2011 12 12 Journal of Experimental Psychopathology - Vol 3 No 1 - McNally

Magazine Overview

This document is an article titled "Explaining 'Memories' of Space Alien Abduction and Past Lives: An Experimental Psychopathology Approach" by Richard J. McNally, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychopathology in 2012.

Origins of the Research

The author, Richard J. McNally, describes how his research group initially focused on experimental psychopathology studies of war veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His Ph.D. student, Lisa Shin, expanded this to include women whose PTSD arose from childhood sexual abuse (CSA), focusing on the functional neuroanatomy of traumatic recollection. During this work, McNally encountered three women who reported symptoms but had no autobiographical memories of abuse, concluding their problems stemmed from repressed memories. This sparked an interest in studying repressed memories of CSA, a topic then embroiled in the "Memory Wars."

McNally collaborated with cognitive psychologist Daniel Schacter, and together with Susan Clancy and psychiatrist Roger Pitman, they launched studies testing hypotheses about the mechanisms of inhibiting recollection or forming false memories of CSA. One study found that women reporting recovered memories of CSA showed a higher propensity for false memories in a lab task compared to those who never forgot their abuse. However, the author notes that normal forgetting processes, rather than repression, can explain why some victims recollect abuse later.

Transition to Alien Abduction Research

The research focus shifted to alien abduction after McNally was invited to a conference on "anomalous experiences" hosted by John Mack, a psychiatrist known for his work on alien abduction. Initially, McNally and Susan Clancy considered recruiting participants reporting satanic ritual abuse to study false memory propensity. However, the conference, which included a diverse group of scholars and a panel of "experiencers" (alien abductees), convinced McNally that studying alien abductees was a more promising direction.

The abductees described experiences such as being taken into spaceships for hybrid breeding and medical procedures, and they appeared bright, articulate, and sane. McNally announced his interest in testing whether these "experiencers" would exhibit the psychophysiologic signature of PTSD when recalling their alien encounters. The positive reception from the abductees led McNally and Susan to secure funding for experimental research on them.

Recruitment Challenges and Findings

Prior to the conference, McNally had discussed his interest in alien abduction research with John Mack, who warned that recruiting genuine experiencers through newspaper advertisements might be difficult, potentially attracting pranksters. This prediction proved accurate when an advertisement in the Boston Globe asking, "Have you been abducted by aliens?" led to numerous calls, including one person making extraterrestrial-sounding noises and another, "Bob Smith," who claimed to be an abductee but expressed surprise when contacted about research participation.

Despite recruitment challenges, the research aimed to understand the psychology behind these claims. The data pointed towards quasi-spiritual motivations for embracing the identity of an alien abductee or past-life experiencer. The study utilized methods from cognitive psychology and psychophysiology, alongside clinical interviews and psychometric tests, to elucidate the psychological factors involved.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The article explores the intersection of memory, trauma, and belief systems, particularly concerning extraordinary experiences like alien abduction and past-life recall. It adopts an experimental psychopathology approach, seeking to understand these phenomena through empirical research rather than dismissing them outright. The author's stance appears to be one of scientific inquiry into the psychological mechanisms that might lead individuals to form or report such memories, suggesting that factors like false memory formation and quasi-spiritual motivations are key areas of investigation. The article also implicitly critiques the concept of repressed memories by highlighting the role of normal forgetting processes.

This document, titled "Alien Abduction and Past Lives," appears to be an excerpt from a publication discussing research into alien abduction phenomena. It details studies conducted by researchers, focusing on the psychological and physiological aspects of individuals who report alien encounters. The content suggests a scientific approach to understanding these experiences, employing experimental paradigms and psychometric assessments.

Research on Alien Abduction and False Memories

The research described aims to recruit and study individuals who genuinely believe they have been abducted by aliens. The authors acknowledge the challenge of ensuring participants' sincerity, noting an instance where a past life research participant confessed to faking their experiences. To ensure motivated participants, the study involved multiple sessions including detailed interviews, memory tests, psychiatric evaluations, and psychophysiological assessments.

