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Alien Abduction Experiences
Stuart Appelle1
State University of New York at Brockport
Steven Jay Lynn
State University of New York at Binghamton
Leonard Newman
Syracuse University
and
Anne Malaktaris
State University of New York at Binghamton
Word Count First Edition (11,903) vs. Word Count Second Edition (10,810)
Corresponding Author:
Steven Jay Lynn, Ph.D.
Psychology Department
Binghamton University
Binghamton, NY 13902
Email: stevenlynn100@gmail.com
Ms. Jessica White (a pseudonym) is a quiet, retired lady of 60 years who lives alone in
her small home near Lake Placid, New York. One morning she experienced a horrifying
nightmare in which she felt a “creature” with cold hands and large eyes pressing down on her
with a suffocating and paralyzing force. She tried to move but her body did not respond; in fact,
she had the strange sense that her consciousness was out of her body, watching her rendered
helpless. She tried to scream, but words would not escape her mouth. She heard humming,
1 Deceased
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strange noises, and experienced an eerie sense that other creatures were nearby, watching in a
cold, detached way. The feeling that she was somehow violated, surely emotionally, possibly
physically, lingered throughout the day and returned in what she called “flashbacks” during the
week.
The only stories Jessica could relate her bizarre experience to were accounts she had read
about people abducted by aliens. Perhaps that is what had happened to her, she mused. Her
thoughts of alien abduction plagued her for the next few weeks to the point that she sought her
therapist’s “permission” to consult a lay hypnotist to fathom what had happened to her. Her
therapist, skeptical at first, finally was persuaded that it might be helpful for Jessica to gain
closure no matter what memories the hypnotist was able to recover.
During hypnosis, Jessica reported frightening images of being examined by three
emaciated-looking aliens with a variety of advanced, highly technological medical instruments,
the likes of which she had never seen before. After the medical proceedings, she was returned
from the spacecraft to her bed with telepathic instructions to forget the entire episode.
When Jessica recounted this story to her therapist, her therapist informed her that
she done some reading since their last meeting and thought Jessica’s strange and terrifying
experience might be explained by sleep paralysis, caused by a disruption in the sleep cycle and
often associated with terrifying hallucinations and the sense of menacing figures perceived to be
close to or even on top of the immobile person. Perhaps Jessica’s “memories” retrieved during
hypnosis were her elaboration of the strange events in terms of what she had learned about alien
abduction experiences from her readings and exposure to media like the X-files programs she
loved to watch.
Although Ms. White listened attentively to the explanation her therapist provided, she,
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nevertheless, continued to "trust her feelings" and steadfastly maintained, to her close friends at
least, that she had encountered alien life forms. Not surprisingly, the issue was not discussed
much in treatment from that point on.
Definition
Ms. White's account includes many features of alien abduction experiences (AAEs).
Many AAEers report temporary paralysis and out-of-body sensations. AAEs are often described
as vivid, emotionally intense, realistic, and extremely distressing. In 1992, Hopkins, Jacobs, and
Westrum (1992) noted that the experience is associated with waking up paralyzed with a sense
of a strange figure or figures present, "missing time" (unaccounted for periods in conscious
memory), and seeing strange balls of light in one's room -- hallucinations consistent with sleep
paralysis phenomena. More recently, Susan Clancy (2006) asserted that sleep paralysis is pivotal
to AAEs, a hypothesis we will consider in greater depth when we examine possible explanations
of AAEs.
AAEs are characterized by subjectively real memories of being taken secretly and/or
against one's will by apparently non-human entities, usually to a location interpreted as an alien
spacecraft (i.e., a "UFO") and subjected there to complex physical and psychological procedures.
Such experiences can occur as an isolated event, but more commonly are recalled as repeated
episodes over several years. AAEs have been reported to appear in consciousness as intact or
partial recollections (sometimes long after the experience was remembered as having occurred),
but often seem to emerge (or are enhanced) only after aggressive retrieval techniques such as
hypnotic regression.
Whereas no consensus exists regarding the features of the AAE (Gotlib, Appelle,
Rodeghier, & Flamburis, 1994), descriptions have been proposed. Bullard (1987), basing his
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analysis on a sample of 270 abduction reports, described the most common features of AAEs as
"capture" (caught and taken aboard a UFO) and "examination" (subjected to physical, sexual,
mental, and/or spiritual examinations). Other potential elements of abduction reports include
"conference” (communication with abductors); "tour" (guided examination of the UFO);
“otherworldly journey" (transport to another place on earth or an unearthly environment);
“theophany" (receipt of religious or spiritual messages); "return” (egress from the UFO and
return to earth); and "aftermath" (post-abduction experience effects).
Jacobs (1992), based on hundreds of personally investigated AAEs, has
categorized their content into primary, secondary, and ancillary events involving physical
activities (e.g., removal from earthly surroundings to an alien craft or environment, taking of
tissue samples, insertion of implants), mental activities (e.g., telepathic manipulation,
psychological testing, information exchange), and reproductive procedures (e.g., egg/sperm
collection, embryo implantation, removal of fetus, actual or simulated sexual activity,
presentation of human alien babies). By the 1990s, an increasing number of
reports emphasized sexual intercourse with aliens, with some women claiming to have multiple
offspring (kept by the aliens) that resulted from these acts (Hopkins, 1987; Jacobs, 1992, 1998;
Newman & Baumeister, 1997). If nothing else, these descriptions illustrate that the AAE is a
dynamic, elaborate, and involved experience, rich in contextual detail, with considerable
perceptual, psychological, cognitive, and physical concomitants.
Prevalence
A 2012 survey of 1,114 Americans, commissioned by the National Geographic Channel,
estimated that 36% of the population, or 80 million citizens, believe that UFOs are alien
spacecraft (ABC News, 2012). Researchers have not, as yet, conducted comparable surveys of
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people who believe that they have been abducted by aliens, but the number of reported AAEs is
not small. When Bullard (1994) surveyed 13 investigators of UFO-related phenomena, he found
that even this small number of researchers had a total of 1,700 separate abduction reports in their
files. In 1993, Whitley Strieber (author of the best-selling book Communion [1987], a detailed
account of purported abductions) claimed that he had received 55, 000 letters from people who
believed they were abductees, and as many as 200 a week were still arriving (Strieber, 1993).
