ABSTRACT

An examination of alien abduction belief can inform how we ought to approach constructing explanations of monothematic delusion formation. I argue that the formation and maintenance of alien abduction beliefs can be explained by a one-factor account, and that this explanatory power generalizes to (other) cases of monothematic delusions. There are no differences between alien abduction beliefs and monothematic delusions which indicate the need for additional explanatory factors in cases of the latter. I make the additional point that whilst alien abduction beliefs can be readily explained using a one-factor framework, the two-factor framework requires adjustment to accommodate them. I conclude that theorists interested in delusion formation have much to learn from the case of alien abduction belief.

摘要

对外星人绑架信念的研究可以告诉我们，我们应该如何着手构建关于单主题妄想形成的解释。我认为，外星人绑架信念的形成和维持可以通过一因素解释，而这种解释力可以概括为（其他）一神论妄想的情况。外星人绑架的信念和一神论的妄想之间没有区别，这表明在后者的情况下需要更多的解释性因素。我要指出的另一点是，虽然可以使用一因素框架轻松解释外星人绑架信念，但两因素框架需要进行调整以适应这些信念。我的结论是，对妄想形成感兴趣的理论家可以从外星人绑架信仰的案例中学到很多东西。