Science behind Alien Abductions

I decided to put together a little compilation of papers concerning alien abduction.

The Ordinary Nature of Alien Abduction Memories
By Mahzarin R. Banaji and John F. Kihlstrom
Department of Psychology - Yale University
PDF Version
HTML Version

Memory Distortion in People Reporting Abduction by Aliens
By Susan A. Clancy, Richard J. McNally, Daniel L. Schacter, and Mark F. Lenzenweger
Harvard University

Also Roger K. Pitman
Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital
PDF Version
HTML Version


Psychophysiological Responding During Script-Driven Imagery in People Reporting Abduction by Space Aliens
(Abstract Only - Subscription)
HTML Version


The General's Abduction by Aliens from a UFO: Levels of Meaning of Alien Abduction Reports
(Abstract Only)
HTML Version

Alien abduction experiences: Some clues from neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry
(Abstract Only)
HTML Version

THE ABDUCTION EXPERIENCE: A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THEORY AND EVIDENCE
PDF Version
HTML Version

Sleep paralysis and the structure of waking-nightmare hallucinations.
PDF Version

Sleep Paralysis, Sexual Abuse, and Space Alien Abduction
(Abstract Only)
HTML Version


Books

Alien abduction: The inside story
S Blackmore - New Scientist, 1994

Passport to the Cosmos: The Transformative Lessons of the Alien Abduction Phenomenon
JE Mack - 1999 - Crown Publishers

Abduction: human encounters with aliens
JE Mack - 2000 - Tokyo: Cocoro Sha

Close encounters of the fourth kind: alien abduction and UFOs: witnesses and scientists report
CDB Bryan - 1996 - London: Orion

Alien-abduction? Science calls it sleep paralysis
ND Kristof - The New York Times, 1999

The Science Fictionalization of Trauma: Remarks on Narratives of Alien Abduction
R Luckhurst - Science Fiction Studies, 1998

Close Encounters of The Fourth Kind: Alien Abduction
CDB Bryan - UFOs, and the Conference at MIT New York: Knopf, 1995

Chronic claims of alien abduction and some other traumas as selfvictimization syndromes
J Schnabel - 1994 - Dissociation

Alien abduction experiences
S Appelle, SJ Lynn, L Newman

Aliens in America: Conspiracy Cultures from Outerspace to Cyberspace
J Dean - Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1998

Alien abductions: creating a modern phenomenon
T Matheson - 1998 - Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books

How to defend yourself against alien abduction (lol)
A Druffel - 1998 - New York: Three Rivers Press

MILABS: military mind control & alien abduction
H Lammer, M Lammer - 1999 - Lilburn, GA: IllumiNet Press

Connections: solving our alien abduction mystery
B Collings, A Jamerson - 1996 - Newberg, OR: Wild Flower Press

Close encounters of the fourth kind: alien abduction, UFOs, and the conference at MIT
CDB Bryan - 1995 - New York: Knopf

Alien abduction claims examined: Signs of trauma found
WJ Cromie

The Construction of Space Alien Abduction Memories
SE Clark, EF Loftus - Psychological Inquiry, 1996

The “alien abduction” phenomenon: forbidden knowledge of hidden events
ME Zimmerman - Philos. Today, 1997

The prevalence of sleep paralysis and temporal lobe lability in persons who report alien abduction
M Cox - Unpublished thesis

Into the fringe: a true story of alien abduction
K Turner - 1992 - New York: Berkley Books

The abduction enigma
KD Randle, R Estes, W Cone… - 1999 - New York: Forge

That should keep you busy for awhile.

Funny you should post this now,

I noticed earlier today on yahoo news, ran a story on this

uk.news.search.yahoo.com...

Im sure things like this Sleep paralysis etc. makes up alot of "Alien Abduction" cases. In a great deal of these studies it seems the people doing them are already covinced that Alien abductions just cant be. For example a qoute from one of your links.

Introduction. Many thousands of people around the world firmly believe that they have been abducted by alien beings and taken on board spaceships where they have been subjected to painful medical examination. Method. Given that such accounts are almost certainly untrue

When you start a study with a preset outcome already in your mind it tends to lead to bad sceince. But even these theories cant explain all accounts of Alien abduction. Sleep Paralysis for example cant explain cases where multiple people are abducted at the same time while awake like the infamous "Fire in the sky" or " Betty&Barney Hill" case. Or reports of people waking up in clothes that are not their own after a abduction, cant be explained away with any Psychophysiological theory.

Duc;

Thank you for all that research..
BUT it would be little comfort for me to tell all my clients that have had this experience..gee, this is a sleep disorder..
Since forever, it has been one of my callings to give comfort and hope, especially those who have had implants, stolen fetuses, and unusual scoop marks that this is scientifically debunked.
Real abductees are in a state of confusion, and the thing they need most is not a shrink telling them thay have been abused, as they know that.
I pulled my thread on hybrids because I was outing too much truth, and it could have really caused harm to mom's who have had their babies taken or have been inseminated and only get occasional visits to comfort their child..It is HARD for them to know that have an alien baby that they cannot take home with them..
Remember the barney hill case?
He broke out with unhealable rash, had burn spots all over his car, and when he was under trance, he got up and tried to jump out a window.
IF you know anything about hypnosis, people in trance do not get up unless the hypnotist tells them to.. still friends??

