A Skeptic’s Guide to Alien Encounters

Doors open at 7 pm, talk starts at 7:30 pm

Close Encounters of the Psychological Kind

This talk will cover psychological aspects of alien contact claims, ranging from simple sightings of “unidentified flying objects” to alien abduction experiences. It will be argued that all such claims can be accounted for in terms of known psychological phenomena including sleep paralysis and false memories.

Professor Chris French is the Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Patron of the British Humanist Association. He has published over 130 articles and chapters covering a wide range of topics. His main current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. He frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. His most recent book is Anomalistic Psychology: Exploring Paranormal Belief and Experience.