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General Interests
"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 also interested in environmental psychology, which is the study of the relationship between people and their physical environments, both natural and human-made. I have written a successful textbook in this area, Environmental Psychology, that has been translated into two different Chinese editions. Recent research projects of mine have included studies of gossip, the namesaking of children, and the emotional attachments that people develop for the places that they live. Currently, I am conducting a series of experiments that explore the dynamics of costly altruism in groups. I am especially pleased when one of my student's projects works out so well that we are able to get it published. My favorite advice to students is to not sweat the petty things and to NEVER pet the sweaty things."
Years at Knox: 1979 to present
Education
Ph.D., Experimental Psychology, 1981, University of Maine.
B.S., Psychology, 1974, King's College.
Teaching Interests
Introductory psychology, social psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, statistics, evolution and human behavior, environmental psychology, history and systems of psychology.
Recent Recognition
Research
Profiles of McAndrew's research have been featured in over 100 popular print and internet outlets, including the following: The Times of London, Reader's Digest, New York Times, ABC News, MSNBC.com, Slate.com, Chicago Tribune, Scientific American, Boston Globe, Psychology Today, APA Monitor on Psychology, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Allure Magazine, Self Magazine, Midwest Living, Forbes Woman Magazine, and Science and Religion Today.
His research has also been featured in more than two dozen radio and television interviews including: "Breakfast with Geraldine Doogue" (Australia), CBC & CKLW (Canada), "The Todd Mundt Show" (NPR), "Counterpoint" (Kingston, Jamaica), WABC (New York), WMBD Radio (Peoria), The CBS Morning Show, & NBC's Today Show. His research was even lampooned by Jay Leno in his monologue on "The Tonight Show"(07-20-07).
Awards
Who's Who in Science and Engineering.
Who's Who in American Education.
Who's Who in America.
Charter Fellow, Midwestern Psychological Association.
Knox Faculty Exceptional Achievement Award, 1999 & 2009.
Recognized as the Journal of Environmental Psychology's "Most Prolific Reviewer" for 2007.
Awarded Fellow Status in the Association for Psychological Science (APS) in recognition of sustained outstanding contributions to the advancement of psychological science, 2007.
Identified as one of the "key individuals" in the history of environmental psychology by a survey of over 300 researchers in the field, 2005.
Nominee, CASE Professor of the Year, 2005.
Caterpillar Faculty Achievement Award, 2003.
Philip Green Wright-Lombard College Prize for Distinguished Teaching, 1983, 2000.
Recent Accomplishments
Publications
"Can Gossip be Good?" In J. Kindler (Ed.), iRead, The Reader's Edge: Book Two. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.
"Parents' Divorce is More Strongly Related to the Self-Perceived Promiscuity and Drinking Behavior of Male than of Female College Students." Co-authored with Knox student Erica L. Stringfellow, '08, Journal of College Student Development, 2010.
"The Interacting Roles of Testosterone and Challenges to Status in Human Male Aggression." Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2009.
"Can Gossip be Good?" Scientific American Mind Magazine, (cover story) 2008.
"Guns, Testosterone, and Aggression." Co-authored with Associate Professor of Psychology Tim Kasser and Knox student Jennifer Klinesmith, '05, in Readings in Social Psychology: General, Classic, and Contemporary Selections (7th Ed.), by Wayne A. Lesko (Ed.), Allyn & Bacon Publishers, 2008.
"The Psychology of Gossip." Psychology Teacher Network, 2008.
"Celebrities: From Teachers to Friends. A Test of Two Hypotheses on the Adaptiveness of Celebrity Gossip." Co-authored with C. De Backer, M. Neliseen, P. Vyncke, and J. Braeckman. Human Nature 2007.
"Beliefs about Gender Differences in Methods and Causes for Suicide." Co-authored with Knox student Andy Garrison, '04. Archives of Suicide Research 2007.
"Who Do We Tell, and Whom Do We Tell On? Gossip as a Strategy for Status Enhancement." Co-authored with Knox students Emily Bell '04 and Maria Garcia '02, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2007.
"Female Infidelity and Paternal Uncertainty: Evolutionary Perspectives on Male Anti-cuckoldry Tactics." A review of a book by the same title by S. M. Platek & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Cambridge University Press, The Journal of Mind and Behavior, 2006.
"A Laboratory Simulation of Parental Investment Decisions: The Role of Future Reproductive Opportunity and Offspring Quality in Determining Levels of Parental Investment." Co-authored with Knox student Stefanie Turner '04. Evolutionary Psychology, 2006.
"Guns, Testosterone, and Aggression: A Test of a Mediational Model." Co-authored with Knox student Jennifer Klinesmith '05 and Knox Associate Professor of Psychology Tim Kasser. Psychological Science, 2006.
"How Do We Decide Who Our Friends Are? Defining Levels of Friendship in Poland and the United States." Co-authored with Knox student Anna Rybak '03. Journal of Social Psychology, 2006.
