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Volume 16: Number 1: Article 3
"A Message in a Bottle:" Confounds in Deciphering the Ramey Memo from the Roswell UFO Case
James Houran, Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, Dept. of Psychology,
Adelaide University & Dept. of Psychiatry, Southern Illinois University
School of Medicine, P.O. Box 5201 Springfield, IL 62705
Kevin D. Randle, P.O. Box 1564, Cedar Rapids, IA 52406
Previous analyses of a photograph showing a document held by General
Ramey from the Roswell UFO case reportedly revealed content that supported
a crashed extraterrestrial craft scenario. Other investigators of this
document suggested, however, that it was ambiguous stimuli being interpreted
by pro-Roswell investigators in accordance with their expectations.
To assess the possible extent of bias in these interpretations, we had
three randomly assigned groups of participants attempt to decipher the
document under different suggestion conditions: one condition in which
we told participants (N = 59) they were looking at a document pertaining
to the famous Roswell UFO case, a second condition in which we told
participants (N = 58) that they were looking at a document pertaining
to secret testing of the atomic bomb, and a final condition in which
participants (N = 59) were told nothing about the possible content of
the document. Many participants indeed claimed to be able to read the
document, although their subsequent solutions appeared to follow directly
from the experimental suggestions. Moreover, the number of words deciphered
was related to participants' ages, tolerance of ambiguity, and relative
exposure to the UFO field and especially the Roswell case. However,
a few words in the same locations in the document were consistently
perceived across the three suggestion conditions and these matched the
words identified in previous investigations. We conclude therefore that
future research of Ramey memo might be potentially informative if certain
methodological criteria are established. Such protocols are outlined.
Keywords: Roswell, Ramey memo, ambiguous stimuli, suggestion and expectation,
UFOs
FULL TEXT:
"A Message in a Bottle:" Confounds in Deciphering the Ramey Memo from the Roswell UFO Case
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