As of 1992, Hopkins, Jacobs, and Westrum, all proponents of the “reality” of the
AAE, estimated that as many as that 3.7 million Americans had been abducted. However, this
high prevalence rate was based, in part, on survey items that tapped sleep paralysis experiences,
not endorsement of the actual experience of being “abducted” by aliens (note critiques of
methodological, conceptual, and psychometric aspects of this survey by Dawes & Mulford,
1993; Goertzel, 1994). Klass (1993) estimated that if Hopkins et al.’s (1992) conclusion were
correct, then 340 Americans have been abducted every day since 1961, a number he regards as
implausibly high. Even if the numbers are much lower than some of these estimates, many
thousands of Americans believe aliens have abducted them.
Aftereffects
Bullard (1987, 1996) has cataloged the reported physical and psychological sequelae of
the AAE. The following statistics are based on his 1987 analysis of 270 abduction reports and
supported by his later (1994) survey of AAE investigators. Bullard cautioned that these statistics
may under-represent actual prevalence rates: systematic attention to aftereffects is rare, few
investigators bother to record or report them, and long-term follow-up is uncommon.
Bullard's analysis revealed physical conditions reported as immediate
consequences of an AAE: injury --cuts, bruises, scrapes, puncture wounds (11 cases); eye and
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vision problems --burning, inflamed or bloodshot eyes, watering, irritation, conjunctivitis,
sensitivity to light, pupil dilation, impaired or blurred vision (22 cases); skin burns and irritation
--"sunburn" or redness of skin, blisters, itchiness, rash (23 cases); gastrointestinal distress
--nausea, diarrhea, constipation, gastric pain (13 cases); equilibrium and coordination problems
--balance, disorientation, fainting (14 cases); and thirst and dehydration (12 cases). Intermediate
and long-term physical aftereffects included 13 instances where the experient claims to have
been healed of some pre-existing ailment, 5 instances of weight loss, and 9 cases of recurring
conditions such as the skin or balance problems that immediately followed the initial AAE.
Bullard identified fear, anticipation, anxiety, and recurring nightmares as aftereffects of AAEs,
sequelae consistent with PTSD (Laibow & Laue, 1993; Powers, 1994a; Wilson, 1990).
On the other hand, Clancy (2005, p. 149) reported that not one of the many abductees she
interviewed answered “yes” to the question, “If you could do it all over again, would you choose
not to be abducted?” Even if the details of the abduction stories they told were unpleasant, many
abductees came to reinterpret them in a way that made them feel that their lives had more
meaning and purpose and that made them feel a part of something larger than themselves.
Paranormal experiences (e.g., apparitions, events interpreted as apparent telepathy) and
personality changes are also widely reported. Ring (1992) has argued that such experiences and
personality changes also accompany near-death experiences (see Greyson, this volume) and
reflect a common propensity for, and a common consequence of, "extraordinary encounters."
Psychophysiology
Except for multiple abduction cases (i.e., more than one person claims to have been
abducted) there exist no unambiguous instances of an individual having been observed during
the time they (later) report to have had an AAE. As such, the condition of an abduction
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experient at the time of an AAE is unknown. However, McNally and his associates
(McNally,Lasko, Clancy, Macklin, Pitman, & Orr, 2004) found that memories associated with
AAEs could provoke powerful emotional reactions. The researchers compared the physiological
response of people with AAEs with non-AAE reporters. Abductees exhibited greater
psychophysiological reactivity to scripts featuring their traumatic abduction memory than to
positive or neutral scripts. Moreover, the abductees’ heart rate, sweating, breathing, muscle tone,
and emotional experience were similar to or greater than the reactions of combat vets and rape
victims to script-driven imagery. Conclusions regarding these findings are open to the
interpretation that (a) the reports of experients accurately reflect lived experiences, or (b) that the
belief that one has been traumatized during an AAE generates emotional responses similar to
those provoked by recollections of actual traumatic experiences.
Cultural and individual differences
Beliefs in the existence of extraterrestrial life and cultural beliefs have been implicated as
the "ground" from which the abduction scenario emerges. As McNally and Clancy (2005)
observed, anomalous experiences often prompt a search for explanations, and in their absence,
people “rely on personally plausible cultural narrative to interpret these otherwise baffling …
episodes” (p. 113).
Belief in extraterrestrial life and alien abductions
The belief in AAEs is premised on the existence of extraterrestrial life. Recent surveys
have shown an increase in the number of people who believe in extraterrestrial life (Swami,
Chamorro-Premuzi, & Shafi, 2010). Swami et al. (2009) surveyed 320 Austrian and 257 British
individuals regarding beliefs about extraterrestrial life and found that higher religiosity and right-
wing political orientation were negatively associated with such beliefs.
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In a later survey of over 600 community adult volunteers (Swami, Chamorro-
Premuzi, & Shafi, 2010), education was negatively associated with beliefs about extraterrestrial
life, religiosity was negatively associated with beliefs about extraterrestrial life in general, and
conscientiousness positively predicted beliefs about extraterrestrial life in general and alien
visitation and government cover-ups in particular. Moreover, men were more likely than women
to believe in the existence of UFOs and alien visitation.
Patry and Pelletier ‘s (2001) survey of 400 volunteers revealed that whereas 35%
of respondents considered the idea seriously, only 30% completely rejected the idea of alien
abduction. Half of participants indicated that they would believe an alien abduction tale if a
friend told the story, and 79% of individuals felt that reporting an alien abduction would have
negative consequences. Four percent of individuals believed they knew someone personally who
claimed to have been abducted by aliens, and 2% believed that aliens at some point had abducted
them. These findings imply that the general public in Canada is at least somewhat receptive to
alien abduction narratives.
