Frank T. McAndrew, Ph.D.
Social Psychologist & Essayist
Frank McAndrew is the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College where he has twice received the Philip Green Wright-Lombard College Prize for Distinguished Teaching as well as the Caterpillar Faculty Achievement Award. He has also been nominated for the prestigious CASE U.S. Professor of the Year Award.
He is an elected Fellow of:
The Association for Psychological Science
The Society for Personality and Social Psychology
The Society of Experimental Social Psychology, The Midwestern Psychological Association (Charter Fellow)
Professor McAndrew is well-known as a purveyor of psychological science to lay audiences. His blog at Psychology Today Magazine and his other op-ed articles have attracted over twenty-five million readers, and many of his essays have been used in SAT prep courses or been included in textbooks and online teaching resources as models of engaging writing for students looking to improve their English language skills. One of his essays even appeared in the playbill of a play performed in London's West End at the Vaudeville Theater.
McAndrew serves as a contributing expert for PsychWire, The Conversation, and Canvas8.
Frank is regarded as one of the key individuals in the history of environmental psychology. Over the course of his career his research has been featured in thousands of media outlets such as Time, The New Yorker, PBS, NPR, FOX News, the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NBC's TODAY Show – and it has been shared on Twitter by journalists such as Arianna Huffington and lampooned on television by comedians Jay Leno & Conan O'Brien. He is a frequent guest on TV & radio news & talk programs, and he has lectured widely throughout the United States and in countries ranging alphabetically from Denmark to Tanzania.
CLICK HERE for personal information about Frank. You can follow him on Twitter @FTMcAndrew
*Identified in a survey of over 300 researchers in 2005.
The Latest from Frank McAndrew
The Psychology
of Mass shootings
The
Psychology of
Mass Shootings
Why are mass shooters almost always young men?
Selected Television, Podcast, & Radio Appearances (Click on the link or image to see/hear the episode; click HERE for a more extensive list of appearances)
A TV show that has not
yet made it onto the air
(at least in part because of the pandemic)
Gun Control?
- Roundtable Media
July 14, 2022
Why are most mass shooters men?
- Voice America, June 16, 2022
The Art of Small Talk
NewsTalk Radio
Dublin, Ireland
April 6, 2022
Evolutionary Psychology - March 28, 2022
(The Dissenter Podcast)
Britney Spears & California Conservatorships
-ABC TV News, Sacramento,
November 12, 2021
Why are our teen memories so vivid?
Shot & Chaser Podcast
July 31, 2022
The Psychology of Mass Shootings
-Global News Radio, July 5, 2022
Why are mass shooters
usually young men?
- Newsy TV Live, June 3, 2022
The Art of Gossip.
WNPR (Connecticut Public Radio (NPR))
April 5, 2022 & September 16, 2021
Creepiness (New Zealand TV)
-November 23, 2021
Why we like spooky places
- October 31, 2021
The benefits of gossip
- August 19, 2021
Encounters with Ghosts - October 20, 2021
The Upside of Gossip
- After the First Marriage Podcast,
August 18, 2021
"The Dog Detectives"
- A BBC (Wales) documentary
July 29, 2021
The Science of Gossip
In a discussion of the
TV show "Bridgerton"
- The Small Screen Science Podcast,
June 1, 2021
The Perks of Gossip
attn:, September 11, 2020
Witches - BYU Radio
October 28, 2019
Transient Global Amnesia - The 21st Show
NPR/Illinois Public Radio, October 9, 2019
Mass Shootings and the
Violence of Young Men
FOX News
(The Story with
Martha MacCallum)
August 6, 2019
Why losing a dog hurts so much
- Voice America, August 12, 2021
"What Creeps Us Out?"
NewsTalk Radio
Dublin, Ireland
July 2, 2021
The Psychology of Gossip
BBC's "CrowdScience" - April 9, 2021
Why do clowns creep us out?
Brut Media, October 9, 2019
Heat and Violence
September 22, 2019
What is Creepiness?
