This document provides an overview of the psychology of alien contact and abduction claims. It discusses the history of UFO sightings and close encounters, common elements in reported alien abduction experiences, surveys finding high percentages reporting related anomalous experiences, and skepticism around claims like missing time and alien implants. It notes most sightings have prosaic explanations but some people sincerely believe they were abducted by aliens.

1. The Best Selling Ufology Books Collection
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2. GOLDSMITHS
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
PS53020B: Anomalistic Psychology
Lecture 7: The Psychology of Alien Contact and Abduction Claims
Recommended Reading:
French, C. C. (2001). Alien abductions. In R. Roberts & D. Groome (eds.). Parapsychology: The
Science of Unusual Experience. London: Arnold. Chapter 8, pp. 102-116.
French, C. C., Santomauro, J., Hamilton, V., Fox, R., & Thalbourne, M. A. (2008).
Psychological aspects of the alien contact experience. Cortex, 44, 1387-1395
[Available for download from www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/apru].
Holden, K. J., & French, C. C. (2002). Alien abduction experiences: Some clues from
neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 7, 163-178.
[Reprinted in S. A. Spence & P. W. Halligan (eds.), 2002, Pathologies of Body, Self and
Space. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.]
Topics Covered:
1. Introduction.
2. Psychological approaches to alien contact and abduction claims.
3. Related anomalous memory effects.
4. Conclusion.
1. Introduction
Although there have been sightings of UFOs (unidentified flying objects) throughout history, the
modern era can be dated back to 24 June, 1947, when pilot Kenneth Arnold saw nine UFOs
whilst flying near the Cascade Mountains in Washington. In 1952, USAF launched Project
Bluebook to investigate sightings. The investigation concluded that there was no evidence for the
extraterrestrial hypothesis.
Opinion polls show a widespread belief that UFOs are evidence of visitations from another
planet. Many people report having themselves seen UFOs. If by that they mean literally an
“unidentified flying object,” then there is no problem. Most people, however, mean ETs of some
kind. It goes without saying that it is a huge inferential leap to jump from lights in the sky of
unknown origin to aliens from another planet.
J. Allen Hynek devised a categorisation system for “close encounters”. The most common type
of UFO experience consists of a sighting with no physical evidence of any kind. This is known
as a “close encounter of the first kind.” The vast majority of such sightings can be explained in
terms of the constructive nature of human perception and memory. Careful investigation
following a UFO report will usually reveal it to have a prosaic explanation. The most common
cause of UFO reports is the bright planet Venus. Other common UFOs include aeroplanes
(especially those carrying advertising displays), rocket launches, meteorites, and weather
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3. balloons. It might seem ridiculous to claim that anyone could mistake Venus for a spaceship but
numerous accounts show that this happens frequently and that, furthermore, many elaborate
details are added as a result of top-down processing (see Hines, 2003, for many examples).
Close encounters of the second kind are those that involve some kind of physical evidence in
addition to a sighting. None of the evidence that has been produced provides convincing
evidence of extraterrestrial contact. Photographic evidence can usually be explained in terms of
over-interpretation (e.g., of blemishes produced during processing or of naturally occurring
phenomena that the photographer was not aware of at the time) or as hoaxes (Hines, 2003).
Close encounters of the third kind are those in which contact is made between human and alien.
The first report of contact between a human and an ET took place in 1952. George Adamski
claimed to have met a visitor from Venus in the Californian desert. One of the earliest claims of
actual abduction, sometimes referred to as “close encounters of the fourth kind”, was the case of
Antonio Villas Boas in 1957 in Brazil. The case of Betty and Barney Hill contains many of the
elements that characterise modern abductee claims. The couple claim that while driving from
Montreal to New Hampshire on the night of September 19, 1961, they spotted a UFO and later,
under hypnosis, they reported that they had been taken aboard the spaceship and medically
examined by the aliens. Sceptics argue that: (i) the “UFO” was in fact the planet Jupiter, (ii) the
“missing time” was reported inconsistently, was not noticed until weeks later (after questioning
by UFOlogists) and, besides, the Hills had taken a tortuous route, (iii) hypnosis is most
emphatically not a reliable means for recovering memories, and (iv) a “star map” produced by
Betty bears no close resemblance to any particular group of stars contrary to claims by
UFOlogists.
Communion, by Whitley Strieber (1987), was written as an allegedly true account of the author’s
own terrifying experiences. Philip Klass (1989) has presented a critique of Strieber’s claims.
