Explorations in Creepiness: Tolerance for Ambiguity and Susceptibility to “Not Just Right Experiences” Predict the Ease of Getting “Creeped Out”

Abstract

This study was designed to explore the role played by ambiguity in the experience of creepiness, as well as the relevance of personality traits for predicting individual differences in susceptibility to getting “creeped out,” In an online study, a mixed sample of 278 college undergraduates and adults (60 males, 206 females, 12 nonbinary or chose not to report; Mean age = 31.43, range 18-68) recruited through social network platforms filled out scales measuring their tolerance for ambiguity and their susceptibility to having “Not Just Right Experiences.” They then rated 25 images (12 normal, 13 prejudged to be creepy or confusing) on creepiness and several other adjective dimensions. The findings indicated that individuals who were less tolerant of ambiguity and those highly susceptible to not just right experiences perceived ambiguous or creepy persons, places, and objects to be more creepy, confusing and disturbing. Both measures were negatively related to time spent looking at confusing or creepy images, and females were generally more easily creeped out by creepy and confusing images than were males. The results support the conclusion that current models of creepiness are correct; the emotional experience of getting “creeped out” does indeed appear to be triggered by the need to resolve ambiguity.

Keywords:

• Creepiness
• emotion
• tolerance for ambiguity
• personality

Acknowledgements

Portions of this research were presented as a poster at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. The authors wish to acknowledge helpful comments made by Andrew Hertel and one anonymous reviewer on an earlier draft of the manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Publication Ethics

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Knox College Institutional Review Board and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Authorship

Francis T. McAndrew designed the study, wrote the manuscript, and oversaw and participated in the data analysis and interpretation; Jonathan E. Doriscar and Nicolette T. Schmidt were equally involved with completing a literature review of the personality traits, compiling stimulus materials, creating the Qualtrics survey, and collecting and analyzing data. Doriscar also prepared and submitted the IRB proposal; Chris Niebauer contributed an insight that inspired the study and provided feedback on the manuscript.

All authors approved the final version of the article.

Open Data

Raw data in an SPSS spreadsheet is available through the Open Science Forum (OSF) at the following link: https://osf.io/rj7qk.

The 25 stimulus images used in this study can be seen online via the Open Science Forum (OSF) at https://osf.io/t6r4u/.

Author Notes

Francis T. McAndrew is the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College.

Jonathan E. Doriscar is a Knox College graduate currently in the Social Psychology PhD program at Northwestern University.

Nicolette T. Schmidt is a Knox College graduate who is completing a master’s degree in counseling at Bradley University.

Chris Niebauer now retired, was a professor in the cognitive science and leadership studies programs at Slippery Rock University when this study was conducted.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.