Cultural factors
To assess culturally derived beliefs, Lawson (1977) hypnotized volunteers and instructed
them to imagine an encounter with aliens. Contrary to his hypothesis, Lawson found that
hypnotiically suggested reports were not substantively different from claims of “genuine”
experients. Unfortunately, Lawson provided specific suggestions to report information pertinent
to what abductees claim, such as to imagine that aliens examined them. Accordingly, it is not
surprising that instructed and non-instructed reports shared many features, precluding a definitive
conclusion that participants’ fantasies stemmed from culturally derived beliefs.
Lynn and Pezzo (1994) assessed cultural narratives in which individuals were asked to
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role-play (simulate) the performance of excellent hypnotic participants. Volunteers were told
that they would be hypnotized and asked to recall a puzzling event that involved: (a) driving in
the country, (b) leaving the car to witness mysterious moving lights in the sky, and (c) afterward,
having no clear recollection of being in the car and noticing 2 hours of unaccounted for missing
time. After a brief hypnotic induction, individuals were "age regressed" to the time when the
puzzling event occurred and asked to describe what they could see, feel, and hear. A structured
interview followed.
Lynn and Pezzo (1994) found that when individuals were specifically instructed to
simulate an encounter with aliens, 95% identified the lights as a UFO and 91% stated that they
interacted with aliens and boarded the spacecraft. In a second condition, researchers
administered a questionnaire (which queried respondents' about their beliefs in UFOs, if they had
sighted what they believe to be a UFO, memory gaps associated with the sighting, and so on),
devised by OMNI Magazine (Weintraub, 1987). After receiving this “priming” questionnaire,
during the interview, 62% of the participants reported they witnessed a UFO, and all but one, or
95%, reported witnessing a UFO in response to a direct question. In addition, 62% reported that
they interacted with aliens and a third of the participants reported they boarded the spacecraft. In
contrast, only 19% of the participants who received no specific instructions or priming
information identified what they saw as a UFO in response to an initial opened-ended question.
When asked more direct, leading questions in the interview, 52% identified the lights as UFOs,
24% indicated that they had interacted with the aliens, and 14% reported they boarded the UFO.
As Lynn and Pezzo (1994) hypothesized, participants endorsed items more frequently as they
received more cues to report experiences consistent with culture-based UFO narratives. Finally,
the simulated reports contained many of the features (e.g., telepathic contact, small bodies, large
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eyes and heads of occupants, forced or compelled actions, sexual contact with aliens) reported by
AAEers. Combined, these studies indicate that certain elements of alien contact narratives are
widely available to college students.
Cultural beliefs may also be associated with the geographical distribution of abduction
reports and variations in their content. Bullard (1987) noted that 47% of the abduction reports he
studied came from the United States. Argentina, Brazil, Australia, and the United Kingdom also
provided a large number of reports, collectively accounting for about one third of abduction
reports. Africa, Asia, continental Europe, and the Middle East were only barely represented,
although the Associated Press news service (Associated Press, 1996) more recently reported "a
flurry of media reports on abductions by extraterrestrials" in Israel. It is unknown whether this
geographical variation reflects differences in the prevalence of AAEs or differences in reporting
and investigating them.
Similarly, the typical content of the AAE varies with geographical origin. In particular,
Bullard (1994) reported that compared to North American accounts, British and Australian
reports differed in terms of narrative descriptions and the experients' reactions to the reported
events. Moura (1994), a Brazilian psychologist, found that in her country, reported interactions
between abduction experients and aliens were far friendlier, and the experience was viewed more
positively than similar reports in the United States. Still, many of the content elements remain
constant across cultures (Carpenter, 1997). Although systematic, comprehensive, and large-scale
cross-cultural content analyses of cases are lacking, culture remains an important variable to
explore in future research.
Fantasy-proneness
One possibility is that cultural beliefs regarding alien visitations are transformed into
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deeply felt personal experiences by a small number of individuals (i.e., “fantasizers” or fantasy-
prone personalities) who exhibit a propensity for making imaginative experiences seem "as real
as real," thereby confusing fantasy with reality (i.e., fantasy-prone personalities, Wilson &
Barber, 1981, 1983b). Indeed, there are interesting similarities between the experiences of
fantasizers and those of abduction experients. For example, fantasizers report a high incidence
of false pregnancies, paranormal and out-of-body experiences, the appearance of apparitions, and
vivid sleep imagery, which feels "as if they are seeing something that really exists out there or
that they are looking into another dimension" (Wilson & Barber, 1981, p. 365). Each of these
experiences has parallels with AAEs (Bullard, 1987; 1994), suggesting that fantasizers and AAE
reporters may belong to the same population. However, the empirical support for this hypothesis
is mixed.
Ring and Rosing (1990) found that participants who reported AAEs were more likely to
report childhood experiences of paranormal phenomena, "non-physical beings," and to "see into
other realities that others didn't seem to be aware of" (factors consistent with fantasy-prone
characteristics originally reported by Wilson and Barber) than participants who did not report
AAEs. However, the AAE reporters were no more fantasy-prone than non-AAE reporters.
Bartholomew, Basterfield, and Howard (1991) studied over 100 abduction
experients and concluded that the vast majority (87%) reported histories consistent with one or
more major characteristics associated with the fantasy-prone profile. However, they assessed
fantasy-proneness by retrospective analysis of biographical data, rather than by an independent
test of fantasy-proneness. Moreover, among all the fantasy prone characteristics they examined,
only the frequency of reported paranormal phenomena approached the frequency of
characteristics found by Wilson and Barber (1981) in their fantasy-prone population.