The Deese/Roediger/McDermott (DRM) Paradigm

A key methodology employed is a variant of the Deese/Roediger/McDermott (DRM) paradigm, used to test for false memory propensity. Participants were exposed to lists of words that converged on a "critical lure" word they had not heard. The study found that both groups reporting alien abduction (those with autobiographical memories and those inferring abduction from indicators) exhibited false recall and false recognition rates approximately twice as high as a comparison group who denied alien abduction experiences. The strongest predictor of false recall was the score on the absorption questionnaire, a measure related to vivid imagination and fantasy life.

Psychophysiological Studies

Further research involved script-driven imagery studies to examine the psychophysiology of abduction memories. Abductees listened to audiotaped narratives of their alleged traumatic experiences (abduction and stressful events) and neutral/positive events. The study tested whether abductees exhibit the psychophysiological signature characteristic of PTSD patients. Results confirmed that abductees showed greater reactivity to traumatic scripts compared to non-traumatic scripts, with physiological measures like heart rate, skin conductance, and facial muscle tension indicating significant responses. These reactions were statistically indistinguishable from recollections of extremely stressful memories and were comparable to the reactivity of Vietnam veterans with chronic PTSD when listening to scripts of their war-related traumatic events. Control participants showed minimal reactivity, with some commenting, "Hmmmm, that was weird."

Psychiatric Interviews and Mental Health

Psychiatric interviews were conducted by Natasha Lasko. Among 10 abductees, diagnoses included panic disorder, anxiety disorder due to alcohol dependence, specific phobia of insects, bipolar disorder NOS, and subthreshold PTSD. Past disorders included major depression, alcohol abuse, cannabis dependence, and subthreshold PTSD. In contrast, the comparison group had no current disorders and only one case of past major depression.

Psychometric data further supported these findings. Abductees scored higher on the Dissociative Experiences Scale, Magical Ideation, and absorption compared to the control group. They were not found to be significantly more depressed or anxious, but did report unusual alterations in consciousness, belief in unconventional causation, and possessed vivid imaginations and rich fantasy lives.

"A Recipe for a Space Alien Abductee"

The document outlines "ingredients" for becoming a space alien abductee, suggesting that the more of these elements present, the more likely someone is to have abduction memories. These elements include:

1. Belief in Aliens and Unusual Ideas: Individuals who entertain the possibility of aliens whisking earthlings to spaceships, probing them medically, and extracting genetic material tend to have unusual ideas. Abductees scored high on magical ideation and endorsed New Age-like beliefs such as tarot cards, astrology, ghosts, bioenergetic healing, and alternative/herbal remedies at significantly higher rates than the comparison group.
2. Sleep Paralysis and Hypnopompic Hallucinations: Many encounters reportedly begin with episodes of isolated sleep paralysis accompanied by hypnopompic hallucinations (hallucinations upon awakening). Participants described awakening before dawn, being unable to move, feeling electricity, seeing flashing lights, hearing buzzing sounds, and glimpsing alien intruders. These experiences are described as nonpathological "hiccups" in REM sleep architecture where motor paralysis persists into wakefulness.
3. Hypnotic Memory Recovery: A significant portion (80%) of abductees underwent hypnotic memory recovery sessions. Mental health professionals used techniques, sometimes including leading questions, to help participants "recall" blocked memories of events like hybrid breeding and medical probing on spaceships. Vivid "memories" of alien encounters often followed these sleep paralysis episodes.
4. Absorption Trait: Elevated scores on absorption, a trait linked to fantasy proneness, vivid imagery, and hypnotizability, are common among abductees. Researchers suspect individuals high on this trait are more likely to interpret phenomena as alien encounters.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this document are the scientific investigation of alien abduction claims, the psychological underpinnings of such experiences, and the potential for false memory formation. The editorial stance appears to be one of objective inquiry, employing psychological and physiological research methods to understand the phenomenon rather than outright dismissal or validation of alien abduction claims. The focus is on the characteristics of individuals who report these experiences and the psychological mechanisms that might contribute to their formation and recall.

