Swami, Viren; Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas and Shafi, Manal. 2010. Psychology in Outerspace. European Psychologist, 15(3), pp. 220-228. ISSN 1016-9040 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

Previous work has shown that is important to consider the disjunction between paranormal and nonparanormal beliefs about extraterrestrial life. The current study examined the association between both such beliefs and individual difference and demographic variables. A total of 555 British participants completed the Extraterrestrial Beliefs Scale, as well as measures of their Big Five personality scores, social conformity, sensation seeking, and demographics. Results showed no sex differences in ratings of paranormal and nonparanormal extraterrestrial beliefs, but participants rated nonparanormal beliefs more positively than paranormal beliefs. Results of structural equation modeling showed that individual difference factors (specifically, Openness, Conscientiousness, and social conformity) explained 21% of the variance in extraterrestrial beliefs, whereas demographic factors (specifically, education level, political orientation, and religiosity) explained 16% of the variance. Limitations and directions for future work are considered.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000023
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Psychology
Dates:	Date Event 2010 Published
Item ID:	5043
Date Deposited:	01 Mar 2011 15:04
Last Modified:	06 Jun 2016 15:37
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/5043

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