Post by Steve on Jan 13, 2011 18:29:26 GMT -6
Posted below is a copy of the preliminary findings report of the Omega Three study.
(This is a copy of post in UFOmania forum by "David" ;D The source of the document is considered authentic by the UFOmania moderators
)
According to Roger Marsh, the study was launched sometime in August 2008.
"The Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) Abduction/Experience Research Committee is launching the first of four studies it will conduct over the next few years - Omega Three."
www.examiner.com/ufo-in-national/....ega-three-study
Omega 3: Revelation or Revolution --- A Comparative Study of Abductees/Experiencers & Community Comparison Control Participants
Robert B. LeLieuvre, Lester Velez, & Michael Freeman
Ring and Rosing (1990) compared individuals who reported Near-Death experiences with individuals who reported UFO encounters. They also compared the experiential groups with two control groups, one for each type of extraordinary encounter. They found high degrees of similarities both in antecedent life experiences and in consequences of these encounters. Interestingly, they also found such similarities in the control groups for each encounter, although both control groups scored lower on the dimensions studied.
On the basis of their findings related to antecedent experiences, Ring and Rosing (1990) concluded that three conditions were very likely necessary for persons to become encounter-prone personalities. First, such individuals reported heightened sensitivity to altered states of consciousness or altered realities, early paranormal or psi experiences, but no greater fantasy-proneness as children. Second, they experienced greater conflict, psychosocial abuse, and trauma in childhood. Third, the result of the above two elements led these individuals to use dissociation as a coping skill when faced with later stressful conditions or events. They offered an abuse-trauma-dissociation pathway to extraordinary experiences of the near-death or UFO kind.
After their extraordinary experiences, these persons reported significant changes in psychophysiological functioning and in their attitudes, beliefs, and values, with a very noticeable shift from traditional religious beliefs to a universal-spiritual belief system. While there were some differences in their interpretations of the force or forces behind Near-Death experiences and UFO encounters, when compared to each other and to their control counterparts, the similarities far outweighed the differences.
Ring and Rosing (1990) comment on the problem of heterogeneity of those constituting the experiential or experimental group, and Rodeghier, Goodpaster, and Blatterbauer (1992) point to the heterogeneity of participants in such studies, including their own. The experiential groups typically consisted of individuals who had varied types of UFO encounters or alien contacts. Both sets of authors have suggested that additional study of only those who report abductions compared with those with an interest in, but no experience with abductions, be undertaken.
In a preliminary study, LeLieuvre, Larson, and Remington (2008) found patterns of scores consistent in the main with Ring and Rosing (1990), but they also found that comparison subjects reported greater degrees of dissociation than did experiential subjects. Although the difference was not statistically significant, this finding did call into question the abuse-trauma-dissociation pathway. Moreover, the experiential subjects in this study, when compared to the control subjects, were slightly more fantasy-prone than were the subjects in the Ring and Rosing (1990) study.
Persinger and his colleagues have offered a neurological basis for extraordinary encounters, arguing that the temporal lobes and the limbic system are involved in, or the major source of, such encounters. Makarec and Persinger (1990) developed an inventory to assess temporal lobe sensitivity and lability (i.e., rapid changeability, heightened reactivity) in those who experience the anomalous. They found that there are two factors --- temporal lobe signs and complex partial epilepsy signs ---- that predict easier access to anomalous experiences. The Personal Philosophy Inventory allows a paper-and-pencil measure of the two factors, as well as the opportunity to assess other derived clusters related to the phenomenology of extraordinary experiences --- sensed presence, visitor experiences, alien intelligence, and psi or paranormal experiences.
It is the contention of the present authors that these neurological variables, along with the variables measured by Ring and Rosing (1990), need to be studied in abductees/experiencers. This study attempts to do just that, using convenience samples of abductees/experiencers and community comparison control participants.
METHOD
Seventy- one individuals who reported one or more abduction experiences constituted the experiential/experimental group. Fifty-one individuals with an interest in the abduction phenomenon, but no direct experience with it, constituted the community comparison control group. Placement decisions were based on participants’ responses to several key items on a demographic and qualification form. Those in the experiential/experimental group reported contact experiences that ranged from the prosaic --- missing time and a vague sense of unwilling contact with an alien other --- to the dramatic and extreme --- multiple abductions with or without medical examinations but with fear and terror as predominant feelings during and after the experiences. It should be noted that some of the participants in the community comparison control group had had sighting experiences but with no trace evidence or entity contact involved. Participants were recruited through an ad in the Mutual UFO Network’s UFO Journal, contact with members of the Organization for Paranormal Understanding and Support, and recruitment requests at the 2009 MUFON International UFO Symposium in Denver, Colorado. Both groups signed an informed consent document and completed a demographic & experience qualification form, as well as the instruments used by Ring and Rosing (1990) and the Personal Philosophy Inventory (Makarec and Persinger, 1990).
The descriptive data presented below provide a snapshot of the participants.
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
Abductees/Experiencers (n = 71) Community Comparison Controls (n = 51)
Gender: Gender:
F = 46 F = 25
M = 25 M = 26
Marital Status: Marital Status:
Married = 28 Married = 33
Divorced = 17 Divorced = 9
Single = 20 Single = 9
Partnered = 2 Partnered = 0
Separated = 1 Separated = 0
Widowed = 3 Widowed = 0
Ethnicity or Race: Ethnicity or Race:
White = 50 White = 45
African-American = 3 African-American = 0
Latina/o = 5 Latina/o = 5
Native American = 2 Native American = 0
Asian = 2 Asian = 1
Mixed = 9 Mixed = 0
Religious Preference: Religious Preference:
Catholic = 2 Catholic = 10
Protestant = 15 Protestant = 13
Christian = 8 Christian = 1
Mormon = 1 Mormon = 1
Spiritual = 10 Spiritual = 3
Jewish = 2 Jewish = 2
Other = 13 Other = 5
None = 20 None = 16
Age: Age:
Mean = 52.71 Mean = 52.69
Range = 26-74 Range = 24-81
Educational Level: Educational Level:
Mean = 14.96 Mean = 16.30
Range = 9-20 Range = 13–22
The demographic data speak volumes about who, in these particular samples, has contact or abduction experiences. They are predominantly married or single, white women whose average age is in their early 50’s and who have, on average, two years of college or university education. On these dimensions, comparison subjects are also predominantly married and white, of approximately the same age, but evenly split on gender, and have, on average, a bachelor’s degree. Among experiencers, current religious preferences lean heavily toward Protestant or None; among comparison controls, current religious preferences lean toward Protestant, Catholic, or None.