Klass points out that Strieber reports a life filled with many bizarre experiences. Budd Hopkins’
(1987) book, Intruders, claimed that alien abductions were much more common than generally
believed and that sexual abuse is a common element of such abductions. Hopkins places a lot of
significance upon the phenomenon of “missing time” and frequently uses hypnotic regression to
“uncover” memories of alien abduction.
The following is a typical account of an alien abduction, a composite produced by Blackmore
(1994, p. 30) based upon many accounts she has collected:
I woke up in the middle of the night and everything looked odd and strangely lit. At the
end of my bed was a 4 feet high grey alien. Its spindly, thin body supported a huge head
with two enormous, slanted, liquid black eyes. It compelled me, telepathically, to follow
and led me into a spaceship, along curved corridors to an examination room full of tables
on which people lay. I was forced to lie down while they painfully examined me,
extracted ova (or sperm) and implanted something in my nose. I could see jars containing
half-human, half-alien fetuses and a nursery full of silent, sickly children. When I
eventually found myself back in bed, several hours had gone by.
There is less variation in the accounts given recently than in the early days before this scenario
had become so culturally embedded. These days, the aliens are usually “greys” and the account
involves being taken on board the aliens’ spaceship and being medically examined. Other
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4. common elements in the classic scenario include tours of the aliens’ ship, trips to other
planets, and the receipt of messages to humanity. The late John Mack, a professor of
psychiatry at Harvard and Pullitzer Prize winner, published a book declaring that “these
accounts are not hallucinations, not dreams, but real experiences.”
Whitley Strieber (1998) claimed to have received almost a quarter of a million letters from
individuals claiming alien contact. It is often claimed that many more people have
experienced alien abduction than actually report it. There are two reasons for this. First,
people may reasonably conclude that they will not be believed and will be ridiculed if they
tell others of their bizarre experience. A second reason is that it is claimed that the aliens are
able to erase the memories of the abductees for the experiences. It is further argued that
hypnosis is effective in releasing the victims’ memories from this amnesic block.
A random sample of around 6000 American adults was surveyed by the Roper organisation
regarding unusual experiences (Hopkins, Jacobs, & Westrum, 1992). Included in the items
presented were five which Hopkins et al. claimed were often indicative of an alien abduction
experience (the percentages in brackets indicate those who said it had happened to them at
least once):
• Waking up paralysed with a sense of a strange person or presence or something else in
the room. [18%]
• Experiencing a period of time of an hour or more in which you were apparently lost, but
you could not remember why or where you had been. [13%]
• Feeling that you were actually flying through the air although you didn’t know how or
why. [10%]
• Seeing unusual lights or balls of light in a room without knowing what was causing them
or where they came from. [8%]
• Finding puzzling scars on your body and neither you nor anyone else remembering how
you received them or where you got them. [8%]
Hopkins et al. claimed that positive responses to four or more of these items indicated probable
abduction by aliens. Extrapolating from the 2% meeting this criterion in their own sample, they
argued that 3.7 million Americans had been abducted by aliens, the vast majority of whom
would have no conscious memory of such an episode. As Philip Klass (1997) points out, if 3.7
million Americans had been abducted between 1961 (when the first such case is alleged to
have occurred) and the time the survey was carried out, the rate of abductions must be about
340 Americans every single day of the year! Such a figure must strain credulity somewhat.
However, it probably is the case that several thousand people worldwide do have conscious
memories of being the victims of alien abduction. Apart from a minority of cases (e.g., Travis
Walton), the claimants appear to be sincere.
Many commentators and much media coverage take the abduction accounts at face value and
offer them as evidence of extraterrestrial contact. It is often claimed that the reason behind the
abductions is that the aliens are engaged in a sinister cross-breeding project, the aim of which
is to produce hybrid creatures which are half-human, half-alien (e.g., Hopkins, 1987; Jacobs,
1998). Many researchers claim to have several records of so-called Missing Embryo/Foetus
Syndrome in their files. Despite this, not one single convincing documented case has ever
3

5. been presented to the wider scientific community (Randle, Estes, & Cone, 1999).