This document, titled "Alien Abduction and Past Lives," appears to be an excerpt from a publication discussing psychological phenomena related to extraordinary experiences. The content focuses on the factors contributing to alien abduction narratives and then transitions to an investigation of individuals who report memories of past lives.

Alien Abduction Experiences

The text outlines five key ingredients contributing to the experience of alien abduction. These include: 1) adherence to New Age beliefs, particularly high scores on measures of magical ideation; 2) experiencing episodes of isolated sleep paralysis accompanied by hypnopompic hallucinations; 3) undergoing hypnotic memory recovery sessions; 4) exhibiting high scores on measures of absorption; and 5) possessing familiarity with the cultural narrative of alien abduction. The authors note that the images of typical aliens and their spaceships in American culture, heavily influenced by Hollywood depictions and popular books, contribute to the similarity of reported encounters.

The research on alien abduction incited a media storm, with researchers Susan Clancy, Scott Orr, and the author appearing on television and radio to explain their findings. They emphasized that sincere, nonpsychotic individuals could come to believe they were victims of extraterrestrial kidnappings. This scientific explanation was met with criticism from the alien abductee community, who accused the researchers of being close-minded skeptics and presupposing that abduction reports were incorrect. The critics argued that true scientists should entertain the possibility of alien abductions occurring.

The authors counter that there are two primary explanations for why people report alien abduction recollections: either they were actually abducted by aliens, or their experiences are composed of the 'ingredients' previously described (sleep paralysis, absorption, etc.). While acknowledging that either hypothesis could be true in principle, they argue that the first hypothesis is inconsistent with a vast amount of established science in astronomy, physics, and biology. The second explanation, however, does not require rejecting these scientific findings. They advocate for an "inference to the best explanation," which favors hypotheses that account for phenomena without clashing with well-established scientific knowledge.

From Space Aliens to Past Lifers

The document then shifts focus to a new area of research initiated by Ph.D. student Cynthia Adelle, who investigated people reporting memories from past lives. Adelle attended a conference of past life regression therapists, where she encountered individuals who claimed to have lived previous lives. Examples include a woman who believed she was Anne Frank and a firefighter who recalled being General Gordon, an officer of the Confederacy.

Initial observations suggested that past lifers, despite their unusual beliefs, did not appear mentally ill, which is consistent with existing literature on the topic. The text notes that while Hinduism and Buddhism endorse reincarnation, their mainstream doctrines generally state that people cannot recover memories of past lives unless they have achieved extraordinary spiritual enlightenment.

Adelle recruited past lifers through the internet and past life regression therapists in the Boston area, finding it easier than recruiting alien abductees. She conducted in-depth interviews, finding that contrary to popular lore, most people reporting past lives did not claim to have been famous figures. Instead, their reported past lives included a variety of roles such as a newspaper boy, an assistant to an Egyptian pharaoh, a Viking, a Druid priestess, Mark Twain's wife, a Native American brave, and even a polar bear. One subject claimed to have been a space alien in a previous life.

Research on Past Lifers

For their first study, Meyersburg, Bogdan, Gallo, & McNally (2009) administered a variant of the DRM paradigm to 15 past lifers and 15 comparison participants. Past lifers reported an average of 4.4 previous lives, with a range from one to 20. They interpreted various phenomena, including vivid dreams, déjà vu experiences, imagery during regression therapy, and "physical" memories, as recollections from previous lives.

The results indicated that past lifers exhibited significantly higher rates of false recall and false recognition compared to control participants. However, they did not differ in rates of correct recall and recognition, meaning their difficulty lay in remembering critical lures that were not explicitly presented, similar to individuals reporting recovered memories of sexual abuse or alien abductees. Past lifers also scored higher on measures of absorption and magical ideation than comparison participants. Unlike alien abductees, past lifers did not report episodes of sleep paralysis or hypnopompic hallucinations.

