Question 1

What is the role of socialization and stereotypical beliefs in the perception of creepiness?

Frank McAndrew · Accepted Answer

We develop stereotypes through the process of socialization. Stereotypes then become cognitive shortcuts that we use to make predictions about the behavior of other people. Whenever someone becomes less predictable to us, the person puts us on our guard, especially if there are other cues in the situation to indicate that the individual might be a threat to us. So, a person who defies our stereotype might indeed be more likely to be perceived as creepy if we encounter that individual in a situation that we perceive as risky.

Question 2

Is it creepy to declare our love on social media, to a guy who is in love with you but in denial ? I grew up watching movies and movies are all about grandiose love declarations.

Frank McAndrew · Accepted Answer

It sounds as if you are describing the perspective of actress Glenn Close in the movie "Fatal Attraction!" The bar is set higher for women when it comes to being perceived as a creep because women as a rule are less physically threatening than men. However, persistent declarations of love accompanied by stalking can indeed cross the line into creephood if you are not careful. Always remember that just because you think a guy is in denial does not mean that he actually is; he may just not be in love with you.

Question 3

Is there a psychological theory that explains the concept of creepiness?

Frank McAndrew · Accepted Answer

Yes. I published an article in 2016 that proposes that creepiness is our response to uncertainty, and several studies since then have been supportive of this idea. Getting "creeped out" puts us into a state of heightened vigilance that allows us to carefully process information . that will tell us whether the person, place, or thing that is creeping us out is dangerous.

Question 4

Do creeps know they're creeps?

Frank McAndrew · Accepted Answer

A study that I published in 2016 indicated that most people do not believe that creeps know that they are creeps. Whether this is ACTUALLY true or not, I do not know. I expect that it is. This means that if someone asks you who the "office creep" is and you can't think of anyone, it may be time for some soul-searching.

Question 5

What is the difference between 'creepy' and 'weird'?

Frank McAndrew · Accepted Answer

"Weird" is how we describe something that is simply unusual. "Creepy" is how we describe something that is unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

Question 6

My friend called me 'creepy'? What should I do?

Frank McAndrew · Accepted Answer

Listen to them! If they are your friends, they can give you valuable feedback about the things you do that make others uncomfortable.

Question 7

Why do I attract creepy people?

Frank McAndrew · Accepted Answer

I do not know enough about you to answer this question. Consider the possibility that you do not actually attract more creepy people than other individuals, but it is possible that you are simply better at detecting them. You may also be behaving in ways that encourage them to keep interacting with you, while other people cut them off more quickly.

Question 8

Why do some people find certain things creepy and others don't?

Frank McAndrew · Accepted Answer

People differ from each other in how tolerant they are of ambiguity and how much they crave clarity and predictability. A person who is more comfortable with uncertainty will be harder to creep out than an individual who can't stand it. Also, the more we know and understand about something, the more predictable it becomes and the less likely we are to find it creepy. For example, an expert on spiders who can distinguish the dangerous ones from the harmless ones and who knows what to expect from them is less likely to be creeped out by spiders than a person who knows very little about them.

Question 9

How does feeling creeped out differ from fear and disgust and do these emotions require different brain mechanisms?

Frank McAndrew · Accepted Answer

Fear and disgust are emotional reactions to clear dangers. When we are afraid or disgusted by something, we know what it is and why we are bothered by it, and we usually know what we have to do to deal with it. When we get creeped out, it is the uncertainty of whether or not there is a threat, or if there is, what the exact nature of the threat is that causes us to get the heebie-jeebies.

Question 10

If getting creeped out is an adaptive emotional response to the uncertainty of danger, what do you feel is the best method to alter this response?

Frank McAndrew · Accepted Answer

I do not think that you DO want to alter this response! Getting creeped out is adaptive - it puts us on high alert in case we are in danger. If you are walking through a dark creepy place at night and hear a noise behind you, just shrugging your shoulders and not looking back is probably not the most prudent course of action. We are the descendants of humans who were reproductively successful precisely because they were easily creeped out.

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