RESULTS
RING & ROSING SURVEYS: SEE RING & ROSING (1990) FOR FULL DESCRIPTIONS
CEI ~ Childhood Experiences Inventory
HEQ ~ Home Environment Questionnaire
WPI ~ Wogan Psychological Inventory --- A measure of non-clinical dissociation
PCI ~ Psychophysical Changes Inventory
KS ~ Kundalini Scale --- A measure of a particular yoga energy force
LCI ~ Life Changes Inventory
RBI ~ Religious Beliefs Inventory
OI ~ Opinion Inventory
The means and standard deviations for all participants are shown below. (Note the means in parentheses below are those reported by and available from Ring and Rosing (1990) for their UFO experiencers.) The differences between each set of means for the current participants were analyzed using t –tests for independent groups. The resultant t – values were compared at both the .05 and .01 statistical significance probability levels, for both 1-tailed and 2-tailed tests. A computed t - value above the tabular value for the .05 level indicates that the obtained difference could occur by chance only five times in one hundred. A computed t – value above the tabular value for the .01 level indicates that the obtained difference could occur only one time in one hundred. A 1-tailed test is used when a directional prediction is possible; a 2-tailed test is used in those cases where the difference might be in either direction. For all comparisons below, the statistical significance probability level reached for the more powerful test (i.e., 1-tailed) is reported.
Abductees/Experiencers (n = 71) Community Comparison Controls (n = 51)
CEI CEI
Fp --- Fantasy Proneness (n = 10 items)
A-R --- Sensitivity to Altered Realities or States of Consciousness in Childhood (n = 8 items)
Psi --- Early Childhood Paranormal Experiences (n = 6 items)
Fp ~ Mean = 5.338 (6.46) Fp ~ Mean = 4.725 (6.46)
Sd = 2.838 Sd = 2.880
A-R ~ Mean = 2.478 (2.73) A-R ~ Mean = 0.921 (1.00)
Sd = 2.209 Sd = 1.426
Psi ~ Mean = 2.746 (2.90) Psi ~ Mean = 1.019 (1.52)
Sd = 2.040 Sd = 1.503
Data from the CEI indicate that abductees/experiencers scored higher on fantasy proneness (5.338 v. 4.725; t = 1.165, n. s.), but this difference was not statistically significant. They did score significantly higher on altered realities (2.478 v. 0.921; t = 4.720, p < .01) and psi experiences (2.746 v. 1.019; t = 5.383, p < .01) than did community comparison control participants. While the current means are slightly lower than the original Ring and Rosing (1990) means, they are in the direction expected. One score comparison creates somewhat of a conundrum and remains to be more fully examined. More specifically, Ring and Rosing (1990) found that their UFO experimental group did not differ in fantasy proneness; LeLieuvre, Larson, and Remington (2008) found that experiential subjects were slightly more fantasy prone than their control counterparts. In the present study, abductees/experiencers again were not more fantasy prone than comparison controls. It appears that abductees/experiencers are sensitive to anomalous events --- altered states of consciousness, & paranormal experiences, but not fantasy proneness --- beginning in childhood and continuing to the present.
HEQ HEQ
Mean = 47.338 Mean = 41.549
Sd = 18.519 Sd = 13.586
(Range ~ 0 – 152) (Range ~ 0 – 152)
WPI WPI
Mean = 101.267 (110.78) Mean = 86.549 (105.82)
Sd = 26.708 Sd = 23.415
(Range ~ 40 – 200) (Range ~ 40 – 200)
On the HEQ, abductees/experiencers scored statistically significantly higher than community comparison control participants (47.338 v. 41.549; t = 1.990, p < .05). As in the original Ring and Rosing (1990) study, these experiential subjects reported more conflict, stress, abuse, and trauma in their childhood home environments than did control subjects. Likewise on the WPI, the experiential subjects reported a greater tendency toward a dissociative coping style than did control subjects (101.2767 v. 86.549; t = 3.228, p < .01). This latter difference is consonant with the difference found in the Ring and Rosing (1990) study but is not in line with the finding in the LeLieuvre, Larson, and Remington (2008) study.
PCI PCI
Mean = 23.300 Mean = 7.310
Sd = 13.840 Sd = 9.205
(Range ~ 0 – 60) (Range ~ 0 – 60)
KS KS
Mean = 3.185 Mean = 0.940
Sd = 2.794 Sd = 1.580
(Range ~ 0 – 12) (Range ~ 0 – 12)
Data from both the PCI and the KS indicated more psychophysical changes and more frequent experiences with Kundalini energies among abductees/experiencers than among controls (23.300 v. 7.310; t = 7.658, p < .01 and 3.185 v. 0.940; t = 2.098, p < .05). In the tantric yoga tradition Kundalini energy is a subtle form of bioenergy, usually lying dormant at the base of the spine, that can be activated by various kinds of spiritual experiences or crises and that can be highly destabilizing in its physical and/or psychological effects. Note the mean for the community comparison control group would have been higher if a single individual’s KS score had been included. That person suffered a benign brain tumor (which she feared was an alien implant even though she had had no entity contacts or abduction experiences) that was excised surgically. Given that the Personal Philosophy Inventory measures temporal lobe sensitivity and lability, which can be affected by brain lesions, it was decided not to include her score.
LCI * LCI *
Mean = 33.550 Mean = 14.823
Sd = 19.920 Sd = 15.255
(Range ~ -100 --- +100) (Range ~ -100 --- +100)
(*) See special score comparisons for 3 key items reported below.
RBI --- Shift Score ^ RBI --- Shift Score ^
Mean = 3.760 (6.46) Mean = 2.725 (5.12)
Sd = 3.123 Sd = 3.188
(Range ~ 0 – 12) (Range ~ 0 – 12)
(^) This is a score reflecting a shift from traditional to universal-spiritual religious beliefs.
On the LCI, abductees/experiencers scored significantly higher than community comparison controls (33.550 v. 14.823; t = 5.950, p < .01). The former group also showed a larger shift score than the latter group on the RBI (3.760 v. 2.725; t = 1.784, p < .05). Both shift scores, however, were lower than the Ring and Rosing (1990) shift scores (6.46 v. 5.12). Thus, while experiential participants reported more life changes and a greater shift from traditional religious beliefs to a more universal spiritual belief system, the shift in religious thinking was not as large as the subjects showed in the original Ring and Rosing (1990) study.
OI * OI *
Mean = 17.085 Mean = 12.725
Sd = 6.021 Sd = 6.431
(Range ~ 0 – 30) (Range ~ 0 – 30)
(*) See special score comparisons for 11 key items reported below.
Data from the OI revealed differences of opinion regarding the force or forces underlying the extraordinary experience of abduction. The mean for the experiential group was 17.085; the mean for the comparison control group was 12.725. The comparison was statistically significant (t = 3.795, p < .01).
