L. A. L. da Silva
Abstract. We briefly discuss some basic aspects concerning the behavior and reliability of unidentified aerial phenomena eyewitnesses strongly affecting the quality and evidential weight of their reports. Among them are expressiveness, degree of technical knowledge, honesty, and pre-existing conceptions we refer as “ufophilia” and a more severe form of it that we could name “ufopathy”. External influences like the cascade and media lensing efffects are also considered.
Key Words: UAPs, eyewitnesses, reliability.
Text approved for publication as a chapter in the book The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony, edited in Spain by Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, to be published during 2022.