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Susan Blackmore and Marcus Cox
Department of Psychology
University of the West of England
Bristol BS16 2JP
Published in European Journal of UFO and Abduction
Studies, 2000, 1, 113-118
Abstract
Twelve ‘alien abductees’ were given
the Personal Philosophy Inventory (including a measure of temporal lobe
lability) and a questionnaire about sleep experiences. They were compared
with twelve matched controls and a student control group (n=51). No
differences in temporal lobe lability were found between the groups
but the abductees more often reported sleep paralysis than the controls.
Introduction
According to a recent Roper poll nearly 4 million
Americans have been abducted by aliens (Hopkins, Jacobs and Westrum,
1992). In fact this figure is misleading and almost certainly a gross
over-estimate (Blackmore, 1998; Stires, 1993). Nevertheless, personal
accounts of abduction by aliens have increased since the publication
of Hopkins’ books Missing Time (1981) and Intruders
(1987), and Strieber’s Communion (1987).
Over the years a typical abduction account
has emerged (see e.g. Mack, 1994; Newman & Baumeister, 1996; Schnabel,
1994; Thompson, 1993). Most experiences begin in bed at night (Spanos,
Cross, Dickson and DuBreuil, 1993; Wright, 1994); more rarely from a
car or outdoors. The abductee experiences an intense blue or white light,
a buzzing or humming sound, anxiety and the sense of an unexplained
presence. He or she is then transported or "floated" into
a craft and may be restrained or paralysed and subjected to examinations,
medical procedures, or the implantation of a small object in the nose
or elsewhere. The aliens are typically grey, about four feet high, with
a large head and black almond shaped eyes, though other aliens are occasionally
reported (Wright, 1994). The aliens’ purpose in abducting people
varies from benign warnings of impending ecological catastrophe to a
vast alien breeding program.
Occasionally people claim to be abducted in
public, though there are few examples of independent corroboration.
Physical evidence is extremely rare. A few ‘implants’ have
reportedly been removed from abductees’ bodies but they usually
mysteriously disappear (Jacobs, 1993), or turn out to be "of normal
biological material" (Mack, 1994) or even dental amalgam (Blackmore,
1997).
The abductions may not be physically real but
they still require explanation. There is no evidence that people who
see UFOs are generally suffering from serious psychopathology (Bloecher,
Clamar & Hopkins, 1985; Parnell, 1988). Parnell and Sprinkle (1990)
found that MMPI scores were in the average range for 140 people who
claimed communication with aliens, and Spanos, Cross, Dickson and DuBreuil
(1993) tested 49 UFO experiencers and found they actually showed less
psychopathology than a student or a community control group and higher
intelligence than the students. Bartholomew, Basterfield and Howard
(1991) found characteristics of fantasy proneness in 132 out of 152
contactees but when standard tests were used, no differences were found
in either fantasy proneness or hypnotizability by Ring and Rosing (1990),
Rodeghier, Goodpastor & Blatterbauer (1991) or Spanos et al
(1993). Zimmer (1984) found that UFO reporters were as likely as the
normal population to be high academic achievers and showed no more alienation,
distress or maladjustment. However, most of the UFO experiencers in
these studies had simply seen lights in the sky; some had seen alien
creatures but few reported full-blown abduction experiences. In the
only study specifically of abductees, Powers (1994) assessed dissociative
symptoms in twenty people claiming abduction. Compared with ‘sightees’
the abductees reported far more symptoms of dissociation and of post-traumatic
stress. Clearly abductees must be separated from people who have only
seen UFOs in future studies.
Newman and Baumeister (1996) have provided
a cognitive-motivational explanation of how spurious memories of abductions
are created and maintained. The motivation is likened to sexual masochism,
and hypnosis serves to elaborate and maintain the false memories. The
role of false memories in abduction cases has been widely discussed
(Clark & Loftus, 1996) and there is no doubt that complex abduction
fantasies can be created under hypnosis. However, about thirty per cent
of abduction accounts are obtained without hypnosis (McLeod, Corbisier
& Mack, 1996). Another possibility is that abductions are based
on some real and frightening experience which is then elaborated (with
or without hypnosis) into the culturally acceptable alien abduction
story. Two possible experiences have been suggested; visions induced
by excessive activation of the temporal lobes, and sleep paralysis.
Persinger (Persinger and Makarec, 1987; Persinger
and Valliant, 1985) has shown that mystical experiences, psychic experiences
and paranormal beliefs are associated with unstable temporal lobes,
or high "temporal lobe lability". He has also been able to
induce out-of-body and other experiences by applying rapidly fluctuating
weak magnetic fields across the temporal lobes of subjects in the laboratory
(Persinger, 1995). These include unpleasant vibrations, lights, floating,
flying, out-of-body sensations, sexual arousal, and a sense of presence
(Blackmore, 1994). Spanos et al found no difference between two
groups of UFO reporters and control groups using the temporal lobe lability
subscale of the PPI (Personal Philosophy Inventory, Persinger and Makarek,
1987). However, their ‘UFO non-intense’ group had only seen
lights in the sky. The ‘UFO intense’ group had seen craft
close up or experienced contact with an alien but only two claimed to
have been taken up in a spaceship. Therefore this study did not adequately
test for temporal lobe lability in abductees.
