A common saying goes, “Knowledge is power”, but this idea is not always true before starting a research endeavor. In fact, research demands as much of an unbiased view as possible. Sometimes, it is required for researchers to try and rid themselves of all known information. Another scenario is that the information is not known such as the case of the aliens who recently contacted Earth. Little is known about them, but that can be used as an advantage. The time is filled with uncertainty as the intentions of these aliens are unknown. Further research is needed to determine the threat, if any, of these aliens. Fear of the unknown should not cloud judgment in this study, because in short, that is the purpose, to make the unknown known. The study of the likelihood of violent behavior of the aliens includes analysis under the assumptions of image theory while looking from the psychological, political, as well as the physical viewpoints.
An understanding of image theory is important before proceeding any further. Image theory operates under the belief that a group’s view of another group affects the interactions. Each image is defined by different characteristics that include the other group’s capability, culture, intentions, decision makers, and if the group is a threat or an opportunity (Lecture). Once these are determined, the image can be found. These characteristics are best determined through qualitative studies. By looking the psychological, political, and physical state of the alien race, the image under which they view earth, and therefore their threat, can be surmised. First, the alien race will have an evaluation done on the psychology of the group. One major component to be addressed is negative outgroup comparison. This is what happens when a group looks out and sees that other groups are superior to them in some way. If this occurs, three different reactions may occur; the movement into the out-group, a change in comparison, or competition between groups (Lecture). The concern will be present if the last occurs, which is often referred to as social competition. This psychological aspect can be used in the frame of image theory. The idea of negative outgroup comparison is closely related to the characteristics of capability, culture, and intentions. If the alien society sees the human race as someone they need to be in social competition with, their view on human culture, intentions, and capability to do harm is extremely important. Depending on how negative these are, violence could be more likely to erupt. Next, the political side will be explored. The major factor here is what the alien leaders are saying. Leader rhetoric is important and can be an indicator of violence (Lecture). Strong leaders often have the ability to greatly influence the people. Examining how the leaders refer to the human race can show an idea of how most of alien society views the humans. This is especially true in cultures with low cognitive complexity, meaning they immediately try to get rid of cognitive dissonance or conflicting information, and with high authoritarian personality, meaning they have high respect for leaders and readily listen to what they say (Lecture). Again, these can be used to determine some aspects of the characteristics of image theory. …show more content…
The political side of this idea will play a large influence in how the alien race view the human race’s leaders as well as all the other concepts. Beyond the leader’s rhetoric, positive or negative, examining the willingness of the general population to follow it will also be useful in determining is violence is imminent. Even if the leader’s view on humans is generally negative, if the general population does not buy into the view, it is unlikely that violence will occur or it will occur on a mass scale over a long period of time. Lastly, another important viewpoint is the analysis on the physical level. The major factor here is resources, and more specifically the scarcity of the resources the aliens had. As outlined by Thomas Homer Dixon, different kinds of scarcity exist including structural, demand induced, and supply induced scarcity. These refer to scarcity caused by an imbalance of distribution of resources, scarcity caused by population growth or increased consumption of resources, and scarcity caused by the depletion of environmental resources respectively. If any such resource scarcities exist, this can cause violence and tension over resource
An understanding of image theory is important before proceeding any further. Image theory operates under the belief that a group’s view of another group affects the interactions. Each image is defined by different characteristics that include the other group’s capability, culture, intentions, decision makers, and if the group is a threat or an opportunity (Lecture). Once these are determined, the image can be found. These characteristics are best determined through qualitative studies. By looking the psychological, political, and physical state of the alien race, the image under which they view earth, and therefore their threat, can be surmised. First, the alien race will have an evaluation done on the psychology of the group. One major component to be addressed is negative outgroup comparison. This is what happens when a group looks out and sees that other groups are superior to them in some way. If this occurs, three different reactions may occur; the movement into the out-group, a change in comparison, or competition between groups (Lecture). The concern will be present if the last occurs, which is often referred to as social competition. This psychological aspect can be used in the frame of image theory. The idea of negative outgroup comparison is closely related to the characteristics of capability, culture, and intentions. If the alien society sees the human race as someone they need to be in social competition with, their view on human culture, intentions, and capability to do harm is extremely important. Depending on how negative these are, violence could be more likely to erupt. Next, the political side will be explored. The major factor here is what the alien leaders are saying. Leader rhetoric is important and can be an indicator of violence (Lecture). Strong leaders often have the ability to greatly influence the people. Examining how the leaders refer to the human race can show an idea of how most of alien society views the humans. This is especially true in cultures with low cognitive complexity, meaning they immediately try to get rid of cognitive dissonance or conflicting information, and with high authoritarian personality, meaning they have high respect for leaders and readily listen to what they say (Lecture). Again, these can be used to determine some aspects of the characteristics of image theory. …show more content…
The political side of this idea will play a large influence in how the alien race view the human race’s leaders as well as all the other concepts. Beyond the leader’s rhetoric, positive or negative, examining the willingness of the general population to follow it will also be useful in determining is violence is imminent. Even if the leader’s view on humans is generally negative, if the general population does not buy into the view, it is unlikely that violence will occur or it will occur on a mass scale over a long period of time. Lastly, another important viewpoint is the analysis on the physical level. The major factor here is resources, and more specifically the scarcity of the resources the aliens had. As outlined by Thomas Homer Dixon, different kinds of scarcity exist including structural, demand induced, and supply induced scarcity. These refer to scarcity caused by an imbalance of distribution of resources, scarcity caused by population growth or increased consumption of resources, and scarcity caused by the depletion of environmental resources respectively. If any such resource scarcities exist, this can cause violence and tension over resource