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Rodeghier, Goodpaster, and Blatterbauer (1991) used the ICMI
measure of fantasy proneness (Wilson & Barber, 1983a) and found a distribution of scores no
different than would be expected from a random sample of the population based on Lynn and
Rhue’s (1988) published norms. Similarly, Spanos, Cross, Dickinson, and Dubreuil (1993)
found no statistical differences between groups (i.e., intense vs. non-intense UFO related
experiences) on fantasy-proneness as measured by the ICMI. They did, however, find a
correlation between ICMI scores and an intensity-of-experience scale. Nevertheless, even for the
group of persons who reported "intense experiences" (e.g., missing time and communication
with aliens), the mean ICMI score was at the midrange of the distribution of the general
population (Lynn & Rhue, 1988), leading Spanos et al. to conclude that their "findings clearly
contradict the hypotheses that UFO reports... occur primarily in individuals who are highly
fantasy prone" (p. 629). Relatedly, Hough and Rogers (2007) failed to find differences between
AAE reporters and non-reporters on measures of self-perceived fantasy proneness.
Negative findings aside, it is premature to conclude that fantasy proneness is not
associated with AAEs. First, many studies in this area have methodological limitations (e.g.,
unvalidated, ad hoc measures; small sample sizes) that preclude drawing strong conclusions.
Second, it is questionable whether any of the participants in Spanos et al.'s (1993) research
claimed to have classic abduction experiences, limiting the potential relevance of this research to
fantasy-proneness and AAEs. Third, respondents in such studies are undoubtedly aware that
many of the markers of fantasy proneness could indicate deviance or psychopathology (see Lynn
& Rhue, 1988). Therefore, characteristics or experiences associated with fantasy proneness
might not be reported in situations that evoke socially desirable responding, thereby
underestimating the correlation between fantasy proneness and AAEs (Newman & Baumeister,
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1996b). In conclusion, fantasy proneness remains a plausible yet not very well tested hypothesis
with mixed and not very compelling support.
The boundary-deficit personality
Hartmann (1984) found that nightmare sufferers share a constellation of traits
characterized by weak discrimination between basic cognitive categories such as self and non-
self, fantasy and reality, and dream and waking experiences. These thin "boundaries" are said to
characterize individuals who are sensitive, artistic, empathetic, vulnerable, imaginative, have a
weak sense of sexual or personal identity, have difficulty distinguishing periods of time, or who
are perceived by others as "different."
Based on Hartmann's construct of thin boundaries, Kottmeyer (1988) argued that
the characteristics of what he termed the boundary-deficit personality also describe the abduction
experience. Spanos et al. (1993) administered a number of scales relevant to Kottmeyer's
hypothesis and found that, compared to the scores for control subjects, their close
encounter/UFO experient groups reported higher self-esteem, lower "schizophrenia," higher
well-being, lower "perceptual aberration," lower perception of an "unfriendly world," lower
"aggression," and no difference in "social potency." Moreover, Spanos et al. found no difference
between control and close encounter participants on measures of absorption, fantasy-proneness,
and imaginal propensity, all of which should be elevated according to the thin boundary or
boundary-deficit hypothesis.
The findings reported so far either are inconsistent with, or clearly contradict, predictions
derived from the boundary explanation. However, other studies have yielded results more
consonant with boundary-deficits in AAEers, including a weak sense of personal or sexual
identity (Slater, 1985), schizoid tendencies (Parnell & Sprinkle, 1990), greater sensitivity to non-
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ordinary realities (Ring & Rosing, 1990), and a high rate of reported suicide attempts (Stone-
Carmen, 1994).
Emotional intelligence and The Big Five personality factors
Hough and Rogers (2007) found no support for the hypothesis that people who report
AAEs score relatively low on measures of emotional intelligence, which reflects the perception,
appraisal, and regulation of emotions and emotional knowledge. These negative findings support
McNally et al.’s (2004) contention that AAEers are no less capable of monitoring their own
emotional states than their non-experient counterparts. Hough and Rogers (2007) also failed to
find that any of the so-called “big five” personality factors (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion,
openness to experiences, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) was correlated with AAEs.
The "psychically sensitive" personality
Abduction experients often report increased paranormal abilities in the aftermath of an
AAE (Bullard, 1994; Ring, 1992), and many report long histories of ostensibly paranormal
events preceding their AAEs (Basterfield, 1994; Bullard, 1987, Randles, 1988; Ring, 1992).
Ring (1992) found a constellation of traits in common between abduction experients and
individuals who claim to be "electrically sensitive" (to have anomalous effects on electrical
devices). Based on a comparison of the personality characteristics of 20 abduction experients
and those of highly successful ESP subjects, Johnson (1994) reported that at least some
experients share traits with individuals who appear to have performed well in "remote viewing"
experiments in which individuals are asked to use purported paranormal abilities to obtain
information regarding objects, persons, or events at a distant or unseen locaton. Randles (1988)
has described the paranormal histories of AAErs as "the key to the entire [abduction] mystery."
Of course, self-reports of paranormal experience are no substitute for the objective assessment of
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paranormal performance.
Psychopathology
Psychological disorders that might account for AAEs include symptoms of psychosis
(e.g., hallucinations and delusions), folie- à-deux (shared psychotic symptoms brought about by
a close relationship between percipients), conversion reactions (i.e., physiological
manifestations of a psychosomatic nature; e.g. marks, blotches, and discolorations of skin),
dissociative disorders (amnesia, fugue, and other conditions resulting in time loss,
disorientation), dissociative identity disorder (which in addition to "missing time" may be
characterized by messages from and/or "dual identities"), and Munchausen's syndrome (i.e.,
self-inflicted injury or false claims of physical symptomatology).
Whereas psychopathology explains some isolated AAE cases, assessment by both
clinical examination and standardized tests has shown that, as a group, experients and the general
population do not differ in psychopathology prevalence. Bloecher, Clamar, and Hopkins (1985)
discuss the findings of Slater (1985), who conducted a masked evaluation of 9 abduction
experients. Using the Rorschach and the Thematic Apperception Test, Slater found no evidence
of psychopathology that could account for the reported AAEs. Similarly, Jacobson and Bruno
(1994) examined the AAE narratives of 12 individuals and failed to find narrative elements that
suggested "any currently recognized psychiatric syndrome" (p. 306). Nonetheless, hospital
records showed that two of their participants had suffered from a major psychiatric illness around
the time of their AAE, illustrating the danger of relying on self-report alone.