It is also claimed that the aliens frequently implant small devices into the bodies of their
unwilling victims. Despite repeated promises from UFO researchers, no such implant has
ever been produced. On occasions, items which abductees sincerely believed to have been
alien implants have been analysed. They have turned out to have mundane explanations – for
example, in one case, an “implant” turned out to be a dental filling (Blackmore, 1999)! There
is no strong evidence in support of the ET hypothesis as an explanation of UFOs. This does
not mean that there is no intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.
2. Psychological Approaches to Alien Abduction
(i) Psychopathology
Although data are limited, those which are available suggest that major psychopathology is
no more common amongst those claiming alien contact than among the general population
(e.g., Bartholomew, Basterfield, & Howard, 1991; Bloecher, Clamar, & Hopkins, 1985;
Mack, 1994; Parnell & Sprinkle, 1990; Rodeghier, Goodpaster, & Blatterbauer, 1991;
Spanos, Cross, Dickson, & DuBreuil, 1993).
Having said that, the data do suggest that abductees are not psychologically representative of
the population as a whole. In the study by Parnell and Sprinkle (1990), those who claimed to
have communicated with aliens “had a significantly greater tendency to endorse unusual
feelings, thoughts, and attitudes; to be suspicious or distrustful; and to be creative,
imaginative, or possibly have schizoid tendencies” (p. 45). Rodeghier et al. (1991) reported
relatively higher levels of loneliness, unhappiness, and poorer sleep patterns. Mack (1994)
reported high levels of childhood trauma, as did Ring and Rosing (1990). The latter
investigators also reported that, as children, abductees were more sensitive to “non-ordinary
realities”. Stone-Carmen (1994) found that a staggering 57% of her sample of abductees
reported suicide attempts.
(ii) Fantasy-proneness
Given the overlap between the characteristics of the fantasy-prone personality and the typical
abductee, it is often asserted that fantasy-proneness plays an important role in explaining
reports of alien abduction (e.g., Bartholomew & Howard, 1998; Nickell, 1997). The evidence
supporting such a link is, however, mixed at best (Appelle, Lynn, & Newman, 2000;
Newman, 1997; Newman & Baumeister, 1996a, 1996b). Studies which present data
supporting the link tend to be based upon biographical analysis (e.g., Bartholomew et al.,
1991; Nickell, 1997). However, attempts to test the hypothesis directly by measuring fantasy
proneness with questionnaires have not offered much support (e.g., Spanos et al., 1993;
Rodeghier et al., 1991). A recent study by French et al. (2008) did find evidence of a
difference in scores on a fantasy proneness questionnaire between a group of participants
claiming alien contact and a matched control group.
Ring and Rosing (1990) reported that their UFO experiencers were not, in general, more
fantasy-prone than controls. However, they reported that as children they were more sensitive
to “non-ordinary realities”.
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6. (iii) Dissociation and Childhood Trauma
Dissociative tendencies (i.e., the tendency for some mental processes to temporarily “split
off” from the normal stream of consciousness) have been shown to be higher in those
claiming alien contact than control groups (e.g., Powers, 1994; French et al., 2008).
Tendency to dissociate is known to be associated with histories of childhood trauma
(including sexual, physical and emotional abuse) which in turn are correlated with fantasy
proneness. It has been argued (see, e.g., Lynn, Pintar, & Rhue, 1997) that the tendency to
dissociate is a defensive mechanism which allows traumatised children to escape the
unbearable reality of their lives by entering a more acceptable fantasy world.
Several studies have noted that the incidence of reported childhood trauma appears to be
higher amongst abductees than amongst the general population (e.g., Mack, 1994; Ring &
Rosing,1990). Research into paranormal belief in general shows that paranormal belief is
associated with both fantasy proneness and reported childhood trauma (e.g., Irwin, 1991,
1993; Lawrence, Edwards, Barraclough, Church, & Hetherington, 1995). There are several
possible interpretations of this reported pattern of correlations.
(iv) Hypnotic Regression
The widespread use of hypnotic regression by investigators such as Hopkins (1987) and
Mack (1994) has been condemned by many critics as being responsible for the formation of
false memories of alien abduction rather than the retrieval of repressed memories of actual
events (Baker, 1992, 1997a, 1997b; Klass, 1989; Newman & Baumeister, 1996a, 1996b,
1998; Randle et al., 1999).
Lawson (1984), in collaboration with McCall, hypnotised eight participants and asked them
to simply imagine that they had been abducted by aliens. Not only did they “readily respond
to an initial suggestion with an elaborate and detailed story, with little need for prodding
along the way, but the contents bore striking similarities to alleged real abductions, both in
more obvious matters and in odd, minute details” (Bullard, 1989).