"The Mating Strategies and Mate Preferences of Mail Order Brides." Co-authored with Bibiana Paez Minervini '03. Cross-Cultural Research, 2006.
"Body Shape Ideals and Perceptions of Body Shape in Spanish and American College Students." Co-authored with Knox student Erika Carlson '03. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2004.
"Evolution and the Problem of Altruism: Current and Historical Perspectives." Edited by S. Shohov, Hauppauge, N.Y.: Nova Science. Advances in Psychology Research 2003.
"New Evolutionary Perspectives on Altruism: Multilevel Selection and Costly Signaling Theories." Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2002.
"Of Tabloids and Family Secrets: The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip." Co-authored with Knox student Megan Milenkovic '97. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2002.
"A Sociobiological Analysis of Namesaking Patterns in 322 American Families." Co-authored with Knox students Jennifer Cooley King '95 and Lora R. Honoroff '98. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2002.
"Ecological World Views and Receptivity to Different Types of Arguments for Preserving Endangered Species." Co-authored with Knox student Melissa Brackney '98. Journal of Environmental Education, 2001.
Presentations
"The Evolutionary Psychology Of Gossip," DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, 2010.
"The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip," the University of Missouri at St. Louis, 2010.
"What should study abroad in psychology be about?" International Educators Workshop sponsored by the Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2009.
"The Selfish Hero? A Study of the Individual Benefits of Self-Sacrificial Behavior in Small Groups." Annual Meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Fullerton, California, 2009.
"Evolutionary Perspectives on Popular Culture." University of Chicago, 2008 and 2009.
"The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip." Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, 2008.
"Information Age Media and Stone Age Minds: How the Entertainment Industry Succeeds by Pressing the Right Buttons in Our Hunter-Gatherer Brains." Keynote address IDeoGRAMS Conference 2007: Contemporary Media, Leicester, England, 2007.
"Sex and suicide: Beliefs about sex differences in methods and causes for suicide." With Knox student Andy Garrison, '04, the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, 2007.
"The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip." University of Texas at Austin, 2006.
"The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip." University of Texas at Arlington, 2006.
"Birth order, Personality, and Conformity to Parental Expectations in the Choice of a Long-Term Mate." With Knox student Samantha Franciskovich '05. Annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2006.
"Who Do We Tell, and Whom Do We Tell On? Explorations in the Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip." With Emily Bell '04 and Maria Garcia '02. Annual meeting of The Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Austin, Texas, 2005.
"Gossip as Entertainment: Why does Bad News Feel so Good?" Media and Universals 2005—Focus on Film and Print, Siegen, Germany, 2005.
"The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip." Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois, 2005.
"The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip." Carl Sandburg College, Galesburg, Illinois, 2005.
"The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip." Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, 2004.
"The Mating Strategies and Mate Preferences of Mail Order Brides." With Bibiana Paez Minervini '03. Annual Meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Berlin, Germany, 2004.
"A Laboratory Simulation of Hagen's Defection Hypothesis: Determining the Role of Future Reproductive Opportunity and Offspring Quality in Parental Investment." With Stefanie Turner '04. Annual Meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Berlin, Germany, 2004.
"Why is gossip so irresistible? Explorations in the evolutionary psychology of gossip." Annual Meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Berlin, Germany, 2004.
Campus & Community Involvement
Faculty Tutorial Director, Ronald E. McNair Program.
Head Wrestling Coach, Knox College; Assistant Coach.
Interim Associate Dean, Knox College.
Chair, Psychology Department.
Founder, Knox College Environmental Studies Program.
Participant, International Educator's Workshop sponsored by the Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Copenhagen & Istanbul.
Participant, Global Partners Project Seminar, "The Environmental Crisis in Central Europe," Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia, sponsored by the Mellon Foundation.
Participant, "Strengthening the Peace Process in Northern Ireland" seminar, University of Ulster.
Consultant, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Florida Department of Community Affairs on the causes and consequences of population growth and development in the Florida Keys.
Visiting Professor, University of Pretoria and University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
Member, editorial review board, Environment and Behavior.
Member, Editorial Review Board, The Journal of Mind and Behavior.
Member, editorial review board, The Journal of Environmental Psychology.
What Students Say
"I have never felt more comfortable and at ease with a professor than I have with Professor McAndrew. Frank's sense of humor, his calm reassurances, and his obvious respect for me as a student have all combined to make him a very important person in my life. He has repeatedly given me confidence in times of confusion or anxiety, and he has always bolstered my interest and engagement with psychology. All in all, if I were to become a college professor, Frank McAndrew would be the person I would want to be compared to."
-Matt Lauterbach, Psychology Major
Contact
309-341-7525
fmcandre@knox.edu
The award-winning drama, "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes," by Tony Kushner, is performed at Knox College, Feb. 25-March 6.
Photographs taken by Knox College students at study-abroad programs have won a first place award and two honorable mentions from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest.
"Chapel in the Sky," by Lance Factor reveals Masonic symbols in the architecture of Knox College's Old Main, a National Historic Landmark and Lincoln-Douglas Debate site.