May 20, 2019
What do we know about
the Las Vegas gunman?
(Video has expired, but
HERE is McAndrew's clip)
ITV News, London
October 2, 2017
Gossip - NPR's "Innovation Hub," June 2, 2016
Creepiness
May 8, 2016
What is Creepiness?
Central Illinois Proud
April, 2016. This lengthy interview was divided into segments that were carried by ABC, CBS, & FOX TV
affiliates nationwide.
NBC's "Today Show" chose
McAndrew's creepiness
research as its "Trending Topic of the Day" in April of 2016, and it produced three different segments about this research.
This is a trailer from a
documentary titled
"The Real Dirt on Gossip."
It aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Company's
national program "Doc Zone" in October, 2012.
Creepiness, April 15, 2016
This is a trailer from "Doc Zone," a Canadian Broadcasting Company national program that aired
in October, 2012
NBC's Today Show did a lengthy segment on McAndrew's gossip research on July 25, 2007.
McAndrew was a guest on the show, but the video is no longer available.
Selected Essays
(Click HERE for a more extensive list of popular press articles)
What makes people willing to risk their lives to save others?
- Neuroscience News, July 24, 2022, & Big Think, July 22, 2022
What makes people willing to risk their lives to save others?
- The Conversation, Yahoo News, Scroll (India), Brooklyn Daily Eagle,
Asian Spectator, St. George News (Utah), & more than two dozen other
news outlets, July 12 - 17, 2022
How to tell that you're boring - Psychology Today, April 1, 2022
The factor that can predict how long you'll live - Your Tango Magazine, March 26, 2022
Why do old people hate new music? - Big Think, November 29, 2021
Gossip is a social skill - not a character flaw - Big Think, November 19, 2021
Why intelligent men may not be as appealing as we thought
- Psychology Today, November 9, 2021
Why certain people see Ghosts while others don't - Psychology Today, October 12, 2021
There's no place like home for the holidays -- and that's what makes the pandemic's winter surge so devastating - The Conversation, December 10, 2020
(also in The Everett Daily Herald (Washington), The Columbia Missourian, The Marin Independent Journal (Ohio), & Business Mirror)
Decoding the Freudian Symbolism in Your Dreams - The Minds Journal, October 1, 2020
Why Losing a Dog can be so Devastating
- The Next Truth: Young People Science, September/October 2020
Why You Underestimate How Much Other People Like You
- The Minds Journal, September 24, 2020
Is Your Personality Stressing You Out?
- The Minds Journal, September 18, 2020
How the God You Worship Influences the Ghosts You See
- The Next Truth, August 1, 2020
Why face masks give us the creeps - Psychology Today, June 1, 2020
Why we love big, blood-curdling screams
- Big Think, Time Magazine, Ladders, Discover Magazine, The Conversation, Science 2.0, The Apopka Voice, LiveScience, & many other media outlets, October, 2019.
Fear of clowns explained by a psychologist - Mic, October 28, 2019
Why haunted Houses Terrify Us - Fast Company, October 23, 2019
Houses of Horror - Aeon Magazine, October 21, 2019
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - RawStory, October 4, 2019
Why old people hate new music -Psychology Today, October 1, 2019
Could a lack of intellectual humility be at the root of what ails America? - Blavity, September 27, 2019
"The Best Days of Our Lives?" An essay about high school included in the playbill for Groan Ups, which ran in London’s Vaudeville Theatre
- opened September 20, 2019
The psychology behind why clowns creep us out - CNN, Quartz, The Conversation, Popular
Science, RTL TV, WKRC TV, Snopes.com, Inverse, The Wire, & The Oneonta Daily Star;
also appeared in more than three dozen other news outlets between September 4-10, 2019
Politicians don't seem to laugh at themselves as much anymore
- The Conversation; also in Intellectual Takeout, Wall Street Window, alternet, Skagit Valley
Herald, SFGate, & The Utica College Center of Public Affairs and Election Research
- August 21-22, 2019
Could the lack of humility be at the root of what ails America?
