Frank McAndrew

Frank McAndrew is the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College, where he has been teaching since 1979. His distinguished career spans over four decades with significant contributions to evolutionary and environmental psychology. He has received multiple teaching awards including the Philip Green Wright-Lombard College Prize for Distinguished Teaching in 1983 and 2000, and the Caterpillar Faculty Achievement Award in 2003.

McAndrew earned his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Maine in 1981 and his B.S. in Psychology from King's College in 1974. His research focuses on human social behavior from an evolutionary perspective, particularly exploring the psychology of everyday life, creepiness, gossip, and environmental psychology. He is the author of the influential textbook Environmental Psychology which has been translated into multiple languages.

His research on creepiness, gossip, and evolutionary psychology has gained widespread recognition, appearing in over 2,000 media outlets and featured in more than 100 radio and television appearances including NBC's Today Show, BBC, CNN, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal. His Psychology Today blog 'Out of the Ooze: Navigating the 21st Century with a Stone-Age Mind' has attracted over twenty-five million readers.

McAndrew has published extensively in academic journals and popular media, with recent work focusing on evolutionary explanations for modern behaviors, environmental influences on psychological states, and the social functions of gossip. His most cited research includes studies on creepiness, celebrity gossip, and the evolutionary psychology of haunted houses.

• Fellow of multiple prestigious societies including Association for Psychological Science
• Knox Faculty Exceptional Achievement Award recipient (1999, 2009, 2013, 2019)
• Nominated for CASE Professor of the Year Award (2005)
• Identified as a key figure in environmental psychology history (2005)
• Invited Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Environmental Psychology (2016)

As an educator, McAndrew has mentored numerous students through co-authored research, served as Psychology Department Chair, and founded Knox College's Environmental Studies Program. His teaching interests include introductory psychology, social psychology, environmental psychology, and evolution and human behavior. He has also served in various administrative roles including Interim Associate Dean and Faculty Tutorial Director for the Ronald E. McNair Program.