SPECIAL SCORE COMPARISONS
Life Changes Inventory
Percentage of Strongly Increased/Increased Item Endorsements ---
Q-21 ~ My concern with the welfare of the planet has: A/E = 75 CCC = 47
Q-38 ~ My concern for ecological matters has: A/E = 74 CCC = 44
Q-39 ~ My interest in the possibility of
extra-terrestrial life has: A/E = 90 CCC = 69
When one looks more closely at the LCI responses, one discovers two important findings that are clearly in line with Ring and Rosing (1990) and one that is revealing in and of itself. Consonant with Ring and Rosing (1990), a greater percentage of abductees/experiencers, compared with comparison controls, indicated that their concern with the welfare of the planet either strongly increased or increased (75% v. 47%). And, in a similar way, when compared with control counterparts, a greater percentage of experiential subjects indicated that their concern for ecological matters either strongly increased or increased (74% v. 44%). An interesting finding was seen in response to the item measuring interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Among abductees/experiencers, 90% indicated that their interest either strongly increased or increased. While only 69% of comparison control subjects indicated any increase in such interest, the fact remains that even an interest in the area has an impact on consideration of the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
Opinion Inventory
Percentage of Agree and/or ? Endorsements to 3 Themes ---
Q’s 2, 6, 10, & 11 ~ Evolutionary Items A/E = 67/76 CCC = 38/44 ^
Q’s 4, 23, & 28 ~ Purposiveness Items A/E = 48/55 CCC = 20/24 ^
Q’s 2, 8, 21, & 28 ~ ET Influence Items A/E = 51/68 CCC = 26/44 ^
(^) The 2 values reflect the differences in Agree - Disagree - ? scoring choices; the larger of the two is the more liberal and flexible value, combining the Agree and ? endorsements, while the smaller only includes Agree endorsements.
On the OI, four items concern a change in evolutionary direction and goals, three items focus on the possible purposiveness of the participants’ experiences, and four items relate to an active extraterrestrial influence on human affairs. For the experiential group, the percentage of agreement ranged from 67% to 76%, 48% to 55%, and 51% to 68% respectively for the three areas of concern or interest. For the control group, the percentage of agreement ranged from 38% to 44%, 20% to 24%, and 26% to 44% respectively for the three areas of concern or interest. Abductees/experiencers appear to be more strongly convinced that their extraordinary experiences are controlled by a force or forces quite different from, and perhaps as yet unknown, to human science, religions, and/or philosophy. Moreover, they seem to see those experiences as heralding a major evolutionary transformation of human consciousness.
The Actual Items
Evolution ---
Q-2 ~ I believe that the changes I’ve undergone since [becoming interested] {my} UFO experiences are part of an evolutionary unfolding of humanity.
Q-6 ~ In my opinion, the widespread occurrence of UFO experiences is part of a larger plan to promote the evolution of consciousness on a species-wide scale.
Q-10 ~ We are already in or at least on the verge of a New Age.
Q-11 ~ Evolutionary forces are already at work which will transform humanity at large into a more self-aware, spiritually sensitive species.
Purposiveness ---
Q-4 ~ I believe my [interest in] UFO experiences was “arranged” or “designed” by a higher agency or by my higher self.
Q-23 ~ I believe that my [interest in] UFO experiences occurred so as to awaken me to the existence of larger cosmic forces which are affecting our lives.
Q-27 ~ I feel I have a mission to use what I have learned from my [study or] UFO experiences to spread God’s love to all.
Extraterrestrial Influence ---
Q-3 ~ I believe that humanity may be the object of biological experimentation by extraterrestrial life forms.
Q-8 ~ I believe alien beings are likely to exert increasing control over human life in years to come.
Q-21 ~ There are higher order intelligences that have a concern with the welfare of our planet.
Q-28 ~ There are higher order intelligences that are bent on exploiting our planet in some way.
PERSINGER & MAKAREC --- PERSONAL PHILOSPHY INVENTORY
The Personal Philosophy Inventory is a true-false test designed to assess the likelihood of temporal lobe involvement in a variety of anomalous and/or extraordinary experiences. Extensively studied, validated, and cross-validated, the inventory predicts with a high level of confidence experiences that range from the mundane to the sublime, from the earthly to the spiritual.
The inventory measures two major factors: temporal lobe signs, which are associated with ictal-like signs (i.e., sudden or paroxysmal onset of seizure-like symptoms) plus classic inter-ictal signs (i.e., confusion, disorientation, etc.), and complex partial epilepsy signs, which are associated with ictal-like signs and post-ictal signs and/or full microseizure-like patterns of brain activity (Loring, 1999). In addition, several derived clusters of items related to the phenomenology of contact or abduction experiences --- sensed presence, visitor experiences, alien intelligence, and psi or paranormal experiences --- can be examined. The PPI has been shown to sensitively and specifically discriminate:
1. Those who demonstrate temporal lobe lability from those who suffer temporal lobe epilepsy from normal controls, and
2. Those who, in the laboratory, are more likely to experience the phenomenological effects commonly associated with apparitions, religious presences, visitations by otherworldly entities, contact with aliens, and alien abductions.
Score totals can be transformed into standard comparison scores (SCS) by the following arithmetic formula --- Number of TRUE / Number of items X 100. [The SCS converted scores are set out in brackets directly beside the means for the factors and clusters.] In this way, given that the factors & clusters consist of different numbers of items, the mean scores can be more directly compared with each other.
Abductees/Experiencers (n = 71) Community Comparison Controls (n = 51)
FACTORS
TLS * TLS *
Mean = 13.929 [46.43] Mean = 8.920 [29.74]
Sd = 5.607 Sd = 5.245
t = 5.060, p < .01
CPES ^ CPES ^
Mean = 7.760 [48.50] Mean = 4.549 [28.43]
Sd = 3.774 Sd = 3.349
t = 4.949, p < .01
(*) TLS ~ Temporal Lobe Signs --- “Wide Net” {30 items --- Range ~ 0 - 30}
(^) CPES ~ Complex Partial Epilepsy Signs --- “Restricted Net” {16 items --- Range ~ 0 - 16}
CLUSTERS
Sensed Presence (9 items) Sensed Presence (9 items)
Mean = 4.789 [52.21] Mean = 2.430 [27.00]
Sd = 2.230 Sd = 2.071
t = 5.473, p < .01
Visitor Experiences (5 items) Visitor Experiences (5 items)
Mean = 2.705 [54.10] Mean = 1.510 [30.20]
Sd = 1.235 Sd = 1.206
t = 5.359, p < .01
Alien Intelligence (4 items) Alien Intelligence (4 items)
Mean = 3.197 [79.93] Mean = 2.490 [62.25]
Sd = 0.888 Sd = 0.784
t = 4.650, p < .01
Psi Experiences (13 items) Psi Experiences (13 items)
Mean = 8.080 [62.15] Mean = 5.350 [41.15]
Sd = 2.677 Sd = 2.880
t = 5.320, p < .01
Based on the factor comparisons, abductees/experiencers appear to have more highly labile temporal lobe activity than do community comparison controls. This holds for both TLS and CPES. This in no way indicates that the abduction phenomena are the reductionist result of brain activity. What it does seem to point to is that the temporal lobes are more sensitive to electromagnetic changes in the environment and possibly to contact or other anomalous experiences. These brain areas may mediate the experiences in some manner.