(iv) False Memories
Clancy, McNally, Schacter, Lenzenweger, and Pitman (2002) compared three groups of
participants in terms of susceptibility to false memories, assessed using Roediger and
McDermott’s (1995) word-list paradigm. Clancy et al. showed that participants with
conscious memories of alien abduction were more susceptible to false memories using this
technique, in comparison to a control group of participants who did not believe themselves to
have been abducted by aliens. They were also more susceptible to false memories compared
to a group who did believe they had been abducted, but had no conscious memories of the
event, believing themselves to be suffering from amnesia for the event.
French, Santomauro, Hamilton, Fox, and Thalbourne (2008) compared 19 “experiencers”
(i.e., individuals who claimed to have had contact with aliens) with an age- and gender-
matched control sample. They found that the experiencers had significantly higher scores on
measures of tendency to dissociate, absorption, fantasy proneness, and paranormal belief and
experience, all of which have been shown to correlate with susceptibility to false memories.
However, no significant difference was found between the groups in terms of susceptibility to
5

7. false memories as assessed by the DRM task.
(v) Sleep Paralysis
The most frequently endorsed item which Hopkins et al. (1982) claim is evidence of an alien
abduction is, “Waking up paralysed with a sense of a strange person or presence or
something else in the room”. This is a concise description of the experience of sleep paralysis
(see French, in press; French & Santomauro, 2007; Santomauro & French, in press), which is
a standard symptom of narcolepsy but can occur quite commonly in the general population
(e.g., Everett, 1963; Dahlitz & Parkes, 1993). The muscles of the body are paralysed during
REM-sleep, presumably to prevent one from performing the movements associated with
one’s actions in a dream. During sleep paralysis, however, one is consciously aware of the
fact that one cannot move. Furthermore, there is often a terrifying sense of a malign presence.
Fortunately, sleep paralysis is a transient state. Approximately 25% to 40% of the general
population report some experience of it. It may be an isolated or repeated occurrence.
Sleep paralysis is likely to be accompanied by hypnagogic and hypnopompic imagery, which
consist of anomalous sensory experiences that occur either preceding sleep or upon
awakening, respectively. These sensations include both auditory and visual hallucinations
(often of lights or strange figures in the bedroom), pressure on the chest, and floating
sensations. Cheyne, Rueffer, and Newby-Clark (1999, p. 319) proposed a neurological model
of sleep paralysis and associated imagery involving three factors:
One factor, labeled Intruder, consisting of sensed presence, fear, and auditory and
visual hallucinations, is conjectured to originate in a hypervigilant state initiated in the
midbrain. Another factor, Incubus, comprising pressure on the chest, breathing
difficulties, and pain, is attributed to effects of hyperpolarization of motoneurons on
perceptions of respiration. These two factors have in common an implied alien “other”
consistent with occult narratives identified in numerous contemporary and historical
cultures. A third factor, labeled Unusual Bodily Experiences, consisting of
floating/flying sensations, out-of-body experiences, and feelings of bliss, is related to
physically impossible experiences generated by conflicts of endogenous and exogenous
activation related to body position, orientation, and movement.
The same core experience has been reported throughout history in many different cultures,
although the interpretation of the experience may vary (Hufford, 1982). In bygone centuries,
such experiences were likely to be explained as attacks by demons who came in the night and
had their wicked way with their helpless victims. The incubus was the male version and the
succubus, the female. Strieber’s experiences often appear to be descriptions of sleep paralysis
episodes.
Sufferers may well present themselves for hypnotic regression with the strong suspicion that
they have been abducted by aliens. A full and detailed account of the standard alien
abduction scenario is the most likely outcome. Sleep paralysis is at the heart of many alien
abduction claims (e.g., Baker, 1997b; Blackmore, 1994; Newman & Baumeister, 1996a;
Randle et al., 1999). French, Santomauro, Hamilton, Fox, and Thalbourne (2008) found
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8. higher levels of self-reported sleep paralysis in a group of experiencers than in a control
group.