The main alternative theory is that abductions
are associated with sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is a common experience
in which a person wakes up but cannot move. It occurs occasionally in
about 40% of the population (Fukuda, Miyasita, Inugami, & Ishihara,
1987; Spanos, McNulty, DuBreuil, Pires & Burgess, 1995; Blackmore,
1998) and more frequently in narcoleptics (Thorpy, 1990). It is often
associated with a sense of presence, vibrations, lights, and sensations
of being prodded or pulled, as well as emotions ranging from curiosity
to intense fear or terror. Many cultures have sleep paralysis myths,
such as witch or hag riding in England (Davis, 1996-7), the Old Hag
of Newfoundland (Hufford, 1982), or Kanashibari in Japan (Fukuda, 1993).
Alien abduction may be our modern sleep paralysis myth.
Spanos et al (1993) pointed out the
similarities between abductions and sleep paralysis. The majority of
their UFO experiences occurred at night and almost 60% of their "intense"
UFO reports were sleep related. Of these experiences nearly a quarter
involved symptoms similar to sleep paralysis. If sleep paralysis underlies
abduction reports we would expect abductees to be especially prone to
the experience. Further studies of sleep paralysis in abductees are
clearly required.
The present study investigated temporal lobe
lability and sleep disturbances in a sample of British abductees. Although
people who have seen UFOs are easy to find, abductees are rare. Our
sample is therefore small but, unlike most previous studies, consists
entirely of people who claim full-blown abductions.
Method
Participants
The abductees (5 men and 7 women aged 20-69)
were recruited through the This Morning television programme
in which the senior author took part, and through BUFORA (the British
UFO Research Association). They were sent a covering letter, a consent
form and a questionnaire about their UFO experiences. Some had had multiple
experiences of meeting aliens or being abducted, and one had also observed
UFOs once or twice a year since he was twelve. Ten of them were convinced
their experiences were physically real. Seven complained of medical
problems, scars or headaches after the experiences. Half (2 men and
4 women) reported being abducted from their beds and half (3 men and
3 women) experienced abductions in other situations. Two independent
judges categorised them into "day-time" and "night-time"
abductees from their descriptions (inter-rater reliability; r = 1.00).
There were two control groups. The first was
matched for age group, gender and occupational group. The second was
a student control group of 51 undergraduates from the University of
the West of England, Bristol (17 men and 34 women aged 16-46).
Questionnaires
Three questionnaires were used. Abductees were
given a questionnaire about their abduction experiences, asking for
full descriptions and for details about when and where the abductions
occurred, what the aliens were like, and any after-effects of the experience.
All participants were given the Personal Philosophy Inventory (Persinger
& Makarec, 1987). This consists of 140 statements to be answered
as true or false. 52 of these comprise the ‘temporal lobe lability
subscale’. Scores on this subscale were recorded. A final questionnaire
asked about sleep experiences including sleep patterns and dream recall,
false awakenings, lucid dreams and sleep paralysis.
Results
Mean scores on the temporal lobe lability scale
were abductees 19.3; matched control 18.3; student control 20.2. A one-way
ANOVA shows there are no significant differences between the groups.
The PPI contains an item directly about alien beliefs "Alien intelligence
is probably responsible for UFOs". As Spanos had found, there were
significantly more believers among the abductees than the matched controls
(Fisher’s exact test, p = .047) and the student controls (p = .001).
Differences were found in the sleep pattern
questionnaire. There were three questions about sleep paralysis (waking
paralysed, pressure on the chest and a sense of presence). The abductees
reported all three experiences significantly more often than the matched
controls (Fisher’s exact test gives p values of 0.006, 0.04, and
0.01) and two of the experiences significantly more often than the student
controls (p = 0.007, 0.11, and 0.002).
When reports of sleep paralysis are compared
separately for the day-time and night-time abductees, there are no significant
differences for the day-time group but the night-time group report sleep
paralysis more often than the matched controls (p = .00005) and more
often than the student controls (p = .00003). The abductees also reported
more sleep disturbances, nightmares and out-of-body experiences than
the student control group.
Discussion
This was a very small study, reflecting the
fact that abduction reports are not common and probably far less so
in Britain than in the USA. Also many abductees are unwilling to be
involved in scientific research. Among the 24 approached, only 12 agreed
to take part and some were scornful of the value of research (Cox, 1995).
However, if abduction experiences require a different explanation from
merely seeing UFOs then it is important to find people who claim full-blown
abduction experiences for future research.
In spite of the small sample, the results strongly
support the suggestion that alien abductions are related to sleep paralysis
and not to temporal lobe lability. Temporal lobe lability scores were,
if anything, lower in the abductees than controls, so a larger sample
would have been unlikely to reveal a positive relationship. On the other
hand sleep paralysis was significantly more often reported in abductees
than either of the control groups, confirming Spanos et al’s
findings, and the idea that abductions may be a modern form of sleep
paralysis myth. Of course an alternative is that real aliens are causing
the increased sleep paralysis, and abductees’ belief in aliens
is well founded. The better we understand the psychological origins
of the experience the less likely that alternative becomes. We hope
that this study, small as it is, may help contribute to our understanding
of these unusual experiences.
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