Luke Archer

University of Miami
Psy 275-R
10/26/2021

From Outer Space or Within the Mind?:

A Scientific Literature Review on UFO sightings and Alien Abductions

Introduction
Unidentified flying object sightings, as well as alien abduction claims, permeate around the
world. This article explores the causes and relations of these frequent phenomena. Although
many people believe this to be the result of extraterrestrial aliens, prevailing literature attributes
UFO sightings to a vast array of man made aircraft as well as weather phenomena and optical
illusions, and alien abductions to sleep paralysis experiences. This collection of 8 studies and
reports and articles illuminate a few more patterns amongst the phenomena.

Alien Abductions
Alien Abductions Experiences(AAE) are one of the most prevalent anomalous experiences
falling just behind ghost sightings in popularity.Although popular and worldwide, AAEs do not
have a universal definition. However, the most common feature prevalent in almost all AAE is
capture and experimentation by the aliens on the victim(Appelle, Lynn, Newman & Melaktaris
2014).

Thousands of people around the world believe that they have been abducted by aliens.(Holden
& French 2002) The systematic review of 80 studies and surveys between 1990 and 2002,
Alien abduction experiences: Some clues from neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry,
concluded that alien abductions are not actually caused by extraterrestrial aliens abducting
humans, but that they are caused by four major categories; sleep paralysis, false memories,
psychopathology, and abnormal activity in the temporal lobes. Holden & French also put
together the following table based on their analysis:

Table: Summary of typical characteristics of alien abduction experiences

Gitlib, Appelle, Rodeghier, and Flamburis’ (1994)

characteristic features:
● Recall of an abduction or encounter with apparently nonhuman entities. .
● Missing time related to recall of unidentified lights, objects, or apparently nonhuman
entities.
● Unusually realistic and emotionally intense dreams or dream-like experiences of UFOs
or apparently nonhuman entities.

Hopkins, Jacobs, and Westrum’s (1992) ‘

‘indicator experiences’’:
 ● Waking up paralysed with a sense of a strange figure or figures present. .
● Missing time.
● The feeling of actually flying.
● Seeing balls of light in one’s room.
● The presence of puzzling scars on one’s body.

Rodeghier’s (1994) ‘‘selection criteria’’ for abductees:

A person must be taken:
● against his or her will,
● from terrestrial surroundings .
● by nonhuman beings.

The beings must take the person to:

● an enclosed place .
● not terrestrial in appearance .
● assumed or known to be spacecraft by the witness.

In this place the person must either:

● . be subjected to an examination .
● engage in communication (verbal or telepathic),
● or both.

These experiences may be remembered:

● Consciously,
● or through methods of focused concentration (e.g. hypnosis)

Older studies prior to 2000 focus on all four categories of sleep paralysis, false memories,
psychopathology, and abnormal activity in the temporal lobes. A more recent article Sleep
Paralysis, Sexual Abuse, and Space Alien Abduction by McNally & Clancy from 2005 rules out
false memories, psychopathology and abnormal activity in the temporal lobes as leading factors
in AAE. The article summaries two studies, one where they assessed 10 individuals who
reported AAE and compared their findings to their study of 31 adults reporting childhood sexual
abuse. Both groups were also compared to a community and college student control group.

According to the article, about 30% of the general population has experienced at least one
episode of sleep paralysis in their life, however in their study 100% of individuals who reported
AAE were linked to episodes of sleep paralysis during which hypnopompic hallucinations were
interpreted as alien beings.

During these sleep paralysis sessions the subject is unable to move. Their body is completely
paralyized as a result of not fully waking up. When sleeping the body is immobilized to prevent
injury from erratic movements during dreams and REM sleep. While immobilized during sleep
paralysis the subject is conscious but also hallucinating similarly to dreaming in REM sleep. The
hallucinations are commonly reported to include hallucinations of demonic figures, strange
noises and lights and the feeling of being watched. It is easy to see how being conscious during
sleep paralysis can seem like an AAE to the subject.