In addition to the TLS and CPES findings, the data indicate that those in the experiential group tend to perceive more sensed presences and have a greater number of visitor experiences than their control counterparts. Abductees/experiencers are more likely to endorse the possibility of an alien intelligence operating in and around them and that this intelligence is superior to the intelligence of humans. Likewise, as was the case with the psi items on the CEI, those in the experiential group tend to experience more paranormal events in their lives than do those in the comparison control group.
The CEI has a component measuring psi experiences and a cluster for psi experiences can be derived from the items of the Personal Philosophy Inventory. Thus, two correlation coefficients, one for abductees/experiencers and one for community comparison control participants, were calculated to determine the level of association between the two measures.
Abductees/Experiencers (n = 71) Community Comparison Controls (n = 51)
r = 0.9352 r = 0.8475
p = .05 = 0.236 p = .05 = 0.279
p = .01 = 0.305 p = .01 = 0.361
Clearly the two measures are quite highly related, and both groups of participants scored in a manner reflecting this relationship.
DISCUSSION
What then can one make of these findings? Several general notions emerge from these data to this point and several tentative conclusions can be offered.
While both groups of participants showed a degree of fantasy proneness, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups on this dimension. Thus, given the distribution of this dimension, these participants were no more fantasy prone than the general population. There were significant differences on other measures, and in all cases the experiential group scored higher and in the expected direction. On the Ring and Rosing measures, the following differences were evident:
a. Sensitivity to alternative realities and altered states of consciousness;
b. Early paranormal or psi experiences;
c. Higher reported stress, conflict, tension, and/or psychosocial trauma in childhood home environments;
d. Greater tendencies toward dissociation as a coping style;
e. Psychophysical changes in body states and mental functioning;
f. Kundalini energy experiences;
g. Attitudes, beliefs, and values shifted more toward a new openness to life;
h. A shift toward universal spiritual beliefs as opposed to traditional religious beliefs and faith traditions;
i. Greater ecological concerns and concern for planetary welfare;
j. A sense of a purposive intelligence involved in participants’ lives and in earthly affairs, with this intelligence often seen as extraterrestrial in nature.
Perhaps most importantly, experience with and interest in contact with an alien other appears to produce a change in participants’ worldviews.
On the Persinger and Makarec inventory, the following major differences were seen:
a. Abductees/experiencers report greater temporal lobe and limbic system sensitivity and/or lability (i.e., flexibility and malleability) than do community comparison controls, which may pre-set them so that they can access different pathways to altered states of consciousness and to an altered reality;
b. They also report more experiences with a sensed presence, otherworldly visitors, and the paranormal, as well as a strong sense of an alien intelligence at work in human affairs when compared with community comparison controls.
c. These biosocial data do not argue that contact is all in the heads of those who have experienced it, but that the brain generally and the temporal lobes and limbic system more specifically may mediate anomalous and/or extraordinary experiences.
What tentative conclusions might be drawn form these findings?
1. In general, abductees/experiencers profile differently than do their control counterparts on a number of general psychological and specific neurological variables. Yet there are remarkable similarities between the experiential group and the comparison control groups. It should be noted that in no case did experiencers or comparison group participants show any signs of mental illness or personality disorder.
2. Fantasy proneness does not appear to play a differentiating role between the experiential and the control groups. However, sensitivity to alternative realities and early and recurrent paranormal or psi experiences seem to play a role in the abduction experience.
3. Childhood conflict, psychosocial tension and abuse, and trauma more than likely facilitate a dissociative coping style in later life. How much a part dissociation plays in the abduction experience remains an open question, but the Ring and Rosing (1990) abuse-trauma-dissociation pathway remains a viable descriptive, if not explanatory, principle.
4. Both experience with and interest in the abduction phenomenon have impact on how one’s body is perceived to function, how one views the world and one’s purpose in it, and how one defines or redefines one’s faith tradition and beliefs. In essence, both experience with and interest in contact seem to change one’s sense of self and one’s worldview.
5. Abductees/experiencers believe that there is a sentient, purposive, alien intelligence at play in their lives and at work in the world. What the intelligence’s goals are seem to be more beneficent than malevolent, more benign than malignant. This, though, remains an open question and a point of doubt in the minds and hearts of some abductees/experiencers and some comparison control participants. It also remains a point of contention among abduction researchers.
6. The brain generally and the temporal lobes and limbic system more particularly play a mediating role in anomalous experiences such as abduction. This in no way implies that abductions are all and only in the abductees’ heads. Rather, it points to the likelihood of temporal lobe lability as a pre-set or a precursor to extraordinary experiences. While it would be too reductionistic to claim that the brain creates such experiences, it is not farfetched to think that the brain plays an important part in the who and the what of extraordinary experiences, and how they are interpreted.
7. A more thorough investigation of abductees/experiencers is warranted. These individuals are given both a gift or blessing and a penalty or curse that allows them to experience what the typical person cannot. They are different; they are special. This study answered several questions, but offered several others. For example, given the differences in how abductees/experiencers interpret their encounters, are there differences in the character, temperament, and/or personality structure for those who remain troubled by their experiences and those who appear to see them as positively transformative? Are there temporal lobe and limbic system differences between such individuals? Since there was a common link among participants in both groups --- an acceptance of aliens and of human-alien contact --- are there differences between such individuals and the more typical incurious members of the general public? These, and other questions, must be addressed and answered. Then, and only then, will we be able to discern whether we are in the midst of an Omega Revelation or an Omega Revolution.
References
LeLieuvre, R. B., Larson, T., & Remington, H. (2008). Ring’s “Omega Project” Revisited: Antecedents and
Consequents of UFO Encounters and Alien Abductions. MUFON UFO Journal, 479, March, 8-11.
Loring, D. W. (1999). INS Dictionary of Neuropsychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Makarec, K., & Persinger, M. A. (1990). Electroencephalographic Validation of a Temporal Lobe Signs
Inventory in a Normal Population. Journal of Research in Personality, 24, 323-337.
Ring, K., & Rosing, C. J. (1990). The Omega Project: A Psychological Survey of Persons Reporting
Abductions and Other UFO Encounters. Journal of UFO Studies, n. s., 2, 59-98.
Rodeghier, M., Goodpaster, J., & Blatterbauer, S. (1992). Psychosocial Characteristics of Abductees:
Results from the CUFOS Abduction Project. Journal of UFO Studies, n. s., 3, 59-90.
Robert B. LeLieuvre, Ph.D.
