David Michael Jacobs - Criticism

Criticism

Jacobs' theories have been criticised as unsupportably dire by those who take a more positive view of the alien abduction experience such as John Edward Mack; Jacobs labels these critics as "positivists" in his writings. Details of alien abductions reported by Jacobs and so-called "positivist" researchers may not differ to any great extent; criticism of Jacobs by such peers therefore focuses on Jacobs' interpretations - e.g., where Jacobs sees "infiltration" (a negative), others may see "integration" (a positive). Where differences in reports are more substantial (extending beyond the interpretive to actual distinctions between the alleged events reported by those who Jacobs interviews versus those interviewed by others), Jacobs has explained that elements not matching his own perspective are what he terms "confabulations".

Carl Sagan and Susan Clancy have criticized the methods used by Jacobs and other abduction researchers. Sagan asserted that sightings and experiences could be attributed to mistaken identity and faulty memory. Clancy has highlighted problems associated with abduction research, such as faulty memory retrieval when hypnotists "lead" the patient, and sleep paralysis.

Jacobs has argued that Clancy's methodology was flawed, stating that in numerous cases people report they were abducted when fully awake and conscious, and that therefore sleep paralysis is not a tenable hypothesis.