Symposium

Alien abduction reports and psychological science
Stuart Appelle
Dean, School of Science and Mathematics, State University of New York at Brockport
Claims of alien abduction are generally dismissed by scientists out of hand. However neither evidence, scientific principle, nor implausibility arguments support an a priori dismissal. Rather, this typical response says more about the sociology of theory development in scientific psychology than it does about proper assessment of the phenomenon itself.

The Cognitive Psychology of Alien Abduction: Evidence for False Memories
Susan Clancy
INCAE Business School, Managua, Nicaragua
“Alien abductees” are studied using variants of the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm. They exhibit more false recall and recognition than controls. They are normal on correct recall and recognition. “Alien abductees” and people reporting recovered trauma memories may be prone to creating false memories both inside and outside the lab.

Types of Physical Evidence in Support of UFO Abductions as Event-Level Experiences
Budd Hopkins
Intruders Foundation, New York, NY
Landing traces at the sites of reported abductions will be presented along with soil analyses of the traces. Similarities among physical lesions on reported abductees will be shown and discussed along with a dermatological analysis. This will be accompanied by a narrative account from the purported abductee in each case.    

Psychophysiological Non-Evidence for Alien Abduction
Roger K. Pitman
Harvard Medical School
Like PTSD patients, when so-called alien abductees engage in mental imagery of their abduction events, they show elevated physiological responses. Does this mean these events actually occurred? Hardly. Emotional arousal for any reason can be reflected in physiological responses. Lie detectors show increased physiological responses when people are lying.