(vi) Temporal Lobe Activity and Tectonic Strain Theory
An interesting hypothesis has been advanced by Michael Persinger to account not only for some
UFO abduction experiences, but for a variety of other ostensibly paranormal experiences (e.g.,
Persinger, 1990; Persinger & Valliant, 1985). He believes these weird experiences may be due to
abnormal activity in the temporal lobes. Such activity is thought to be associated with a variety
of mystical and unusual perceptual experiences. At the extreme end of the continuum of
temporal lobe activity are temporal lobe epileptics, who sometimes report that a seizure is
preceded by odd sensations, deja vu, hallucinations, out-of-body experiences and mystical
feelings.
Persinger has developed a technique whereby he claims he can induce such abnormal bursts of
firing in the temporal lobes of volunteer subjects. Reports of weird bodily sensations have
resulted (e.g., Blackmore, 1994). Persinger and colleagues have reported that they were even
able to induce the subjective appearance of an apparition in a susceptible volunteer using this
technique (Persinsinger, Tiller, & Koren, 2000).The only attempt at direct replication of
Persinger’s work to date (by Granqvist et al., 2005) failed to replicate such results and Granqvist
et al. suggested that the most parsimonious explanation of the findings was in terms of
participant suggestibility and poor double-blinding in Persinger’s studies.
It has similarly been claimed that the presence of infrasound may be associated with a
tendency for susceptible individuals to report mildly anomalous sensations typically
associated with “haunted” locations. The “Haunt” project (French et al., in press) involved an
attempt to construct an artificial “haunted” room by systematically varying EMFs and
infrasound. Participants (N = 79) were required to spend 50 minutes in a specially
constructed chamber, within which they were exposed to infrasound, complex
electromagnetic fields, both or neither. They were informed in advance that during this
period they might experience anomalous sensations and asked to record on a floor-plan their
location at the time occurrence of any such sensations, along with a note of the time of
occurrence and a brief description of the sensation. Upon completing the session in the
experimental chamber, they were asked to complete an EXIT scale, the Australian Sheep-
Goat Scale and Persinsinger’s Personal Philosophy Inventory, although only the items that
constitute the Temporal Lobe Signs Inventory (TLS) sub-scale were scored. These items deal
with psychological experiences typically associated with temporal lobe epilepsy but normally
distributed throughout the general population. Although many participants reported
anomalous sensations of various kinds, the number reported was unrelated to experimental
condition but was related to TLS scores. The most parsimonious explanation for our findings
is in terms of suggestibility.
Even more controversially, Persinger (1990) claims that in susceptible individuals, temporal lobe
overactivity can result from magnetic effects produced as a result of the movement of tectonic
plates in the earth’s crust. Stresses and strains produced preceding earthquakes would be
expected to produce a high level of such magnetic effects and Persinger claims that reports of
UFO activity correlate with earthquake activity. Furthermore, it is possible that such activity
produces strange luminous effects which explain some UFO reports (Devereux, 1989;
7

9. Devereaux & Brookesmith, 1997).
It is too early to assess fully the validity of Persinger’s innovative theory, but it will be
interesting to see how many of his ideas stand up to critical scrutiny by others. In support of the
general claim that abduction experiences result from unusual mental activity rather than
reflecting reality, there are several cases on record of people reporting full-blown abduction
experiences whilst other witnesses could see that the individual in question had not physically
gone anywhere. Instead, they appeared to have either lost consciousness or to be in a trance state
(see, e.g., Schnabel, 1994, for such cases).
(vii) Content of Alien Abduction Narratives
The history of folklore strongly suggests that the alien abduction narrative is simply the latest
cultural interpretation of core experiences which can be found in many societies throughout
history (see, e.g., Evans, 1998; Nickell, 1995; Randle et al., 1999; Schnabel, 1994). Tales
have always been told of strange nocturnal visitations, of abduction, of transformation, and of
return with strange new powers. Strange experiences have always been interpreted within the
predominant cultural framework of the particular time and place. Hence, in times past,
angels, spirits, fairies and demons were held responsible. In modern Western culture, beings
from advanced technological societies are blamed.
Jung (1959) was probably the first commentator to attempt to interpret the UFO sightings in
symbolic terms. The content of actual abduction narratives has also been interpreted in
various symbolic ways. These include Lawson’s (1984) suggestion that alien abduction
narratives reflect memories of birth, Newman and Baumeister’s (1996a, 1996b, 1998) claim
that they are fantasies with sado-masochistic roots, and Matheson’s (1998) hypothesis that
they reflect ambivalent attitudes towards technology in modern society. The fact that three
such differing interpretations can be offered highlights the difficulty in providing any kind of
definitive interpretation of this multifaceted phenomenon.