In the Lab no less


[edit on 27-10-2005 by nullster]

Originally posted by nullster
In the Lab no less

[edit on 27-10-2005 by nullster]

SINCE when do they have boobs???

[edit on 27-10-2005 by siriuslyone]

Dulcimer, thanks for the post. As always I am sure you put allot of work compiling that collection. Will have to go through those tonight.

siriuslyone - Hmm so I'm presuming you wouldn't want to see the ones in bikinis. Are you not aware of all the different types of aliens there are?.....
Seriously, they have been very interested in human DNA because they can't produce a stable silicone variant on their home planets. Besides they really prefer natural anyway.

Null;

You ARE a real comedian

Do you dis-info people have unlimited funds to purchase thses ugly fake mannekins to confuse the less adroit?

The above "answers" to the alien abduction phenomenon were the same party line given by Pete Jennings. There are many flaws with these studies. The can only account for some of the abduction cases, but not all!

For example, the sexual abuse theory has been shot down. If, for example, the alien abduction is supposed to be the screen memory for horrible sexual abuse, then why is the screen memory, the abduction memory, buried so deep, where the supposedly intolerable memory, the sexual abuse, is readily remebered?

It also does not explain the following:

The world wide nature of the phenomenon
Abduction details showing up in children as young as 2
Abduction cases that happen in broad daylight when the abductee is wide awake, or abductions that take place while driving.
Multiple witness cases

And since they have copme to the conclusion that alien abductions are untrue before they have even done the study, I dont see this as very scientific. You are supposed to come to conclusions AFTER the studies, not before. And how do they know alien abductions are true? Because Aliens and UFOs dont exist? Says who?

I myself am not claiming that I fully believe in alien abductions. I think it is very possible. Though I am thouroughly convinced UFOs are real and alien intelligences are visiting earth, when it comes to the abduction phenomenon, I honestly dont know what to think. I theorize that there could be many things going on that are more complex than either actual abductions or simple sleep paralysis. I keep my mind open when it comes to abductions. Its sad most scientists do not, being convinced before the research can start, that it is all untrue from the start.

However you choose to view the subject, you also have to analyze things from both sides.


You need proof that shows these things are actually happening.
You also need proof they are not happening.

I dint think either side has explained enough to ever come to a conclusion.

For scientists and such to look into this issue is risky enough. There is a serious credibility factor.

I'm amazed its studied at all.

Originally posted by Dulcimer
However you choose to view the subject, you also have to analyze things from both sides.


You need proof that shows these things are actually happening.
You also need proof they are not happening.

I dint think either side has explained enough to ever come to a conclusion.

For scientists and such to look into this issue is risky enough. There is a serious credibility factor.

I'm amazed its studied at all.

Thats the sad thing. You are amazed it is even studied. It shouldnt be like that. Ridicule is NOT part of the scientific method. If scientists would tackle this true unknown with as much zeal as others, we might be closer to an answer.

I have seen some cases of alien abduction where I was convinced there was psychological factors going on. But there are many others that really defy some rational explaination, and thats where the study should be. Who knows what we will find? Maybe the truth is even stranger than intergalactic Mengeles! But we wont know until honest, unbiased, and quality research and testing is done by real pros.

Originally posted by Dulcimer
However you choose to view the subject, you also have to analyze things from both sides.


You need proof that shows these things are actually happening.
You also need proof they are not happening.

I dint think either side has explained enough to ever come to a conclusion.

For scientists and such to look into this issue is risky enough. There is a serious credibility factor.

I'm amazed its studied at all.

What about those implants, doctors pull all sort of strange things out of people, yet nobody obviously considers them real evidence. I smell a rat....

Dulcimer ..For scientists and such to look into this issue is risky enough. There is a serious credibility factor.

I'm amazed its studied at all.

I agree with this whole heartedly. Very simply put there is a fringe culture that makes abductions and aliens a dicey subject to take seriously in the scientific communities. I am not in least surprised of the findings. People with a propensity to believe in alien abductions are the most likely to experience the phenomenon. That shouldn't be a shock to anyone.

[edit on 28-10-2005 by nullster]

A related article was recently in the news:

Link

Would you like to help with a study of a strange sleep phenomenon that may shed light on memory, the contents of our dreams and even alien abduction?

The study has been triggered in part by the emergence in recent decades of "a most bizarre phenomenon", according to Prof Chris French, head of the Anomolistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths College in London.

...

To investigate, Prof French compared 19 alleged "abductees" and 19 age- and gender-matched volunteers. Last week, he told a meeting in the Science Museum's Dana Centre that these "experiencers" scored more highly in a number of areas, including belief in the paranormal and a tendency to hallucinate.

Many had a history of sleep paralysis, a penumbra of consciousness when sufferers sense the presence of a nearby threat, either when falling asleep or awakening.

"These findings show that it is possible to carry out good science in this controversial area, and start to discover what lies behind these unusual reports," said Prof Richard Wiseman, University of Hertfordshire. ''Of course," he added, "it is always possible that Prof French has been abducted by aliens, and unknowingly had these ideas put into his head to prevent the real truth emerging.''

Read the full article for more. It goes on and on.