Government sponsored focus groups/polls on ETs?

I've often wondered if the government does any kind of social reaction experiments to the reality of extraterrestrial visitation beyond gleaning information from reactions to news & entertainment based upon this subject.

Perhaps secret focus groups of unwitting civilians are given a quick glimpse into this reality to get their reaction and then possibly follow up with them later? Seems like a no-brainer to do this sort of thing, but I've yet to read/see/hear anybody ever give such rumors.

[Edited on 9-9-2003 by heelstone]

There's a legend out there that tells that, in the early 70s, newly arrived OSI officers at Holloman AFB were shown a movie that purported to be 'real' footage of the first official contact between the USA and the aliens. To this day, those who believe this story aren't sure if it was the real deal or a type pf psychological test.

Also, one wonders if mass sightings (like the Phoenix lights) are staged by the gov to see if a city would panic upon seeing an obvious UFO.

That's an interesting take on the topic. Other mass sightings include the Marfa lights of Texas. Although I'm a Texas resident, I've never seen them myself. I haven't heard any rumors of these types of experiments either. Who knows these days?

Hmmm... I wonder how old the film looked in the early 70s. If it was supposed to be the real first contact, then the U.S. hasn't been associated with aliens for long as moving pictures are a fairly recent invention (relatively speaking). I just wonder if it was as late as the 1940s before aliens decided to present themselves to the government?

Very plausible theory regarding mass sightings, especially the Phoenix event. Government or ET sanctioned, such public appearances by UFOs are certainly done to gather data on reactions at a large scale.