To summarise, a number of factors in are seen by sceptics as actually or potentially being
important in accounting for alien abduction and contact experiences in those cases where the
claimants are sincere: (i) personality factors, such as fantasy proneness and dissociativity, (ii)
false memories, (iii) sleep-related phenomena, such as hypnagogic and hypnopompic imagery,
and sleep paralysis, and (iv) possibly temporal lobe overactivity. There is also strong
circumstantial evidence in some cases that deliberate hoax was involved (see Klass, 1989, for
details).
5. Related Anomalous Memory Effects
Some believers in reincarnation believe that it is possible to hypnotically regress individuals not
only back to childhood, but back to previous incarnations. A small minority of psychotherapists
believe that current psychological problems can be traced back to traumas suffered in previous
lives.
In the cases of Bridey Murphy and Jane Evans (and many other similar claims), it is generally
8

10. believed that no deliberate hoax was involved. Instead, these are seen as being cases of
cryptomnesia (literally, hidden memories). It is argued that an individual can store away
information from a variety of sources during his or her life, such as from novels, films, and
history books, without later being aware of the source of the information.
Spanos and colleagues (1994) summarise some of their own studies of past-life regression.
Among other findings, it appears that a particular type of personality is very prone to producing
detailed accounts of past lives under hypnosis. Such individuals score highly on measures of
fantasy-proneness. Spanos has reported the results of studies in which individuals were
hypnotised and regressed into past lives and then asked for details of their past life. Information
of which any individual living at the time would be aware is usually not known by the subject.
Whether or not participants subsequently accept their past-life memories as evidence of
reincarnation depends upon whether they believe in the possibility of reincarnation and the
expectations built up by the experimenter.
The similarity between past-life regression and dissociative identity disorder (DID; formerly
multiple personality disorder, MPD) is obvious. In each case, the individual appears to become a
different person, often with a completely different personality. In the case of MPD, the different
personas may or may not appear to be aware of each other’s existence. DID is another alleged
disorder that, in the large majority of cases, only becomes apparent during therapy, usually as a
result of highly leading hypnotic interviews. Once again, a strong case can be made that DID is
socially constructed. Modern DID cases report a high level of childhood sexual or physical
abuse, often satanic ritualised abuse. While it is held by many psychotherapists that such abuse
causes DID, Spanos et al. (1994) question this, pointing out that the claims of childhood abuse
may well be false memories.
Regarding claims of satanic ritual abuse, there is no convincing objective evidence to support the
claims of widespread and powerful satanic cults engaging in systematic torture and murder of
children and adults (see Hicks, 1991). Therefore it is extremely likely that any reports of such
abuse are fantasy-based constructions. However, the idea that such abuse is widespread has been
actively pushed by the Evangelical Christian movement in America. A book entitled Michelle
Remembers (Smith & Pazder, 1980) has been influential in this. It tells the story of a woman’s
recovery of horrific memories of satanic abuse during therapy.
Several aspects of the diagnosis of DID/MPD lend support to the claim that it is the therapists
themselves that are responsible for the generation of the satanic ritual abuse claims and the
adoption of the DID/MPD role. Firstly, whereas the majority of therapists report never having
come across such patients, a small minority report a large number of cases. Secondly, the
percentage of such cases reporting ritualised abuse rose from 25% in the mid-1980s to as high as
80% in some centres by 1992, as the idea caught on that such abuse causes DID/MPD. Finally,
such cases are still relatively rare in the UK compared to a much higher reported incidence in the
US.
In conclusion, we can see that hypnotically induced false memories can arise in a variety of
contexts. False memories of childhood sexual abuse, both satanic and non-satanic, UFO
abductions and past-life regressions share a common core in that they all often involve the
elicitation of fantasy-based accounts in response to hypnotic procedures and non-hypnotic
9

11. structured interviews providing strong cues as to the expectations of the therapists. The accounts
produced are then pronounced as genuine by the therapist and this is accepted as an expert
opinion by the vulnerable patient. The acceptance of the memory is often further reinforced by
support groups of individuals with similar experiences.
Further Reading:
Appelle, S., Lynn, S. J., & Newman, L. (2000). Alien abduction experiences. In E. Cardena, S. J.
Lynn, & S. Krippner (eds.). Varieties of Anomalous Experience: Examining the Scientific
Evidence, pp. 253-282. Excellent review, emphasising the need for further research into
this puzzling phenomenon.