Roswell, NM
March 2010
(This is a copy of post in UFOmania forum by "David" ;D The source of the document is considered authentic by the UFOmania moderators
) According to Roger Marsh, the study was launched sometime in August 2008.
"The Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) Abduction/Experience Research Committee is launching the first of four studies it will conduct over the next few years - Omega Three."
www.examiner.com/ufo-in-national/....ega-three-study
Omega 3: Revelation or Revolution --- A Comparative Study of Abductees/Experiencers & Community Comparison Control Participants
Robert B. LeLieuvre, Lester Velez, & Michael Freeman
Ring and Rosing (1990) compared individuals who reported Near-Death experiences with individuals who reported UFO encounters. They also compared the experiential groups with two control groups, one for each type of extraordinary encounter. They found high degrees of similarities both in antecedent life experiences and in consequences of these encounters. Interestingly, they also found such similarities in the control groups for each encounter, although both control groups scored lower on the dimensions studied.
On the basis of their findings related to antecedent experiences, Ring and Rosing (1990) concluded that three conditions were very likely necessary for persons to become encounter-prone personalities. First, such individuals reported heightened sensitivity to altered states of consciousness or altered realities, early paranormal or psi experiences, but no greater fantasy-proneness as children. Second, they experienced greater conflict, psychosocial abuse, and trauma in childhood. Third, the result of the above two elements led these individuals to use dissociation as a coping skill when faced with later stressful conditions or events. They offered an abuse-trauma-dissociation pathway to extraordinary experiences of the near-death or UFO kind.
After their extraordinary experiences, these persons reported significant changes in psychophysiological functioning and in their attitudes, beliefs, and values, with a very noticeable shift from traditional religious beliefs to a universal-spiritual belief system. While there were some differences in their interpretations of the force or forces behind Near-Death experiences and UFO encounters, when compared to each other and to their control counterparts, the similarities far outweighed the differences.
Ring and Rosing (1990) comment on the problem of heterogeneity of those constituting the experiential or experimental group, and Rodeghier, Goodpaster, and Blatterbauer (1992) point to the heterogeneity of participants in such studies, including their own. The experiential groups typically consisted of individuals who had varied types of UFO encounters or alien contacts. Both sets of authors have suggested that additional study of only those who report abductions compared with those with an interest in, but no experience with abductions, be undertaken.
In a preliminary study, LeLieuvre, Larson, and Remington (2008) found patterns of scores consistent in the main with Ring and Rosing (1990), but they also found that comparison subjects reported greater degrees of dissociation than did experiential subjects. Although the difference was not statistically significant, this finding did call into question the abuse-trauma-dissociation pathway. Moreover, the experiential subjects in this study, when compared to the control subjects, were slightly more fantasy-prone than were the subjects in the Ring and Rosing (1990) study.
Persinger and his colleagues have offered a neurological basis for extraordinary encounters, arguing that the temporal lobes and the limbic system are involved in, or the major source of, such encounters. Makarec and Persinger (1990) developed an inventory to assess temporal lobe sensitivity and lability (i.e., rapid changeability, heightened reactivity) in those who experience the anomalous. They found that there are two factors --- temporal lobe signs and complex partial epilepsy signs ---- that predict easier access to anomalous experiences. The Personal Philosophy Inventory allows a paper-and-pencil measure of the two factors, as well as the opportunity to assess other derived clusters related to the phenomenology of extraordinary experiences --- sensed presence, visitor experiences, alien intelligence, and psi or paranormal experiences.
It is the contention of the present authors that these neurological variables, along with the variables measured by Ring and Rosing (1990), need to be studied in abductees/experiencers. This study attempts to do just that, using convenience samples of abductees/experiencers and community comparison control participants.
METHOD
Seventy- one individuals who reported one or more abduction experiences constituted the experiential/experimental group. Fifty-one individuals with an interest in the abduction phenomenon, but no direct experience with it, constituted the community comparison control group. Placement decisions were based on participants’ responses to several key items on a demographic and qualification form. Those in the experiential/experimental group reported contact experiences that ranged from the prosaic --- missing time and a vague sense of unwilling contact with an alien other --- to the dramatic and extreme --- multiple abductions with or without medical examinations but with fear and terror as predominant feelings during and after the experiences. It should be noted that some of the participants in the community comparison control group had had sighting experiences but with no trace evidence or entity contact involved. Participants were recruited through an ad in the Mutual UFO Network’s UFO Journal, contact with members of the Organization for Paranormal Understanding and Support, and recruitment requests at the 2009 MUFON International UFO Symposium in Denver, Colorado. Both groups signed an informed consent document and completed a demographic & experience qualification form, as well as the instruments used by Ring and Rosing (1990) and the Personal Philosophy Inventory (Makarec and Persinger, 1990).
The descriptive data presented below provide a snapshot of the participants.
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
Abductees/Experiencers (n = 71) Community Comparison Controls (n = 51)
Gender: Gender:
F = 46 F = 25
M = 25 M = 26
Marital Status: Marital Status:
Married = 28 Married = 33
Divorced = 17 Divorced = 9
Single = 20 Single = 9
Partnered = 2 Partnered = 0
Separated = 1 Separated = 0
Widowed = 3 Widowed = 0
Ethnicity or Race: Ethnicity or Race:
White = 50 White = 45
African-American = 3 African-American = 0
Latina/o = 5 Latina/o = 5
Native American = 2 Native American = 0
Asian = 2 Asian = 1
Mixed = 9 Mixed = 0
Religious Preference: Religious Preference:
Catholic = 2 Catholic = 10
Protestant = 15 Protestant = 13
Christian = 8 Christian = 1
Mormon = 1 Mormon = 1
Spiritual = 10 Spiritual = 3
Jewish = 2 Jewish = 2
Other = 13 Other = 5
None = 20 None = 16
Age: Age:
Mean = 52.71 Mean = 52.69
Range = 26-74 Range = 24-81
Educational Level: Educational Level:
Mean = 14.96 Mean = 16.30
Range = 9-20 Range = 13–22
The demographic data speak volumes about who, in these particular samples, has contact or abduction experiences. They are predominantly married or single, white women whose average age is in their early 50’s and who have, on average, two years of college or university education. On these dimensions, comparison subjects are also predominantly married and white, of approximately the same age, but evenly split on gender, and have, on average, a bachelor’s degree. Among experiencers, current religious preferences lean heavily toward Protestant or None; among comparison controls, current religious preferences lean toward Protestant, Catholic, or None.