Spanos et al. (1993) compared control participants to people who reported UFO
related experiences. The UFO reporters were divided into those who merely saw unidentified
lights and those who reported more elaborate close encounters. The authors found that their
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encounter participants scored no lower than controls on any of the multiple measures of
psychological health administered. The researchers concluded that their findings "provide no
support whatsoever for the hypothesis that UFO reporters are psychologically disturbed" (p.
628). McNally and Clancy (2005) found negligible evidence of current distress or
psychopathology among self-identified abductees. Holden and French (2002) likewise conclude
that there are no data to suggest that serious psychopathology is more common in AAErs than in
the general population.
Still, researchers have found that abduction experients are not representative of the
general population and may exhibit manifestations of psychopathology. For example, although
Parnell and Sprinkle (1990) found no evidence for overt psychopathology among experients, the
researchers also found that participants claiming communication with aliens exhibited a
propensity for unusual feelings, thoughts, and attitudes and were suspicious, distrustful,
imaginative, and exhibited schizoid tendencies. Rodeghier et al. (1991) found that people with
AAEs, compared with non-experients, reported more loneliness, less happiness, and poorer sleep
patterns. Perhaps most troubling was the fact that Stone-Carmen (1994) found that 57% of her
participants reported suicide attempts (compared with 1.28 % in the general population).
Clinical issues and risks
It is not uncommon for abduction experients to present to mental health professionals
with AAE-related symptoms (Gotlib, 1996). One concern we will evaluate in depth later is that
abduction accounts might represent false memories created or elaborated by suggestive
psychotherapeutic procedures such as hypnosis (see Gotlib, 1993). Given that the spontaneous
emergence during therapy of an AAE completely unsuspected by the client is apparently quite
rare (based on the general lack of references to such cases in the clinical literature; see, however,
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Gotlib, 1996), suggestive influences could enrich an existing AAE or fragmentary AAE memory,
create whole new experiences beyond those initially presented, and harden conviction regarding
the reality of the experience.
Consider the following example of leading questions asked of an alleged abductee:
Dr. Fiore: Now I'm going to ask you a few questions at this point. You will remember
everything because you want to remember. When you were being poked everywhere, did they do
any kind of vaginal examination?
Sandi: I don't think they did.
Dr. Fiore: Now you're going to let yourself know if they put a needle in any part of your
body, other than the rectum.
Sandi: No. They were carrying needles around, big ones, and I was scared for a while they
were going to put one in me, but they didn't. [Body tenses].
Dr. Fiore: Now just let yourself relax. At the count of three you're going to remember
whether they did put one of those big needles in you. If they did, know that you're safe, and it's
all over, isn't it. And if they didn't, you're going to remember that too, at the count of three. One .
. . two . . . three.
Sandi: They did. (From Fiore, 1989, p. 26)
An ethics committee comprised of individuals interested in the AAE (Gotlib, Appelle,
Rodeghier, & Flamburis, 1994) has formally cautioned therapists against practices that might
produce false memories. Clinicians should avoid implicitly or explicitly suggesting an AAE and
avoid using suggestive memory recovery procedures with anyone who claims to have
experiences consistent with an AAE or its potential antecedents (e.g., sleep paralysis,
hypnagogic/ hypnopompic images).
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Clinicians should assess for possible antecedent conditions stemming from psychological
or organic dysfunction. Whereas psychotherapy carries its risks, so does withholding treatment.
Mental health practitioners must feel free to treat experients, lest they exacerbate their client's
feelings of rejection and helplessness and perpetuate the social and professional stigma
associated with the experience. The risks of providing therapy can be minimized- and positive
outcomes best assured - when treatment educates clients about possible explanations for the
AAE and encourages them to understand the AAE and its possible repercussions in terms of its
meaning in their life (see Clancy, 2007).
Theories
In our discussion of predisposing factors, we have presented a number of theories and
explanations of AAEs. We discuss other theories that merit consideration now.
Hoaxes
According to the hoax explanation, reports of alien abduction are stories made up to
deliberately deceive, motivated by opportunities for monetary or psychosocial rewards (e.g.,
support group membership, talk show appearances, presentations at conferences). However, to
take advantage of such opportunities, the abduction experient must go public. In the vast
majority of cases there is simply nothing in the reporter's behavior that would imply such
motivation, and the experient who goes public is a rarity. Much more commonly, an assurance
of anonymity is desired.
On the other hand, deliberate misrepresentation can occur in the absence of incentives for
deception. The term Münchausen syndrome, or factitious disorder, refers to individuals who
feign physical or psychological illness, with the motivation to assume the sick role (DSM IV;
American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p.474).
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Despite some parallels with abduction accounts, it is unlikely that factitious disorder can
account for abduction hoaxes. Sufferers are likely to have an extensive history of
hospitalizations or treatment interventions, be extremely resistant to relinquishing the role as
"patient," and tend to be reluctant, vague, and inconsistent when asked to provide detailed
information. These and other differential diagnoses are not characteristic of the vast majority of
abduction experients.
Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic theories
Some commentators (e.g., Sagan, 1993; Vallee, 1969) have suggested that similar themes
appear in both folklore (e.g., encounters with fairies, elves, angels) and contemporary abduction
accounts and have argued that this implies a common origin in the unconscious (see Bullard,
1991). A number of psychoanalytic theories have been proposed to explain the manifestation of
AAEs.
One theory is based on a correlation between reported AAEs and reported childhood
abuse (e.g., Laibow & Laue, 1993; Powers, 1994a, 1994b; Ring & Rosing, 1990; Rodeghier et
al., 1991). Some theorists have suggested that this association reflects actual childhood abuse
manifesting as “screen” (or false) memories of alien abduction. According to Powers (1994a),
abduction by aliens "is less stressful than confronting the trauma of childhood abuse perpetrated
by relatives or family friends" (p. 49), and "recasting the experience [of early childhood abuse]
as a selection with such a grand purpose [i.e., for the aliens’ cosmic objectives] might restore
meaning to lives threatened by traumatic memories" (Powers, 1994b, p. 46). Lawson (1984,
1985) argued that the AAE is the unconscious' representation of the birth experience, and Grosso
(1985) extended Jung’s (1959) assertion that some "flying saucer" sightings represent archetypal
imagery associated with the collective unconscious. Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic theories
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are not, as yet, supported by solid scientific evidence.
