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Alien abduction claimants (also called abductees and experiencers) are people who have claimed to have been abducted by aliens. The term "abduction phenomenon" describes claims that non-human creatures kidnapped individuals and temporarily removed them from familiar terrestrial surroundings.[1] The abductors, usually interpreted as being extraterrestrial life forms, are said to subject experiencers to a forced medical examination that emphasizes the alleged experiencer's reproductive system.[2]
The first alien abduction narrative to be widely publicized was the Betty and Barney Hill abduction in 1961.[3] Since that time, the credibility and mental health of alleged experiencers has taken on great importance to those seeking to determine the veracity of the abduction claims. Mainstream academics and members of the skeptics movement generally doubt that the phenomenon occurs literally as reported, and have proposed a variety of alternative explanations.
Such skeptics often argue that the phenomenon might be a modern-day folk myth or vivid dreams occurring in a state of sleep paralysis. By contrast, ufologists and paranormal researchers hold positions closer to the face-value of abduction claims. The discovery of common psychological traits shared by abductees would have the potential to determine a neurological explanation for the claims, while other commonalities or differences may serve to reinforce that the claims of the experiencers do in fact correspond with objective reality.