RESULTS
RING & ROSING SURVEYS: SEE RING & ROSING (1990) FOR FULL DESCRIPTIONS
CEI ~ Childhood Experiences Inventory
HEQ ~ Home Environment Questionnaire
WPI ~ Wogan Psychological Inventory --- A measure of non-clinical dissociation
PCI ~ Psychophysical Changes Inventory
KS ~ Kundalini Scale --- A measure of a particular yoga energy force
LCI ~ Life Changes Inventory
RBI ~ Religious Beliefs Inventory
OI ~ Opinion Inventory
The means and standard deviations for all participants are shown below. (Note the means in parentheses below are those reported by and available from Ring and Rosing (1990) for their UFO experiencers.) The differences between each set of means for the current participants were analyzed using t –tests for independent groups. The resultant t – values were compared at both the .05 and .01 statistical significance probability levels, for both 1-tailed and 2-tailed tests. A computed t - value above the tabular value for the .05 level indicates that the obtained difference could occur by chance only five times in one hundred. A computed t – value above the tabular value for the .01 level indicates that the obtained difference could occur only one time in one hundred. A 1-tailed test is used when a directional prediction is possible; a 2-tailed test is used in those cases where the difference might be in either direction. For all comparisons below, the statistical significance probability level reached for the more powerful test (i.e., 1-tailed) is reported.
Abductees/Experiencers (n = 71) Community Comparison Controls (n = 51)
CEI CEI
Fp --- Fantasy Proneness (n = 10 items)
A-R --- Sensitivity to Altered Realities or States of Consciousness in Childhood (n = 8 items)
Psi --- Early Childhood Paranormal Experiences (n = 6 items)
Fp ~ Mean = 5.338 (6.46) Fp ~ Mean = 4.725 (6.46)
Sd = 2.838 Sd = 2.880
A-R ~ Mean = 2.478 (2.73) A-R ~ Mean = 0.921 (1.00)
Sd = 2.209 Sd = 1.426
Psi ~ Mean = 2.746 (2.90) Psi ~ Mean = 1.019 (1.52)
Sd = 2.040 Sd = 1.503
Data from the CEI indicate that abductees/experiencers scored higher on fantasy proneness (5.338 v. 4.725; t = 1.165, n. s.), but this difference was not statistically significant. They did score significantly higher on altered realities (2.478 v. 0.921; t = 4.720, p < .01) and psi experiences (2.746 v. 1.019; t = 5.383, p < .01) than did community comparison control participants. While the current means are slightly lower than the original Ring and Rosing (1990) means, they are in the direction expected. One score comparison creates somewhat of a conundrum and remains to be more fully examined. More specifically, Ring and Rosing (1990) found that their UFO experimental group did not differ in fantasy proneness; LeLieuvre, Larson, and Remington (2008) found that experiential subjects were slightly more fantasy prone than their control counterparts. In the present study, abductees/experiencers again were not more fantasy prone than comparison controls. It appears that abductees/experiencers are sensitive to anomalous events --- altered states of consciousness, & paranormal experiences, but not fantasy proneness --- beginning in childhood and continuing to the present.
HEQ HEQ
Mean = 47.338 Mean = 41.549
Sd = 18.519 Sd = 13.586
(Range ~ 0 – 152) (Range ~ 0 – 152)
WPI WPI
Mean = 101.267 (110.78) Mean = 86.549 (105.82)
Sd = 26.708 Sd = 23.415
(Range ~ 40 – 200) (Range ~ 40 – 200)
On the HEQ, abductees/experiencers scored statistically significantly higher than community comparison control participants (47.338 v. 41.549; t = 1.990, p < .05). As in the original Ring and Rosing (1990) study, these experiential subjects reported more conflict, stress, abuse, and trauma in their childhood home environments than did control subjects. Likewise on the WPI, the experiential subjects reported a greater tendency toward a dissociative coping style than did control subjects (101.2767 v. 86.549; t = 3.228, p < .01). This latter difference is consonant with the difference found in the Ring and Rosing (1990) study but is not in line with the finding in the LeLieuvre, Larson, and Remington (2008) study.
PCI PCI
Mean = 23.300 Mean = 7.310
Sd = 13.840 Sd = 9.205
(Range ~ 0 – 60) (Range ~ 0 – 60)
KS KS
Mean = 3.185 Mean = 0.940
Sd = 2.794 Sd = 1.580
(Range ~ 0 – 12) (Range ~ 0 – 12)
Data from both the PCI and the KS indicated more psychophysical changes and more frequent experiences with Kundalini energies among abductees/experiencers than among controls (23.300 v. 7.310; t = 7.658, p < .01 and 3.185 v. 0.940; t = 2.098, p < .05). In the tantric yoga tradition Kundalini energy is a subtle form of bioenergy, usually lying dormant at the base of the spine, that can be activated by various kinds of spiritual experiences or crises and that can be highly destabilizing in its physical and/or psychological effects. Note the mean for the community comparison control group would have been higher if a single individual’s KS score had been included. That person suffered a benign brain tumor (which she feared was an alien implant even though she had had no entity contacts or abduction experiences) that was excised surgically. Given that the Personal Philosophy Inventory measures temporal lobe sensitivity and lability, which can be affected by brain lesions, it was decided not to include her score.
LCI * LCI *
Mean = 33.550 Mean = 14.823
Sd = 19.920 Sd = 15.255
(Range ~ -100 --- +100) (Range ~ -100 --- +100)
(*) See special score comparisons for 3 key items reported below.
RBI --- Shift Score ^ RBI --- Shift Score ^
Mean = 3.760 (6.46) Mean = 2.725 (5.12)
Sd = 3.123 Sd = 3.188
(Range ~ 0 – 12) (Range ~ 0 – 12)
(^) This is a score reflecting a shift from traditional to universal-spiritual religious beliefs.
On the LCI, abductees/experiencers scored significantly higher than community comparison controls (33.550 v. 14.823; t = 5.950, p < .01). The former group also showed a larger shift score than the latter group on the RBI (3.760 v. 2.725; t = 1.784, p < .05). Both shift scores, however, were lower than the Ring and Rosing (1990) shift scores (6.46 v. 5.12). Thus, while experiential participants reported more life changes and a greater shift from traditional religious beliefs to a more universal spiritual belief system, the shift in religious thinking was not as large as the subjects showed in the original Ring and Rosing (1990) study.
OI * OI *
Mean = 17.085 Mean = 12.725
Sd = 6.021 Sd = 6.431
(Range ~ 0 – 30) (Range ~ 0 – 30)
(*) See special score comparisons for 11 key items reported below.
Data from the OI revealed differences of opinion regarding the force or forces underlying the extraordinary experience of abduction. The mean for the experiential group was 17.085; the mean for the comparison control group was 12.725. The comparison was statistically significant (t = 3.795, p < .01).
