The Uninvited : An exposé of the alien abduction phenomenon

by Nick Pope

Another attempt to bring some scientific methodology to abduction research was an experiment to see whether there were any psychological differences between abductees and non-abductees. Conceived by Budd Hopkins and carried out by Dr Elizabeth Slater in 1983, it involved nine abductees, and crucially, Slater was not told that the group she was asked to assess had been abducted. Slater administered a full range of standard psychological tests used to measure intelligence and assess personality, such as the Rorschach test and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Revised. She then drew up a detailed report on the group, which concluded that they were generally of above average intelligence, had rich inner lives (i.e. they were more likely to daydream or fantasise), and generally seemed to be a little strange. Other characteristics that Slater noted included a tendency towards low self-esteem, lack of emotional maturity and mild paranoia.