Baker, R. A. (1992). Hidden Memories: Voices and Visions from Within. Chapter 2, pp. 78-110,
and Chapter 8, pp. 304-331. Baker considers crytomnesia and UFO abduction claims,
respectively, within the general context of memory distortion.
Bartholomew, R. E., & Howard, G. S. (1998). UFOs and Alien Contact: Two Centuries of
Mystery. Amherst, NY: Prometheus. Comprehensive survey of past and present UFO
sightings. Part 2 of this book, dealing with the psychology of UFOs, is particularly
relevant to this course.
Blackmore, S. (1994). Alien abduction: The inside story. New Scientist, No. 1952, 19 November
1994, 29-31. Blackmore summarizes the research behind the making of a Horizon
programme on abductions, discussing hypnosis, false memories, sleep paralysis, and
Persinger's ideas relating to temporal lobe activity.
Brookesmith, P. (1996). UFO: The Government Files. London: Blandford. This comprehensive
survey of ufology does not deal extensively with the psychology of abductions as such
but does convincingly demonstrate the generally poor quality of evidence in UFO cases.
It also provides an excellent historical perspective on the development of this modern
myth with particular reference to conspiracy theories.
Clancy, S. A. (2005). Abducted: Why People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Clancy argues that “abductees are sane and
intelligent people who have unwittingly created vivid false memories from a toxic mix of
nightmares, culturally available texts […], and a powerful drive for meaning that science
is unable to satisfy.”
Clancy, S. A., McNally, R. J., Schacter, D. L., Lenzenweger, M. F., & Pitman, R. K. (2002).
Memory distortion in people reporting abduction by aliens. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 111, 455-461. Reports results suggesting that people with conscious
memories of alien abduction are more prone to false memories as assessed using a
standard experimental task (the DRM paradigm).
Devereux, P., & Brookesmith, P. (1997). UFOs and Ufology: The First 50 Years. London:
Blandford. Beautifully illustrated and informative review by two leading experts in the
field.
Frazier, K. (ed.). (1991). The Hundredth Monkey and other Paradigms of the Paranormal.
Buffalo, NY: Prometheus. This collection of articles from the Skeptical Inquirer contains
several relevant chapters. In particular see Baker on alien abductions and hypnotic
regression, Ellis on the varieties of alien experience, Spanos on past-life hypnotic
regression, Thomason on claims that, under hypnosis, certain individuals speak in
languages which they have never learned in their current lives, and Klass on crashed
flying saucer claims.
10

12. Frazier, K., Karr, B., & Nickell, J. (eds.). (1997). The UFO Invasion: The Roswell Incident, Alien
Abductions, and Government Coverups. Amherst, NY: Prometheus. This collection of
articles from the Skeptical Inquirer contains several relevant chapters. In particular see
Part Five on alien abductions. Some of these articles also appear in Frazier, K. (ed.).
(1991). The Hundredth Monkey and other Paradigms of the Paranormal. Buffalo, NY:
Prometheus.
French, C. C. (2003). Fantastic memories: The relevance of research into eyewitness
testimony and false memories for reports of anomalous experiences. Journal of
Consciousness Studies, 10, 153-174. Comprehensive review including some
discussion of alien abduction claims and hypnotic past-life regression.
French, C. (2008-2009). What is sleep paralysis, and is it rare? Scientific American Mind,
19(6), December 2008/January 2009, 86.
French, C. C. (2009). The waking nightmare of sleep paralysis.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/02/sleep-paralysis
French, C. C. (2009). Close encounters of the faked kind.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/nov/09/the-fourth-kind-sleep-paralysis
French, C. C., Haque, U., Bunton-Stasyshyn, R., & Davis, R. (2009). The “Haunt” Project:
An attempt to build a “haunted” room by manipulating complex electromagnetic
fields and infrasound. Cortex, 45, 619-629. An attempt to test Persinger’s notion that
susceptible individuals will report anomalous sensations if exposed to complex
electromagnetic fields.
French, C. C., & Santomauro, J. (2007). Something wicked this way comes: Causes and
interpretations of sleep paralysis. In S. Della Sala (ed.). Tall Tales About the Mind
and Brain: Separating Fact from Fiction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 380-
398. Comprehensive review of sleep paralysis.
French, C. C., & Wilson, K. (2006). Incredible memories: How accurate are reports of
anomalous events? European Journal of Parapsychology, 21, 166-181. Update of
French (2003).