SPECIAL SCORE COMPARISONS
Life Changes Inventory
Percentage of Strongly Increased/Increased Item Endorsements ---
Q-21 ~ My concern with the welfare of the planet has: A/E = 75 CCC = 47
Q-38 ~ My concern for ecological matters has: A/E = 74 CCC = 44
Q-39 ~ My interest in the possibility of
extra-terrestrial life has: A/E = 90 CCC = 69
When one looks more closely at the LCI responses, one discovers two important findings that are clearly in line with Ring and Rosing (1990) and one that is revealing in and of itself. Consonant with Ring and Rosing (1990), a greater percentage of abductees/experiencers, compared with comparison controls, indicated that their concern with the welfare of the planet either strongly increased or increased (75% v. 47%). And, in a similar way, when compared with control counterparts, a greater percentage of experiential subjects indicated that their concern for ecological matters either strongly increased or increased (74% v. 44%). An interesting finding was seen in response to the item measuring interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Among abductees/experiencers, 90% indicated that their interest either strongly increased or increased. While only 69% of comparison control subjects indicated any increase in such interest, the fact remains that even an interest in the area has an impact on consideration of the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
Opinion Inventory
Percentage of Agree and/or ? Endorsements to 3 Themes ---
Q’s 2, 6, 10, & 11 ~ Evolutionary Items A/E = 67/76 CCC = 38/44 ^
Q’s 4, 23, & 28 ~ Purposiveness Items A/E = 48/55 CCC = 20/24 ^
Q’s 2, 8, 21, & 28 ~ ET Influence Items A/E = 51/68 CCC = 26/44 ^
(^) The 2 values reflect the differences in Agree - Disagree - ? scoring choices; the larger of the two is the more liberal and flexible value, combining the Agree and ? endorsements, while the smaller only includes Agree endorsements.
On the OI, four items concern a change in evolutionary direction and goals, three items focus on the possible purposiveness of the participants’ experiences, and four items relate to an active extraterrestrial influence on human affairs. For the experiential group, the percentage of agreement ranged from 67% to 76%, 48% to 55%, and 51% to 68% respectively for the three areas of concern or interest. For the control group, the percentage of agreement ranged from 38% to 44%, 20% to 24%, and 26% to 44% respectively for the three areas of concern or interest. Abductees/experiencers appear to be more strongly convinced that their extraordinary experiences are controlled by a force or forces quite different from, and perhaps as yet unknown, to human science, religions, and/or philosophy. Moreover, they seem to see those experiences as heralding a major evolutionary transformation of human consciousness.
The Actual Items
Evolution ---
Q-2 ~ I believe that the changes I’ve undergone since [becoming interested] {my} UFO experiences are part of an evolutionary unfolding of humanity.
Q-6 ~ In my opinion, the widespread occurrence of UFO experiences is part of a larger plan to promote the evolution of consciousness on a species-wide scale.
Q-10 ~ We are already in or at least on the verge of a New Age.
Q-11 ~ Evolutionary forces are already at work which will transform humanity at large into a more self-aware, spiritually sensitive species.
Purposiveness ---
Q-4 ~ I believe my [interest in] UFO experiences was “arranged” or “designed” by a higher agency or by my higher self.
Q-23 ~ I believe that my [interest in] UFO experiences occurred so as to awaken me to the existence of larger cosmic forces which are affecting our lives.
Q-27 ~ I feel I have a mission to use what I have learned from my [study or] UFO experiences to spread God’s love to all.
Extraterrestrial Influence ---
Q-3 ~ I believe that humanity may be the object of biological experimentation by extraterrestrial life forms.
Q-8 ~ I believe alien beings are likely to exert increasing control over human life in years to come.
Q-21 ~ There are higher order intelligences that have a concern with the welfare of our planet.
Q-28 ~ There are higher order intelligences that are bent on exploiting our planet in some way.
PERSINGER & MAKAREC --- PERSONAL PHILOSPHY INVENTORY
The Personal Philosophy Inventory is a true-false test designed to assess the likelihood of temporal lobe involvement in a variety of anomalous and/or extraordinary experiences. Extensively studied, validated, and cross-validated, the inventory predicts with a high level of confidence experiences that range from the mundane to the sublime, from the earthly to the spiritual.
The inventory measures two major factors: temporal lobe signs, which are associated with ictal-like signs (i.e., sudden or paroxysmal onset of seizure-like symptoms) plus classic inter-ictal signs (i.e., confusion, disorientation, etc.), and complex partial epilepsy signs, which are associated with ictal-like signs and post-ictal signs and/or full microseizure-like patterns of brain activity (Loring, 1999). In addition, several derived clusters of items related to the phenomenology of contact or abduction experiences --- sensed presence, visitor experiences, alien intelligence, and psi or paranormal experiences --- can be examined. The PPI has been shown to sensitively and specifically discriminate:
1. Those who demonstrate temporal lobe lability from those who suffer temporal lobe epilepsy from normal controls, and
2. Those who, in the laboratory, are more likely to experience the phenomenological effects commonly associated with apparitions, religious presences, visitations by otherworldly entities, contact with aliens, and alien abductions.
Score totals can be transformed into standard comparison scores (SCS) by the following arithmetic formula --- Number of TRUE / Number of items X 100. [The SCS converted scores are set out in brackets directly beside the means for the factors and clusters.] In this way, given that the factors & clusters consist of different numbers of items, the mean scores can be more directly compared with each other.
Abductees/Experiencers (n = 71) Community Comparison Controls (n = 51)
FACTORS
TLS * TLS *
Mean = 13.929 [46.43] Mean = 8.920 [29.74]
Sd = 5.607 Sd = 5.245
t = 5.060, p < .01
CPES ^ CPES ^
Mean = 7.760 [48.50] Mean = 4.549 [28.43]
Sd = 3.774 Sd = 3.349
t = 4.949, p < .01
(*) TLS ~ Temporal Lobe Signs --- “Wide Net” {30 items --- Range ~ 0 - 30}
(^) CPES ~ Complex Partial Epilepsy Signs --- “Restricted Net” {16 items --- Range ~ 0 - 16}
CLUSTERS
Sensed Presence (9 items) Sensed Presence (9 items)
Mean = 4.789 [52.21] Mean = 2.430 [27.00]
Sd = 2.230 Sd = 2.071
t = 5.473, p < .01
Visitor Experiences (5 items) Visitor Experiences (5 items)
Mean = 2.705 [54.10] Mean = 1.510 [30.20]
Sd = 1.235 Sd = 1.206
t = 5.359, p < .01
Alien Intelligence (4 items) Alien Intelligence (4 items)
Mean = 3.197 [79.93] Mean = 2.490 [62.25]
Sd = 0.888 Sd = 0.784
t = 4.650, p < .01
Psi Experiences (13 items) Psi Experiences (13 items)
Mean = 8.080 [62.15] Mean = 5.350 [41.15]
Sd = 2.677 Sd = 2.880
t = 5.320, p < .01
Based on the factor comparisons, abductees/experiencers appear to have more highly labile temporal lobe activity than do community comparison controls. This holds for both TLS and CPES. This in no way indicates that the abduction phenomena are the reductionist result of brain activity. What it does seem to point to is that the temporal lobes are more sensitive to electromagnetic changes in the environment and possibly to contact or other anomalous experiences. These brain areas may mediate the experiences in some manner.
