Psychosocial Hypothesis

From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)

In ufology, the psychosocial hypothesis, colloquially abbreviated the PSH, argues that UFO reports are best explained by psychological or social means. It is considered the mainstream view among the scientific community.

The psychosocial hypothesis explains the phenomenon through human behaviors, such as wishful thinking, hallucinations, hoaxes, or misidentification of mundane objects. Because of its emphasis on human behavior, it attempts to explain why such phenomenon is interpreted the way it has been, sometimes through pre-existing motifs and memetic selection.

Some of its proponents believe that less mainstream interpretations of the UFO phenomenon (e.g. interdimensional "tricksters" or extraterrestrial visitors) cannot empirically state their proposed agents are the cause of UFO phenomenon because they have not been demonstrated to be a cause, and thus precedence in the current body of knowledge favors the psychosocial hypothesis.

It is equally interesting that the psychosocial hypothesis has been a part of UFO-enthusiasts' argumentative arsenal in the dispute over alleged misconduct by mainstream society towards witnesses in several cases, stating an opposite effect: that the UFO scepticism is a psychosocial trend conditioned by the authorities.

One complaint against this theory is that it cannot explain physical phenomena, such as malfunctions of electric device and blackouts, which are sometimes reported during the appearance of UFOs. Some incidences, such as the Valentich Disappearance, are not explainable by this theory alone. Some of its detractors insist that mainstream science necessitates more hypotheses to explain the bulk of anomalous data, and thus the psychosocial hypothesis is unfavorable under Occam's Razor.