ABSTRACT
In a 1978 episode of the NBC television show, Project UFO, the witness to a UFO landing is taken to see a psychologist, not for therapy but to be shown that the senses can be deceived. He is given a demonstration of the autokinetic illusion (the apparent movement of a stationary spot of light in a dark room) and of the vertical–horizontal illusion. The witness remains unconvinced that the UFO he saw was only an illusion, as well he might be. Although these two phenomena do demonstrate that our senses sometimes play tricks on us, they are in no way directly relevant to seeing a complex machine in all detail, and the psychologist’s attempt must have appeared pathetic to many viewers of the show. To point out that what we see does not always correspond to what is there objectively is one thing. To relate this fact to the witnessing of UFOs, ghosts, or miracles is another. This cannot always be done. Nevertheless, perceptual processes and misperceptions do play a significant role in prompting magical explanations of natural phenomena. All perceptual processes are potential contributors. We will consider here only those that can be illustrated with specific instances. Because perception takes place every moment of our waking lives, additional examples of the involvement of perceptual processes in other anomalistic events will be found throughout this book, especially in chapter 8.