In addition to the TLS and CPES findings, the data indicate that those in the experiential group tend to perceive more sensed presences and have a greater number of visitor experiences than their control counterparts. Abductees/experiencers are more likely to endorse the possibility of an alien intelligence operating in and around them and that this intelligence is superior to the intelligence of humans. Likewise, as was the case with the psi items on the CEI, those in the experiential group tend to experience more paranormal events in their lives than do those in the comparison control group.
The CEI has a component measuring psi experiences and a cluster for psi experiences can be derived from the items of the Personal Philosophy Inventory. Thus, two correlation coefficients, one for abductees/experiencers and one for community comparison control participants, were calculated to determine the level of association between the two measures.
Abductees/Experiencers (n = 71) Community Comparison Controls (n = 51)
r = 0.9352 r = 0.8475
p = .05 = 0.236 p = .05 = 0.279
p = .01 = 0.305 p = .01 = 0.361
Clearly the two measures are quite highly related, and both groups of participants scored in a manner reflecting this relationship.
DISCUSSION
What then can one make of these findings? Several general notions emerge from these data to this point and several tentative conclusions can be offered.
While both groups of participants showed a degree of fantasy proneness, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups on this dimension. Thus, given the distribution of this dimension, these participants were no more fantasy prone than the general population. There were significant differences on other measures, and in all cases the experiential group scored higher and in the expected direction. On the Ring and Rosing measures, the following differences were evident:
a. Sensitivity to alternative realities and altered states of consciousness;
b. Early paranormal or psi experiences;
c. Higher reported stress, conflict, tension, and/or psychosocial trauma in childhood home environments;
d. Greater tendencies toward dissociation as a coping style;
e. Psychophysical changes in body states and mental functioning;
f. Kundalini energy experiences;
g. Attitudes, beliefs, and values shifted more toward a new openness to life;
h. A shift toward universal spiritual beliefs as opposed to traditional religious beliefs and faith traditions;
i. Greater ecological concerns and concern for planetary welfare;
j. A sense of a purposive intelligence involved in participants’ lives and in earthly affairs, with this intelligence often seen as extraterrestrial in nature.
Perhaps most importantly, experience with and interest in contact with an alien other appears to produce a change in participants’ worldviews.
On the Persinger and Makarec inventory, the following major differences were seen:
a. Abductees/experiencers report greater temporal lobe and limbic system sensitivity and/or lability (i.e., flexibility and malleability) than do community comparison controls, which may pre-set them so that they can access different pathways to altered states of consciousness and to an altered reality;
b. They also report more experiences with a sensed presence, otherworldly visitors, and the paranormal, as well as a strong sense of an alien intelligence at work in human affairs when compared with community comparison controls.
c. These biosocial data do not argue that contact is all in the heads of those who have experienced it, but that the brain generally and the temporal lobes and limbic system more specifically may mediate anomalous and/or extraordinary experiences.
What tentative conclusions might be drawn form these findings?
1. In general, abductees/experiencers profile differently than do their control counterparts on a number of general psychological and specific neurological variables. Yet there are remarkable similarities between the experiential group and the comparison control groups. It should be noted that in no case did experiencers or comparison group participants show any signs of mental illness or personality disorder.
2. Fantasy proneness does not appear to play a differentiating role between the experiential and the control groups. However, sensitivity to alternative realities and early and recurrent paranormal or psi experiences seem to play a role in the abduction experience.
3. Childhood conflict, psychosocial tension and abuse, and trauma more than likely facilitate a dissociative coping style in later life. How much a part dissociation plays in the abduction experience remains an open question, but the Ring and Rosing (1990) abuse-trauma-dissociation pathway remains a viable descriptive, if not explanatory, principle.
4. Both experience with and interest in the abduction phenomenon have impact on how one’s body is perceived to function, how one views the world and one’s purpose in it, and how one defines or redefines one’s faith tradition and beliefs. In essence, both experience with and interest in contact seem to change one’s sense of self and one’s worldview.
5. Abductees/experiencers believe that there is a sentient, purposive, alien intelligence at play in their lives and at work in the world. What the intelligence’s goals are seem to be more beneficent than malevolent, more benign than malignant. This, though, remains an open question and a point of doubt in the minds and hearts of some abductees/experiencers and some comparison control participants. It also remains a point of contention among abduction researchers.
6. The brain generally and the temporal lobes and limbic system more particularly play a mediating role in anomalous experiences such as abduction. This in no way implies that abductions are all and only in the abductees’ heads. Rather, it points to the likelihood of temporal lobe lability as a pre-set or a precursor to extraordinary experiences. While it would be too reductionistic to claim that the brain creates such experiences, it is not farfetched to think that the brain plays an important part in the who and the what of extraordinary experiences, and how they are interpreted.
7. A more thorough investigation of abductees/experiencers is warranted. These individuals are given both a gift or blessing and a penalty or curse that allows them to experience what the typical person cannot. They are different; they are special. This study answered several questions, but offered several others. For example, given the differences in how abductees/experiencers interpret their encounters, are there differences in the character, temperament, and/or personality structure for those who remain troubled by their experiences and those who appear to see them as positively transformative? Are there temporal lobe and limbic system differences between such individuals? Since there was a common link among participants in both groups --- an acceptance of aliens and of human-alien contact --- are there differences between such individuals and the more typical incurious members of the general public? These, and other questions, must be addressed and answered. Then, and only then, will we be able to discern whether we are in the midst of an Omega Revelation or an Omega Revolution.
References
LeLieuvre, R. B., Larson, T., & Remington, H. (2008). Ring’s “Omega Project” Revisited: Antecedents and
Consequents of UFO Encounters and Alien Abductions. MUFON UFO Journal, 479, March, 8-11.
Loring, D. W. (1999). INS Dictionary of Neuropsychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Makarec, K., & Persinger, M. A. (1990). Electroencephalographic Validation of a Temporal Lobe Signs
Inventory in a Normal Population. Journal of Research in Personality, 24, 323-337.
Ring, K., & Rosing, C. J. (1990). The Omega Project: A Psychological Survey of Persons Reporting
Abductions and Other UFO Encounters. Journal of UFO Studies, n. s., 2, 59-98.
Rodeghier, M., Goodpaster, J., & Blatterbauer, S. (1992). Psychosocial Characteristics of Abductees:
Results from the CUFOS Abduction Project. Journal of UFO Studies, n. s., 3, 59-90.
Robert B. LeLieuvre, Ph.D.
Roswell, NM
March 2010
Hope all is well with everyone. I see there are some new members , thats good. So good to see your names on threads and be back!