The sleep paralysis and sleep anomalies hypothesis
In the past decade, sleep paralysis and other sleep anomalies have gained increasing
attention as explanations for the AAE (e.g., Clancy, 2007). AAEs are commonly reported as
having occurred at bedtime, or during the course of sleep. They are frequently first remembered
as the content of an apparent (albeit "unusual") dream, or as otherwise having a dream-like
subjective quality. Furthermore, as noted above, AAEs are often accompanied by sleep
paralysis, a condition that (a) occurs during part of the sleep period when motor tonus is lost, and
(b) is marked by a variety of disturbing experiences, including humming noises, vibrations, vivid
hallucinations, increased heart rate, and the sense of one or more “presences” nearby or
rendering the body immobile (Cheyne, 2005). Interestingly, sleep paralysis experiences are
common, occurring on a one-time or more basis in as many of one-third to one-half of college
students (Fukuda, Ogilvie, Chilcott, Venditelli, & Takeuchi, 1998; Girard & Cheyne, 2004).
Baker (1990) characterized AAEs as "a classic, textbook description" of sleep-
related hallucinations. Part and parcel of hypnagogic states is the experience of perceptual
distortions and anomalies (e.g., round objects swell to gigantic size), a sensation of pressure and
heaviness on the body or, alternately, sensations of weightlessness and floating, feelings of
disorientation and fearfulness that extend to panic caused by the fact that the dreamer is unable to
move (Baker, 1992 a, b; 1995). Hufford (1982) has drawn attention to the similarities of AAEs
and a variety of sleep experiences across many cultures. The phenomena of sleep paralysis are
not common knowledge in the general public. Accordingly, people are unlikely to construe their
experiences in terms of sleep paralysis, but rather describe their often-terrifying experiences in
terms of paranormal folklore or along the lines of cultural narratives (Holden & French, 2002;
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McNally & Clancy, 2005). In medieval times, the myths of the incubus (male demon) and
succubus (female demon)—evil spirits that descend on vulnerable sleepers and engage in sexual
relations with them—probably arose from sleep paralysis experiences (Sagan, 1995).
The hallucinatory experiences that accompany sleep paralysis can be reliably parsed into
vestibular-motor, intruder, and incubus hallucinations (Cheyne, 2005). Intruder hallucinations
typically involve a vague sense of threat accompanied by strange noises, apparitions, and
sensations. According to Girard and Cheyne (2004), intruder hallucinations are generated by a
threat-activated vigilance system that produces fear and impending threat. Incubus
hallucinations involve breathing difficulties, bodily pressure, and feelings of suffocation or
impending death. Finally, vestibular-motor hallucinations include sensations of flying, floating,
or flying, and out of body experiences. In a survey of 6,000 individuals reporting a sleep
paralysis episode within the previous week, Cheyne (2005) reported that intruder and incubus
hallucinations are highly correlated with and often interpreted as threat and assault by alien
entities, a perception typically not associated with commonly occurring positive attributions
(e.g., spiritual experiences) of sleep paralysis phenomena (Hufford, 2005).
Although many studies have explored sleep paralysis, there is still a need for research to
examine its link with AAEs. Gotlib (1996) provided a single case study of a client with both a
sleep disorder and AAEs. Spanos et al. (1993) found that compared to participants with less
involved UFO experiences, participants who reported intense alien encounters experienced them
more often in association with sleep-related phenomena (e.g., sudden awakenings). Rodeghier
(1994) reported a somewhat greater incidence of hypnagogic imagery in a subset of abduction
experients. McNally and (2004) found that all 10 people with AAEs they studied reported at
least one episode of sleep paralysis accompanied by hallucinations. In each case, the participants
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interpreted these experiences, which were generally consistent with contemporary cultural
stereotypes (e.g., thin, gray body with large dark eyes, McNally & Clancy, 2005), as related to
aliens. Because eight of the abductees had undergone some form of hypnosis to assist in the
“recovery” of memories of AAEs, the researchers were not able to determine the contribution of
hypnosis versus sleep paralysis to these experients’ recovered memories. Although sleep
paralysis symptoms bear striking resemblance to AAEs, sleep paralysis cannot account for full-
blown stories of boarding alien spacecraft and being subject to painful medical examinations,
which may represent embellishments on sleep paralysis phenomena related to cultural narratives
about AAEs or suggestive psychotherapeutic interventions.
Escape-from-self and masochistic fantasy
Newman and Baumeister (1996a; see also Newman, 1997) detailed many similarities
between the UFO abduction experience and what might seem at first to be a very different kind
of phenomenon: ritualized masochism. The main features of masochism -- both actual activities
and fantasies --are pain, helplessness, loss of control, and humiliation. All of these themes
dominate abduction accounts, and Newman and Baumeister (1996a) hypothesized that abduction
accounts might derive from the same motivational roots that attract some people to masochism.
They argued that this accounts for the resemblance between the profile of the typical abductee
and the demographic profile of the typical masochist (e.g., a person of reasonably high
socioeconomic status from a Westernized individualistic society). The underlying motive, they
claim, is the wish of some individuals to "escape the self." The "threats, stresses, and other
burdens of modern egotism" create a need in some individuals to "escape from self-awareness
and identity;” in other words, people sometimes seek relief from constant pressures to be
independent, fulfilled, esteemed, and in control. Strategies that thwart self-esteem and control
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may accomplish this, and Newman and Baumeister (1996a) argue that masochism is an extreme
but effective example (see Baumeister, 1989). Masochism can help people escape their
customary identity because the pain that is inflicted upon masochists captures their attention and
makes reflection and self-evaluation difficult; restraint and immobilization nullifies the usual
pressure to assert control over one's situation; and paradoxically the humiliation involved can
liberate people from trying to meet their usual standards of esteem and dignity.