- Salon, June 1, 2019 (also in Libertarian Republic)
America is facing an intellectual humility crisis - Newsweek - May 24, 2019
(also appeared in more than three dozen other news outlets)
My experience with Transient Global Amnesia (TGA)
- Psychology Today, February 24, 2019
When do personality traits predict behavior? - Psychology Today, October 2, 2018
Why "Nigerian Prince" Scams Continue to Dupe Us - Salon, August 18, 2018
Is Polygamy a Better Deal for Men or for Women? - Psychology Today, July 23, 2018
Your Sense of Humor Can Serve as "Social Radar"
- Psychology Today, April 28, 2018
Why the Death of a Dog Hurts so Much - Quartz, April 26, 2018
How the God You Worship Influences the Ghosts You See - Big Think, April 25, 2018
Why Pretty Girls Get Bullied - Psychology Today Magazine, April 22, 2018
Why men will always be more disgusting than women - Psychology Today, January 9, 2018
The science behind why there's no place like home for the holidays
- The Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2017
Beauty cues: Four traits men unknowingly seek in women - Psychology Today Magazine,
- November/December 2017, Vol. 50, #6, pp. 42-43 - also in Questia & Your Tango
Why some people see ghosts and other paranormal presence
- Your Tango Magazine, October 31, 2017
How the God you worship influences the ghosts you see - Raw Story, October 26, 2017
Creeped out by clowns? This might be why - CNN, September 8, 2017
How to avoid creeping women out - Psychology Today, July 4, 2017
For restaurants looking to boost profits, it's often about everything but the food
- The Conversation, April 24, 2017 (also in The New Influencer & Hospitality Magazine)
Communicating with the Dead: Mediums, Seances, Ouija Boards
-Psychology Today, April 12, 2017
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation, March 15, 2017 (also in MamaMia & The Observer)
Why you will always be haunted by high school - Quartz, March 3, 2017
The perils of a life in isolation - Intellectual Takeout, November 17, 2016
Why clowns creep us out - The Washington Post, October 27, 2016
The psychology behind why clowns creep us out - Time Magazine, September 29, 2016
- also in PBS Newshour, Quartz, Scientific American, Salon, The Daily Mail,
The New Republic, Yahoo News, & others
Here's why you're terrified of creepy clowns
- The Daily Beast, September 28, 2016 (also in The Conversation)
Happiness doesn't last, and here's why that's OK
- CNN, August 25, 2016 (also in Reliawire)
Don't try to be happy. We're programmed to be dissatisfied
- The Guardian, August 17, 2016 (also in The Sydney Morning Herald)
Why you shouldn't want to always be happy - Time Magazine, August 12, 2016
- also in IFL Science, The Conversation, & Intellectual Takeout
Why It Is So Easy To Hate Each Other - Psychology Today, July 14, 2016
The evolutionary psychology behind mass shootings - CNN, July 8, 2016
Gossip in your office probably does more good than harm - HRZone, June 10, 2016
This is why you're still thinking about high school - The Washington Post, June 6, 2016 (also in Raw Story)
Why are high school memories burned into our brains? - The Guardian, June 2, 2016 (also in Business Insider)
How gossip can help you - Time Magazine, January 21, 2016
Gossip as a social skill - The New Republic, January 20, 2016
The making of a murderer (mass shootings) - The Daily Mail, January 4, 2016
Why are shooters invariably young men? - Newsweek, December 7, 2015
You should know how the male brain reacts to handling a gun
- The Huffington Post, December 4, 2015 (also in The Conversation)
Why do haunted houses creep us out? - Newsweek, October 31, 2015 (also in Mashable)
This is why haunted houses creep us out - Time Magazine, October 30, 2015
- also in LiveScience, Business Insider, Raw Story, The Conversation, & others
Home is Where the Heart Is, But Where is "Home"? -Psychology Today, August 3, 2015
Nothing says "Old Dude" like getting a motorcycle - Psychology Today, July 8, 2015