Further research by Adelle involved recruiting 40 past lifers and 35 comparison participants to explore the psychology of past lifers. These past lifers reported an average of 5.35 past lives, ranging from one to 22. Given their elevated levels of absorption and magical ideation, the researchers tested whether past lifers scored higher on measures associated with creativity. The study found that while scores on magical ideation scales are associated with psychosis proneness, they also predict creative achievement in intelligent individuals. Diminished latent inhibition, the inability to ignore irrelevant stimuli, also predicts creative achievement.

A battery of questionnaires and a laboratory latent inhibition task were administered. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that past lifers would score higher on these measures. On the Creative Personality Scale, past lifers endorsed more adjectives descriptive of creative people (e.g., inventive) and fewer adjectives descriptive of conventional people. They also scored higher on measures of divergent thinking, meaning they generated more alternative uses for an object, such as a brick, with these responses rated as more original.

To investigate latent inhibition, a computerized task was used. This task involved a preexposure phase where participants heard white noise, and an exposure phase where they saw yellow circles appear on a screen, with the white noise preceding each circle. The participants' task was to identify the stimulus that signaled the appearance of a circle. The past life group (59%) was significantly more likely than the comparison group (36%) to correctly identify the white noise as the predictor, indicating less latent inhibition in the past lifer group.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this document are the psychological underpinnings of extraordinary experiences, specifically alien abduction and past life memories. The editorial stance appears to be one of scientific inquiry, favoring explanations that align with established scientific principles over those that require rejecting large bodies of evidence. The research presented aims to understand the cognitive and psychological traits that may predispose individuals to interpret their experiences as alien abductions or past lives, highlighting similarities in cognitive styles such as absorption, magical ideation, and creativity, while also noting key differences like the presence of sleep paralysis in abductees but not typically in past lifers.

This document, identified as issue 30 of "Alien Abduction and Past Lives," delves into a comparative psychological study of individuals who report memories of alien abduction and those who recall past lives. The content focuses on research findings, theoretical discussions, and future research directions in these areas.

Research Findings: Creative Achievement and Latent Inhibition

The study administered the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ) to both groups, which surveys 10 domains of creative achievement. The past life group (M = 17.7, SD = 16.6) tended to score higher on the CAQ than the comparison group (M = 13.3, SD = 12.7), though the difference was marginally significant (p = .10) and attributed in part to a few highly creative individuals. The initial hypothesis that past lifers would exhibit lower latent inhibition was confirmed by the first analysis but not the second. Both groups were described as bright, with a wide range of IQ scores.

Psychological Benefits and Coping Mechanisms

The research explored potential countervailing benefits for individuals reporting past life memories, such as reduced distress about mortality and enhanced meaning in life. Consistent with these hypotheses, past lifers scored lower on scales measuring fear of death and death anxiety (Reasons for Death Fear Scale, Death Anxiety Scale, Death Depression Scale-Revised). Furthermore, they scored significantly higher on the achieved meaning subscale of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, though not on the searching for meaning subscale.

Similarities and Differences: Abduction vs. Past Lives

Similarities were found between people reporting alien abduction and past lives, with both groups scoring high on absorption and magical ideation, indicating vivid imaginal capabilities and openness to unusual ideas. Isolated sleep paralysis and hypnopompic hallucinations were prominent in alien abduction narratives, though participants generally did not accept a psychobiological explanation. In contrast, sleep paralysis was not a significant feature in past life narratives, which arose from a more diverse set of experiences like déjà vu. Both groups were deemed psychologically healthy despite their "false memories," which shaped their identities.

Abductee Experiences and Perspectives

When asked if they would prefer not to have been abducted, most abductees indicated they were glad to have had the experience. They described how encounters with aliens deepened their spiritual awareness and made them feel cared for. Some proudly mentioned their selection for hybrid breeding programs. Ninety percent stated that, on balance, they were glad to have been abducted.

Past Lifer Identity and Mortality

Data on past lifers suggest a quasi-spiritual motivation for embracing their identity. They are content with their lives and nondistressed about their mortality, believing in reincarnation and having personal evidence that death is not the end. This contrasts with devout Christians who anticipate eternal life in Heaven, which requires faith.