Newman and Baumeister (1996a) suggested that among individuals inclined to
escape the self, the influence of abduction investigators, media, and popular culture create the
raw material for masochistic fantasy to manifest itself as an AAE (especially those aspects of the
AAE dealing with sexual or gynecological procedures). In support of their hypothesis, Newman
and Baumeister examined the abduction accounts presented in Bullard's (1987) compendium of
AAEs for specific references to humiliating displays (e.g., "being stretched out on a table naked
with lots of people watching"), a feature of masochistic fantasy more prevalent among female
masochistic fantasizers than males (see Baumeister, 1988). Their analysis of the Bullard data
showed that such features were present in the narratives of 50% of the males and 80% of the
females, a statistically significant difference consistent with the masochism hypothesis.
Electromagnetic effects
Anomalous responses to electromagnetic fields have been suggested as a cause of the
AAE. Persinger (1990) regarded such responses as a manifestation of labile temporal lobe
activity in response to the effects of stresses in the earth’s crust (a condition he argues propagates
electromagnetic fields). However, the presence of electromagnetic fields during AAEs has not
been demonstrated, nor has the prevalence of temporal lobe lability among abduction experients
been established. Spanos et al. (1993) assessed temporal lobe lability and found no differences
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between control participants and abduction experients. Relatedly, Holden and French’s (2002)
research failed to find support for the temporal lobe lability hypothesis.
False memories
Holden and French (2002) suggested that abductees might be particularly prone to false
memories in that their tendency to dissociate, for example, may increase vulnerability to
pseudomemory formation. Clancy et al. (2002) used the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm
(Roediger & McDermott, 1995; Deese, 1959; false recall/recognition of a word not actually
presented but semantically related to words actually presented on a list) to explore false recall
and recognition in (a) participants who reported remembering an alien abduction (recovered
memory group); (b) participants with no explicit memory of an abduction, but suspected such an
event occurred (repressed memory group); and (c) individuals who denied a history of alien
abduction (control).
Participants who reported recovered memories committed more false recall and false
recognition errors than control participants, but did not differ in true recall or recognition rates.
Participants in the recovered memory group were more prone to memory errors than the
repressed memory group, who were, in turn, more prone to error than the participants in the
control group. Those reporting recovered or repressed memory scored higher on measures of
hypnotic suggestibility, perceptual aberration, and magical ideation than control subjects (Clancy
et al., 2002). Importantly, individuals in the recovered memory group were more likely to
exhibit source monitoring deficits (i.e., remembering how, when, and where a memory is
acquired), which may explain why, after exposure to suggestive therapies or media sources, these
individuals eventually ‘recalled’ false memories. To document the generalizability of these
findings, it will be important for researchers to replicate these findings with paradigms that
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assess complex memories that resemble more real life scenarios.
Hypnosis and hypnotizability
Researchers have used suggestive procedures to instate memories of complex and
sometimes implausible events such as putting slime in a teacher’s desk (Lindsay, Hagen, Read,
Wade, & Garry, 2004), events that occur in the first few days of life (Spanos et al., 1999), being
attacked by a dog (Porter, Yuille, & Lehman, 1999), witnessing demonic possession as a child
(Mazzoni, 2007; Mazzoni, Loftus, & Kirsch, 2001), and even memories of alien abduction
(Otgaar et al., 2007). Of course, AAEs do not arise in a contextual vacuum: much of their detail
emerges during sessions in which suggestive procedures such as hypnosis are used to recover
memories presumably related to the AAE. Bullard (1987) examined published AAE accounts
prior to 1987 and determined that hypnosis had been used 31% of the time. However, for those
reports that Bullard rated high in both reliability and information content, hypnosis was involved
about 70% of the time (Bullard, 1989). A later survey he conducted of active abduction
investigators (Bullard, 1994) suggested that hypnosis was by that time being used in about 70%
of all contemporary abduction investigations.
Whereas hypnosis may produce a slight increase in accurate memories, this slim
advantage, if present at all, often comes at the expense of a tradeoff of increased errors and an
increased tendency to respond to misleading information (see Lynn, Barnes, & Matthews, 2009).
In fact, the elaboration of confidently held spurious memories could be the effect of misleading
questions rather than of hypnosis per se (see Mazzoni, Heap, & Scoboria 2010). The influence
of hypnosis may be related more to recall quantity rather than content. Bullard (1989, 1994)
compared AAEs that emerged during hypnosis with those obtained without hypnotic assistance.
Bullard (1989) concluded, "the form and content of abduction stories seems independent of
99
hypnosis" (p.3) (cf., Newman & Baumeister, 1996). In his later examination, Bullard (1994)
concluded that hypnosis is a significant factor in regard to the quantity of material reported, but
not in any direct way to the content. These findings are consistent with the literature, which
indicates that hypnosis often increases the sheer volume of responses, regardless of the accuracy
of the responses obtained (see Lynn et al., 2009). Although people who experience AAEs do not
appear to be more hypnotizable than the general population (Rodeghier, Goodpaster, &
Blatterbauer; 1991), many medium hypnotizable persons--the modal participants in the
population--report pseudomemories in experimental contexts (Lynn et al., 2009). Moreover, even
low hypnotizable individuals occasionally experience false memories (E.C. Orne, Whitehouse,
Dinges, & M. T. Orne, 1996). In short, even low hypnotizable persons might be influenced by
hypnotic suggestions that engender or reinforce AAEs.
Clancy, McNally, Schacter, Lenzenweger, and Pitman (2002) reported that
published narratives of alien abduction follow a characteristic pattern: 1) the abductee mentions
an (apparent) episode of sleep paralysis; 2) the sleep paralysis episode often includes multimodal
sensory hallucinations; 3) the abductee assumes that “something” has happened and seeks the aid
of a therapist to understand the anomalous experience; and 4) during hypnotic regression, the
abductee “recalls” the abduction (see also Lynn & Kirsch, 1996; Newman & Baumeister, 1996
for related accounts).