When compared to control groups, subjects who self identified a history of AAE or central sleep
apnea, a condition that causes people to stop breathing in their sleep since their brain forgets to
tell the muscles to continue breathing once paralyzed, had a 17% higher rate of sleep paralysis
than the control group over a year. The study also compared CSA subjects to CSA subjects with
repressed memories. The CSA subjects with repressed memories did not show the higher rate
of sleep paralysis. AAE subjects and CSA subjects attributed their sleep paralysis to their ARE
or CSA while the control group did not. The results indicate that believing that you have
experienced trauma increases the rate of sleep paralysis.

McNally & Clancy addressed the limitations of their study that the sample sizes were very small
and a much larger study would be needed for more substantial results. There were only 10 AAE
subjects, 31 CSA subjects 6 of which had their memories suppressed through therapy.
Furthermore, Scimago ranks both Journals, Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Transcultural
psychiatry between the second and third quartile which although above average for the subject
of AAE is still only the top 50 & 75 percentile of rankings. Both are peer-reviewed, but most of
the journals I found with AAE-related studies were not peer-reviewed.

Unidentified Flying Objects

Unlike AAE, the research and science on UFOs consists of studies and reports from highly
accredited journals and official government studies. UFO abductees and contactees:
Psychopathology or fantasy proneness by Bartholomew, Basterfield, & Howard is from the
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice Journal and Close Encounters: An
Examination of UFO Experiences by Spanos, Cross, Dickson, & DuBreuil is from the Journal of
Abnormal Psychology are in the first quartile, top 25% of journals. This is above average for
most studies about UFOs which were in the second quartile, top 50%. They are all peer-
reviewed.

Not only are the scientific studies of UFOs highly credible, there are credible government
reviews and reports from the United States. The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects is written
by United States Air Force Captain Edward Ruppelt who was the Chief of Project Blue. The
Project Blue Book is a systematic review, by the USAF, of all UFO reports in the USAF from
1947 - 1969. Recently, on June 25th 2021, the Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial
Phenomena by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence which reviewed reports
from the USAF, United States Navy, and United States Intelligence Community, was released to
congress and the general public.

Just Like AAE, older prevailing theories one what caused UFO sightings included
psychopathology(Bartholomew, Basterfield, & Howard 1991). However, the study UFO
abductees and contactees: Psychopathology or fantasy proneness? which analyzed 152
subjects claiming UFO sightings, disapproved of this. They found that the subjects had no
diagnosis or personality traits different from the general public point towards psychopathology.

However, 132 of the 152 subjects showed major characteristics of Fantasy Prone
Personality(FPP). FPP is when a person is disposed to a deep involvement in fantasy. These
individuals are often described as “overly imaginative”(Bartholomew, Basterfield, & Howard
1991). This correlation points towards the idea that most UFO sightings are just things in the sky
that people cannot see clearly, and then imagine as alien in origin.

Close Encounters: An Examination of UFO Experiences further cements this idea that UFO
sightings are not caused by anything other than FPP.

In the study 176 participants, Students from Carleton University and adults from local
newspaper ads, were first split into two groups. Low Intense, which consisted of participants
claiming to have seen UFOs and Intense, which consisted of participants claiming to have
communicated with or been abducted by UFOs, the rest were split into control groups for the
college students and adults from the newspaper ads. The study is peer-reviewed and one of the
comprehensive nongovernmental studies on UFOs.

The results showed no difference in IQ level across the groups and that the UFO sightings and
AAE were not the result of pathological issues. The study showed that the UFO sightings group
as well as the AAE group “believed that aliens have visited the earth” at higher rates than both
control groups groups. The UFO sighting group also scored higher on traits correlated to FPP
than the other groups. This again suggests that most UFO sightings are overly imaginative
interpretations of flying things too far away to see. The AAE group experiences also scored
much higher in “experiences related to sleep” which is likely related to sleep paralysis, the
leading cause of AAE based on the previously mentioned studies.

