Forget Hollywood hysteria, humans would generally be excited and not afraid – nor prepping to go to war – if aliens paid Earth a visit, according to research published Friday in the U.K.'s Independent.
"If we came face to face with life outside of Earth, we would actually be pretty upbeat about it," Arizona State psychology assistant professor Michael Varnum told the Independent. "So far, there's been a lot of speculation about how we might respond to this kind of news, but until now, almost no systematic empirical research."
The study surveyed people after showing them news reports about scientific discoveries of potential extraterrestrial life and recorded their responses using software which analyzed language, according to the report.
The program also recorded and analyzed responses to thoughts of microbial life on other planets, and the responses were mostly positive, the report noted.
"If we find out we're not alone, we'll take the news rather well," Varnum told the Independent.
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