Having greasy hair, licking your lips frequently or standing too close to someone’s friend are among the top personal habits which make you seem creepy to others. Picture: iStock

A groundbreaking new study on the nature of creepiness, which found that clowns, taxidermists, funeral directors and sex shop owners are among the world’s creepiest occupations, examined non verbal behaviour or traits.

The study found that men are more likely to be seen as creepy than women, and that females more often perceived sexual threats in a creepy person.

“On the Nature of Creepiness” by US psychologists Francis McAndrew and Sara Koehnke showed that unusual non-verbal behaviour and unpredictability increased a person’s creepiness.

Among the top personal traits of creepy people were that they had greasy or unkempt hair, they had long fingers or that they wore dirty clothes.

Licking your lips, as former West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl is pictured doing, is a trait that makes you ‘creepy’ according to the study made in the US. Picture: APSource:AP

Being overdressed for the occasion can also put you high up on the creepy list. Picture: iStock.Source:istock

Wearing dirty clothes and having unkempt or greasy hair will make you creepy, the study found. Picture” iStock.Source:istock

Other creepy physical features were having bulging eyes, had very pale skin, had bags under their eyes, had a peculiar smile or were very muscular.

Creepy behaviour included standing too close to your friend, laughing at unpredictable times and making it “nearly impossible for your friend to leave the conversation without appearing rude”.

Also in the top 15 behavioural traits of creepy people was the person who “relentlessly steered the conversation toward one topic”, and someone who dressed too formally for the occasion.

In a total of 44 personal aspects that people found creepy in others, having visible tattoos or not looking a person in the eye when they spoke to you featured, along with the degree to which a person was steering a conversation toward sex.

Other creepy behaviour included touching a friend too frequently, and nodding too frequently.

In studying occupations, the researchers found that professions connected with death, such as taxidermy and funeral directors, connected with a fascination for sex, such as sex shop owners were creepy.

Taxi drivers, unemployed people and members of the clergy were also high on the list. But clowns were the creepiest of all.

Of the occupations regarded as creepy, being a clown was rated as the creepiest of all. Picture: iStockSource:istock

People also rated being a taxidermist, like the woman (above) working on a polar bear in Paris, as one of the creepier jobs. Picture: AFP/Lionel BonaventureSource:AFP

Sex shop owner Colin Edwards at his Sydney store Sweethearts has an occupation listed as creepy by the US study. Picture: News CorpSource:News Corp Australia

One final question the researchers made in their survey was “do most creepy people know that they are creepy?”

The majority of people responded with the answer no.

The purpose of the study paper was to psychologically explore the common but unpleasant human experience of “being creeped out”, which can make people feel not only uncomfortable but physically cold or chilly.

McAndrew and Koehnke, who work at Knox College in Galesberg, Illinois, also looked at just what factor our “creepiness detector” was warning us about.

“A mugger who points a gun in your face and demands money is certainly threatening and terrifying, [but] most people would not use the word ‘creepy’ to define this situation,” the researchers said.

A US study found funeral directors Paul Heerey (front) and Terry Everet’s much needed service ‘creepy’ for its association with death. Picture: News CorpSource:News Corp Australia

Being too muscular was also a creepy factor which made some people uneasy. Picture: News CorpSource:Supplied

“It is our belief that creepiness is anxiety aroused by the ambiguity of whether there is something to fear or not.

“In the mugging situation, there is no ambiguity about the presence or nature of threat.

“It is only when we get confronted with uncertainty about threat that we get ‘creeped out’.”

The researchers found that “creepy” is different to “terrifying”, but still is related to the mechanisms humans have developed to protect them from harm at the hands of predators or enemies.

“If you are walking down a dark city street and hear the sound of something moving in the dark alley to your right [and] it turns out that it is just a gust of wind or a stray cat,” then your alarm bells have rung for nothing.

But because humans do err on the side of caution by reacting to these factors, we are heightened to respond to people who make us feel uneasy.

“It would be considered rude and embarrassing to run away from an odd person who has done nothing overtly threatening, but, on the other hand, it could be perilous to ignore your intuition and remain in an interaction that is dangerous.

“This ambivalence leaves you frozen in place, wallowing in unease.”

TOP CREEPY BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS
Standing too close to your friend

Having greasy or unkempt hair

Licking your lips too frequently

Wearing dirty clothes

Having a peculiar smile

Having bulging eyes or bags under your eyes

Dressing oddly or being overdressed for the occasion

Having very pale skin

Laughing at unpredictable times

Having long fingers

A person who makes it nearly impossible for your friend to leave the conversation without appearing rude

A person who relentlessly steers the conversation toward one topic

TOP CREEPY OCCUPATIONS

1. Clown 2. Taxidermist. 3. Sex shop owner. 4. Funeral director 5. Taxi driver 6. Unemployed 7. Clergy 8. Janitor 9. Garbage collector 10. Guard 11. Writer 12. Actor

People found the clergy were in the top 10 ‘creepy’ occupations. Picture: APSource:AP