New Research Identifies Six Key Traits Behind the Perception of Coolness

What is it that makes individuals like David Bowie, Samuel L. Jackson, and Charli XCX exude such undeniable confidence and an aura of coolness?

Recent research points to six distinct traits commonly associated with coolness: extroversion, hedonism, power, adventurousness, openness, and autonomy.

This comprehensive study, published recently in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, surveyed nearly 6,000 people from 12 different countries. Remarkably, perceptions of what constitutes 'cool' were consistent worldwide, regardless of participants' age, income, education, or gender.

One of the study’s lead researchers expressed surprise at the uniformity of the findings across diverse cultures.

Participants were required to recognize the English word 'cool' without translation, indicating familiarity with or exposure to Western cultural ideas about coolness.

This research highlights how cultural concepts, such as what is considered cool, can spread and become widely shared across different societies.