Frank T. McAndrew

About Frank T. McAndrew

I am an experimental social psychologist, but very much a generalist. To the extent that there is a common theme tying my research together, it is that I study human social behavior from an evolutionary perspective. I am especially interested in understanding the psychology of everyday life. Why do we enjoy gossip about celebrities? Why do some people name their children after themselves while others do not? My research has been featured in several documentary films, thousands of popular print and internet outlets, and hundreds of television and radio interviews including NPR, the BBC, FOX News, ITV (London), and NBC\'s Today Show. I also write for non-academic audiences, and I have published in dozens of popular media outlets including CNN, Time, Newsweek, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Chicago tribune, The Guardian, Business Insider, Salon, The Daily Beast, PBS NewsHour, and Scientific American.The flexibility of my interests is reflected in my teaching, in my research, and in my consulting activities. As a consultant I have done everything from designing interactive exhibits for zoos to reviewing medical studies for law firms; I have even worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Department of Community Affairs on the causes and consequences of population growth in the Florida Keys.Specialties: Social Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology, Environmental Psychology, Organizational Behavior

Experience

1. Cornelia H Dudley Professor Emeritus of Psychology

   Knox College

   Sep 1979 — Present · Galesburg, IL, US

   Aside from the usual teaching of classes and advising of students, I spend a great deal of time supervising student research and participating in committee work and other administrative tasks involved with the day to day running of the college. For example, I was a department chair for a decade, I did a stint as the interim associate dean of the college, and I founded and was the first chair of the environmental studies program. I spent 13 years as the faculty tutorial director for the McNair Scholars program at Knox and I have chaired more faculty committees than I can recall.I \"officially\" retired from the college on September 1, 2025, but I am still involved with the college and teach on a part-time basis.My position at Knox has afforded me many opportunities for international travel. I have been a visiting professor in Amsterdam, South Africa, and in Ireland, and I have participated in assorted professional development activities in Turkey, Tanzania, Northern Ireland, Hungary, The Czech Republic, and Denmark. I have also presented papers or given invited talks at professional conferences in the Netherlands, England, France, and Germany. I served as the Knox adviser for the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) for five years, which gave me an excuse to travel to Copenhagen every once in a while.

Education

• University of Maine

  PhD, Experimental Psychology (also did graduate work in zoology)

  1974 — 1981

• King's College

  B.S., Psychology (with a minor in English Literature)

  1970 — 1974

Skills

• Academic Advising
• Statistics
• Public Speaking
• Teaching
• Writing
• Design of Experiments
• Higher Education
• Editing
• Research
• Event Planning