“A Case of The ‘Heeby Jeebies’: An Examination of Intuitive Judgements of ‘Creepiness’ ”, Margo C. Watt, Rebecca A. Maitland, and Catherine E. Gallagher, Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue Canadienne des Sciences du Comportement, vol. 49, no. 1, January 2017, pp. 58-69. The authors, at St. Francis Xavier University, Dalhousie University, and the University of New Brunswick, Canada, explain:
“The present research examined ‘creepiness,’ a commonly referenced but little understood construct. In Study 1, 185 undergraduates (74% women) provided qualitative data on the defining characteristics of ‘creepiness.’ ‘Creepiness’ was found to reside in the eyes, and was associated with men with ectomorphic-like bodies, with a dishevelled appearance, between 31 and 50 years of age. In Study 2, 48 students (71% women) rated black-and-white photographs of Caucasian male faces on a 7-point Likert-type scale for ‘creepiness,’ trustworthiness, and attractiveness.”
Read that and more, in the column “Soft Is Hard—Further evidence why the “soft” sciences are the hardest to do well” [free, downloadable PDF], in the special NOISE issue of the Annals of Improbable Research.
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