Theoretical Context and Future Directions

The issue references Max Weber's concept of the "disenchantment of the world" by secular science, suggesting that both alien abductees and past lifers seek to "re-enchant" it. Theoretical speculation on alien abduction narratives has been extensive, but experimental research remains scarce. The document highlights the need for more laboratory experiments, including potentially inducing memories via hypnosis, as done for past lives. However, this approach carries the risk of creating false memories, as evidenced by some abductees developing subthreshold PTSD. The research also notes the heterogeneity of past lifers, suggesting the need to formulate "recipes" for different subtypes, similar to what has been done for alien abductees.

References

The document includes an extensive list of references, citing numerous academic papers and books related to alien abduction, past lives, memory distortion, trauma, sleep paralysis, creative achievement, and death anxiety. Key authors cited include Carson, Peterson, Higgins, Abdel-Khalek, Templer, Steger, McNally, Clancy, and Spanos.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the psychological and experiential parallels and divergences between alien abduction and past life recall phenomena. The editorial stance appears to be one of academic inquiry, presenting research findings and discussing theoretical implications and future research needs. There is an emphasis on understanding the subjective experiences of individuals and exploring the psychological mechanisms underlying these claims, while also acknowledging the potential for memory distortion and the need for rigorous scientific investigation.

This document comprises pages 40-44 of a publication titled 'Alien Abduction and Past Lives'. The content primarily consists of an extensive bibliography and author notes, suggesting it is part of a larger academic or research-oriented magazine issue. The page numbers indicate it is likely a section within a journal or magazine focusing on paranormal or psychological topics.

Bibliography

The bibliography lists numerous academic articles and books, primarily from the fields of psychology and psychiatry, published between 1970 and 2011. Key areas of research cited include:

• Past Life Memories and Recovered Memories: Studies by Meyersburg, McNally, Peters, Horselenberg, Jelicic, and Merckelbach investigate the nature of past life memories, the false fame illusion associated with them, and their relationship to hypnosis and trauma.
• Hypnosis and Suggestibility: Research by Spanos, Menary, Gabora, DuBreuil, and Dewhirst explores secondary identity enactments during hypnotic past-life regression from a sociocognitive perspective. Pyun and Kim examine the experimental production of past-life memories in hypnosis.
• Trauma and PTSD: Several entries relate to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including work by Orr, Metzger, and Pitman on psychophysiology, and Shin, Kosslyn, McNally, et al. on visual imagery and perception in PTSD, as well as a PET investigation of childhood sexual abuse-related PTSD.
• Memory and False Memories: Roediger and McDermott's work on creating false memories by remembering words not presented in lists is cited, relevant to the discussion of recovered memories.
• Personality and Individual Differences: Studies by Peterson and Carson on latent inhibition and openness to experience, and by Meyersburg, Carson, Mathis, and McNally on creativity and personality boundaries in those reporting past life memories, are included.
• Meaning in Life and Death Anxiety: Research by Steger, Frazier, Oishi, and Kaler on assessing meaning in life, and by Templer on the construction and validation of a death anxiety scale, are referenced.
• Other Related Topics: Citations also cover topics like "dissociative amnesia" (Piper, Pope, & Borowiecki), absorption and hypnotic susceptibility (Tellegen & Atkinson), and creative abilities (Torrance).

Author Notes

The author notes provide context for the preceding bibliography. The article is based on an invited address delivered at the World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 4, 2010. The author explicitly states that they are quoting conversational remarks from memory, meaning the text captures the essence rather than exact verbatim words. The research discussed was supported by grants from the Clark Fund and the Stimson Fund.

Correspondence

Contact information for Richard J. McNally of Harvard University is provided for correspondence, including a mailing address in Cambridge, MA, and an email address ([email protected]).

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes revolve around the psychological underpinnings of beliefs in past lives and alien abductions, focusing on memory, suggestion, trauma, and cognitive biases. The editorial stance appears to be one of academic inquiry, presenting research findings and scholarly discussions on these often controversial topics. The extensive bibliography indicates a commitment to evidence-based analysis within the field of psychology.