopes that public relations efforts aroused in the American imagination.The 20th century saw accelerating developments in many areas of technology -transportation (from biplanes to space shuttles), communication (spark coils to cell phones) and information processing (from mechanical calculators to supercomputers). All of this prepared and strengthened the infrastructure for human activity in space. Social change in these areas and others, along with the political pressures of the Cold War, pushed the United States and the Soviet Union toward the first social conditions that put them on track for spacefaring futures. Advancements in developing societies, such as China and India, mirror this development in the 21st century.Given that human communities date back tens of thousands of years and that even "modern societies" have been in existence for five hundred years, the mere half a century since Sputnik was launched is barely a blip on the radar of history. Still, extrapolating from such trends, one possible future for us is a society whose economy, culture and values center on space. Even as many of us have shifted from a local to a global perspective, some of us are starting to view ourselves as citizens of the universe. 2 If this continues, humanity may spread throughout our solar system and beyond, although these shifts would re...

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Psychology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence

Cited by 15 publications

References 17 publications

Affordances in Outer Space: Forms of Life, Material Engagement, and Meaning within Space Exploration and SETI

Affordances in Outer Space: Forms of Life, Material Engagement, and Meaning within Space Exploration and SETI

Affordances in outer space: Forms of life, material engagement, and meaning within space exploration and SETI

Shifting from Airports to Spaceports: An Astrosociological Model of Social Change toward Spacefaring Societies

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