The military reports of UFOs are different from most civilian UFO sightings and are likely not
based on FPP(Edward Ruppelt 2006). In chapter one of The Report on Unidentified Flying
Objects he tells of one report where there were two witnesses to the same UFO sightings. The
report states that two F-86 Sabre fighter jets were on a routine patrol when they sighted the
UFO. They tracked the UFO on their radar as flying at 700 miles per hour, it then slowed down
to 100 mph and the two fighter jets were able to fly up to it. They flew up very close and got a
“good view” of the UFO which they all described as a balloon like object from far away, but a
saucer-like object with a hole in the middle similar to a donut from close up. The UFO then sped
away, straight up in an “unnatural flight movement” one of the F-86’s fired at the UFO but it
escaped.

This is an example of one of the many reports that comprised Project Blue Book. From 1947 -
1969 the USAF had 12618 official UFO sighting reports. The Project Blue team led by Captain
Edward Ruppelt were able to identify 11917 of these reports as known satellites, aircraft,
balloons, missiles, searchlights, reflection/mirages, & wildlife. There were however 701 reports
that they were not able to identify. In the report it is stated that these 701 reports were likely
experimental craft or freak anomalies. Project Blue ended since the USAF deemed that UFO
sightings were not in fact caused by extraterrestrial aliens or a national security threat.

Recently this has changed. The Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena is a
result of reviewing all UFO reports from 2004 to 2021 from the USAF US Navy and US
Intelligence Community. 144 reports of UFOs were analyzed, 80 of these reports involved
observations with multiple sensors such as radar, thermal, and video evidence. 21 UFOs
reported are “a possible threat to national security.” The report is very similar to Project Blue
Book where the majority of UFOs were satellites, experimental aircraft, and military ordinance.
The report includes many videos and photos of the reported UFOs for the reports that they were
also unable to identify.

There were 21 reports with unidentifiable UFOs with “advanced technology”, 18 of which had
unnatural or implausible flight patterns. The reports that remain unidentified are stated to most
likely be “advanced experimental warfare equipment of foreign or domestic nature.” The report
states that although it cannot completely rule out the possibility that the reports are of alien
spacecraft, it is most likely of human origin. The report also notes that the majority of the reports
are clustered around US training and testing grounds. They speculate this could mean the
reports are of classified military aircraft.

Conclusion

Research on AAE is not concrete but the scientific consensus is that aliens are not in fact
abducting humans and AAE experiences are predominantly caused by sleep paralysis.

Research on UFOs is much more comprehensive and from highly accredited sources. The UFO
sightings are also not of extraterrestrial origin and in fact misinterpretations of satellites, aircraft,
and balloons as well as experimental military technology. People with higher FPP tend to report
UFO sightings more often as they have stronger imaginations.
References

Appelle, S., Lynn, S. J., & Newman, L. (2014). Alien abduction experiences. Varieties of
Anomalous Experience: Examining the Scientific Evidence., 253–282.
https://doi.org/10.1037/10371-008

Bartholomew, R. E., Basterfield, K., & Howard, G. S. (1991). UFO abductees and contactees:
Psychopathology or fantasy proneness? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice,
22(3), 215–222. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.22.3.215

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Project BLUE BOOK (1997). Washington, D.C. Released to
Congress & POTUS in 1966

Holden, K. J., & French, C. C. (2002). Alien abduction experiences: Some clues from
Neuropsychology and Neuropsychiatry. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 7(3), 163–178.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13546800244000058

McNally, R. J., & Clancy, S. A. (2005). Sleep paralysis, sexual abuse, and space alien
abduction. Transcultural Psychiatry, 42(1), 113–122.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461505050715

Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Preliminary assessment: Unidentified aerial

phenomena (2021).

Ruppelt, E. (2006). The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (Second Edition). Lulu.com.

Scimagojr. Scimago Journal & Country Rank. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2021, from
https://www.scimagojr.com/.

Spanos, N. P., Cross, P. A., Dickson, K., & DuBreuil, S. C. (1993). Close encounters: An
examination of UFO experiences. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102(4), 624–632.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843x.102.4.624