Medical-surgical procedure hypothesis
Forrest (2008) suggested that many of the frequently reported particulars of the AAE
resemble medical and surgical procedures that could be a precursor of the AAE. Forrest (2008)
argued that the altered state of consciousness some report during an AAE corresponds to
anesthesia, mysterious green figures could be surgeons in scrubs, and the surgical suite with
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bright lights and strange equipment could represent the flying saucer. Moreover, medical-
surgical procedures often involve physical restraint and loss of control (and are thus a not
uncommon basis for masochistic fantasy and activity—Theroux, 1998), along with changes in
heartbeat and blood pressure. Although Forrest (2008) provided no evidence to support his
claims, he argued that abductees could be recovering memories of actual surgery related to
intraoperative awareness, which he estimates occurs in 1 to 2 percent of cases. Forrest suggested
that future studies include a full medical history, including medical and surgical procedures.
The extraterrestrial (ET) hypothesis
Perhaps the most provocative explanation of AAEs is that at least some of them are
veridical reports of lived experiences (Mack, 1994, 1999). Critics of this hypothesis argue that in
the absence of tangible proof (e.g., indisputable physical evidence of alien contact, artifacts from
an alien civilization, direct contact of an alien civilization with authorities), parsimony requires
that the ET hypothesis be dismissed. Reports have occasionally surfaced of actual physical
artifacts of alien encounters: specifically, objects or materials left embedded in the bodies of
experients (i.e., “alien implants”). However, these implants are rarely available for analysis,
because they are often said to disappear after removal. In addition, no alleged implant has been
found to consist of anything but terrestrial elements (Blackmore, 1998; Nickell, 2001; Sheaffer,
1997).
Nevertheless, proponents point to a number of features of the AAE as supporting the ET
hypothesis, including the consistency of the accounts, down to very specific details. For
example, Jacobs (1992) regarded "the strongest evidence presented [to be]...the congruence of
narrative and the richness of exact detail" (p. 239). Relatedly, based on an exhaustive analysis of
AAE content, Bullard (1987) concluded: No accident, random hoax, or purely personal fantasy
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could reasonably explain so much consistency throughout this sizable body of reports." (p. 353).
In his later analysis, Bullard (1994) noted that both prominent and obscure elements of the AAE
recur across investigators: "The range of differences among major features and main patterns is
quite narrow.... Abduction reports seem to converge toward a unity of content irrespective of the
investigator" (p. 615).
Although consistency is well documented, the source of this consistency is still a subject
of debate. For example, Kottmeyer (1989) has argued that fantasy production could easily draw
upon material readily available in the media and popular culture. Previously, we cited data
implying that cultural narratives could account for similarities in abduction reports. Other
arguments that have been raised in support of a veridical interpretation of AAEs include alleged
corroborating testimony from very young children (Hopkins, 1994) and from multiple experients
describing their participation in the same abduction event (Haines, 1994). However, Otgaar and
colleagues (2009) were able to instate memories of being abducted by a UFO when they
provided children aged 7-12 with newspaper articles that provided information suggesting such
experiences were not uncommon. In fact, younger children (7-8 years old) were more likely to
report “memories” of being abducted than were children 11-12 years old. The issue of multiple
participants in a common abduction may the product of cross-contamination of memories and
fantasies between individuals, although this explanation has not, as yet, been empirically
evaluated.
Methodological issues
Many theories that seem parsimonious and reasonable have been advanced to explain the
AAE. However, methodological problems in this research area are legion. As we noted earlier,
(a) many of the studies reviewed rely on very small samples [e.g., Clancy (2007) N= 11] and
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retrospective analyses of biographical data that are not representative of all important features
such as normal conscious memory and association with sleep, and (b) many studies did not use
standardized test and diagnostic procedures. Also, it is not always clear whether individuals
experienced a classic AAE or merely experienced witnessing a UFO or an alien. Moreover,
virtually nothing is known about whether the persons who present to their therapists with
experiences consistent with AAEs are representative of the population of persons who have
AAEs in the larger community. Questions can be raised about the validity of AAE reporters'
responses to questionnaires or interviews. Experients may be defensive or highly committed to
their beliefs and status as "abductees," which may engender response biases that distort their
scores on measures of psychopathology, fantasy-proneness, and hypnotizability. It may be as
important to study the unique circumstances and self-presentational concerns of AAE reporters,
as it is to study the nature of their experiences. Unfortunately, no studies to date have
manipulated the perceived demand characteristics of the experimental setting and the way that
experimental scales and procedures are presented to AAE reporters (e.g., psychopathology vs.
creativity/imagination). Clearly, scales with established and subtle validity indices would be
worth including in studies of AAEs.
Various theorists have emphasized the role of therapy and therapists in the production of
AAE reports. However, we know very little about how therapists actually manage such reports
and abduction experients in therapeutic situations. Because the use of hypnosis is often
superimposed on the broader dynamics of psychotherapy, the specific role of hypnosis in
treatment has not been isolated. Researchers should consider both the perceptions and behaviors
of the client as well as the therapist. Clearly, this will be a complex and challenging endeavor.
Conclusion
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It may be asking too much for any theory or even any combination of variables identified
to date to account for all abduction reports. The evidence suggests that many, if not most, AAEs
are associated with sleep paralysis, cultural scripts, and the possible shaping influences of
suggestive procedures and hypnotizability. Yet it must also be said that many historical
abduction cases have not been associated with sleep paralysis, hypnosis has not been used in
many cases, and experients often have normal conscious memories associated with the reported
abduction (i.e., no “recovered” memory technique have been involved). If the hypotheses
tendered so far cannot completely explain the gamut of AAEs in prosaic terms, more esoteric
explanations may be required. The most prominent among these is that the AAE is veridical, but
no solid evidence supports this explanation. And in the absence of such evidence, the argument
strains credulity on many fronts. This notwithstanding, we might do well to emulate Meacham's
definition of "wisdom" (cited in Seppa, 1997) and "hold the attitude that knowledge is fallible
and strive for a balance between knowing and doubting." In this respect, the study of AAEs
might make us all a little wiser.
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