Harvard false-memory study of people reporting alien abduction

When: Aug 2002
Where: Cambridge, MA
Sources: 2 public sources

Harvard psychologist Richard McNally, who led the false-memory study Donna McNally, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Harvard psychologists Susan Clancy, Richard McNally and colleagues reported that people with recovered or suspected memories of alien abduction made more false recall and recognition errors in a word-list test than controls, with no difference in correct recall.

Sources

OtherMemory distortion in people reporting abduction by aliens (Journal of Abnormal Psychology 111(3):455-461) (opens in a new tab)PubMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine) / 2002-08
OtherMemory distortion in people reporting abduction by aliens (journal record) (opens in a new tab)American Psychological Association / 2002-08

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Where it fits

Earlier in Close encountersAPA volume reviews the evidence on alien abduction experiences2000 Later in Close encountersHarvard study of abductees' physiological responses2004

See it on the timeline More in Close encounters