'Alien abductees' help debunk themselves

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 21 (UPI) -- People who claim to have been abducted by aliens have convinced themselves of it so thoroughly, their physical reactions are the same as if it were real.

Using a test group of 12 people who claim to have been abducted, and 12 who make no such claim, researchers at Harvard University measured such physical reactions as heart rate, sweat production and facial muscle tension.

The emotional reaction among the abductees soared while listening to the stories of stress and abductions. But it was much weaker while listening to happy or neutral narratives, ABC News reported Wednesday.

The 12 participants who had never been abducted barely responded to any of the stories.

In answers to a questionnaire, the abductees scored high on personality traits that make them a bit different. People with those traits tend to have "a rich fantasy life, and to endorse unconventional beliefs," the researchers said in their report.

"The (abducted) person really believes something happened," said Richard McNally, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Harvard and lead author of a study in the July issue of Psychological Science. "But that doesn't necessarily mean it did."