Gardner, M. (1957). Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. Chapter 26, pp. 315-320. This
chapter deals with the case of Bridey Murphy, but the whole of this classic book is well
worth reading.
Harris, M. (1986). Sorry, You’ve Been Duped! The Truth Behind Classic Mysteries of the
Paranormal.London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Chapters 16-18, pp. 148-162, deal with
Harris’s revealing investigations of alleged cases of reincarnation, including Bridey
Murphey and the Bloxham cases. (Note that this book was subsequently revised and re-
published by Prometheus Books with the title Investigating the Unexplained and that
chapter and page numbers may be different in the latter.)
Hines, T. (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. 2nd ed. Amherst, NY: Prometheus.
Chapters 7 and 8, pp. 235-302. Critical assessment of the evidence relating to close
encounters of the first, second and third kinds.
Hoggart, S., & Hutchinson, M. (1995). Bizarre Beliefs. London: Richard Cohen Books. Pp. 19-
43. Two chapters dealing with UFOs and alien abductions, respectively.
Klass, P. J. (1989). UFO Abductions: A Dangerous Game. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus. In-depth
analysis of the recent epidemic in America of apparent abductions by aliens and the
personalities behind the claims.
La Fontaine, J. S. (1994). The Extent and Nature of Organised and Ritual Abuse: Research
Findings. London: HMSO. Brief report concluding that there is no convincing evidence
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13. for widespread and organised ritual abuse in the UK.
Matheson, T. (1998). Alien Abductions: Creating a Modern Phenomenon. Amherst, NY:
Prometheus. This review of the literature, by a professor of literature, “reveals the crucial
role that abduction researchers and authors, from John Fuller and Whitley Strieber to
David Jacobs and John Mack, have played in shaping the abductees’ stories.”
Newman, L. S., & Baumeister, R. F. (1996). Toward a explanation of the UFO abduction
phenomenon: Hypnotic elaboration, extraterrestrial sadomasochism, and spurious
memories. Psychological Inquiry, 7, 99-126. The authors review evidence relating to
false memories with particular reference to UFO abduction claims and also propose that
the specific content of abduction claims is linked to sadomasochistic fantasies. Like most
of the commentators on this target article, I found the first part of the paper more
convincing that the alleged link with sadomasochism. (The authors reply to the
commentaries in the same issue, pp. 185-197).
Randi, J. (1982). Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and other Delusions. Buffalo, NY:
Prometheus. Chapter 4, pp. 55-92. Randi tackles UFOs in his own inimitable style.
Randle, K. D., Estes, R., & Cone, W. P. (1999). The Abduction Enigma: The Truth Behind the
Mass Alien Abductions of the Late Twentieth Century. New York: Forge. Good coverage
of the role of shared culture, hypnosis, sleep paralysis, and support groups in creating
false memories of alien abduction, along with strong criticism of some ufologists.
Rutkowski, C. (2000). Abductions and Aliens: The Psychology Behind Extra-Terrestrial
Experience. London: Fusion Press. Thoughtful review, emphasising once again the need
for better standards of investigation.
Santomauro, J., & French, C. C. (2009). Terror in the night: The experience of sleep
paralysis. The Psychologist, 22(8), 672-675. Overview of sleep paralysis.
Schnabel, J. (1994). Dark White: Aliens, Abductions, and the UFO Obsession. London: Hamish
Hamilton. Quirky, but highly readable, account focusing as much on the personalities
behind the debate as on the phenomena under discussion.
Showalter, E. (1997). Hystories: Hysterical Epidemics and Modern Culture. London: Picador.
Chapter 13, pp. 189-201. This chapter deals with alien abductions but the book as a
whole also considers a range of other "hysterical epidemics" including recovered
memory, multiple personality syndrome, and satanic ritual abuse.
Spanos, N. P. (1996). Multiple Identities and False Memories: A Sociocognitive Perspective.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Chapter 10 deals with UFO
abduction claims, but this whole excellent book is well worth reading. The main focus is
on “multiple personality” and false memories.
Spanos, N. P., Burgess, C. A., & Burgess, M. F. (1994). Past-life identities, UFO abductions, and
Satanic ritual abuse: The social construction of memories. International Journal of
Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 42, 433-446. Brief overview of experimental
studies on these topics.
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