When we think of SETI scientists, we often picture astronomers electronically sifting through cosmic noise in search of signals from intelligent life on other planets. And indeed, thats a very accurate image of most of the scientists involved in SETI programs worldwide.

[To gain a first-hand understanding of how social scientists use surveys to help prepare for a SETI success, complete this brief questionnaire at the SETI Institute web site.]

However, ever since the first SETI observations in the 1960s, there have been a handful of scientists studying the possibility of life beyond Earth, even though they have little or no formal training in astronomy, physics, or engineering. Instead, these scientists are social scientists, with backgrounds in fields such as anthropology, political science, and psychology.

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But how can social scientists make significant contributions to SETI before astronomers and engineers detect signals from other stars?

There are as many answers to that question as there are types of social scientists. For example, archeologists may draw on the insights they have gained about distant civilizationsextinct human civilizations that now exist only in the writings and artifacts they have left behind. Archeologists know from their own experience, for instance, that it can be hard to decode languages from these past civilizations, as evidenced by the decades-long process of deciphering ancient Maya hieroglyphs. By analogy, perhaps we should expect a few challenges in decoding messages from extraterrestrials, and thus would do well to make some advance preparations for decoding such messages.

Other social scientists, such as psychologists and sociologists, sometimes use surveys to help them understand peoples attitudes about life beyond Earth. In the process, these scientists gain clues about how people might react if some day we actually discover extraterrestrial intelligence.