Summary: A large cross-cultural psychology study finds remarkable agreement about what it means to be “cool.” Surveying nearly 6,000 people across 13 countries, researchers report that cool individuals are consistently described as extraverted, powerful, open-minded, adventurous, hedonistic, and independent.
Although cultural traditions and norms differ worldwide, the concept of cool has converged into a recognizable archetype shaped by global media, popular culture, and changing social values. Unlike moral goodness, coolness often embraces edgier traits—rebellion, risk-taking, and pleasure-seeking—that can drive cultural change.
Key findings:
- Consistent traits: Across countries, people labeled “cool” were seen as more extraverted, autonomous, powerful, open, adventurous, and hedonistic.
- Distinct from “good”: While coolness overlaps with likeability, it differs from being morally “good,” which was associated with warmth, agreeableness, tradition, and conscientiousness.
- Global convergence: From Chile to China, participants across diverse cultures identified a similar set of attributes for what it means to be cool.
Source: APA
From Chile to China, people around the world tend to agree on what it means to be cool, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
The study combined data from experiments conducted between 2018 and 2022 with 5,943 participants in the United States, Australia, Chile, Mainland China and Hong Kong, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey. Participants were asked to think of someone they considered cool, uncool, good, or not good, and then to rate that person’s personality traits and values.
Across cultures, people identified a common profile for coolness: higher extraversion, openness to experience, autonomy, power, adventurousness, and hedonism. In contrast, people described as “good” tended to be more traditional, conforming, secure, warm, agreeable, universalistic, conscientious, and calm.
“Everyone wants to be cool, or at least avoid being labeled uncool, and societies rely on cool people because they challenge norms, inspire innovation, and push cultural boundaries,” said Todd Pezzuti, PhD, associate professor of marketing at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile and co-lead author of the study.
Co-lead author Caleb Warren, PhD, associate professor of marketing at the University of Arizona, noted that coolness and goodness overlap in that cool people often need to be somewhat likable or admirable. However, he emphasized that cool people frequently display traits—such as hedonism or seeking power—that aren’t necessarily valued as moral virtues.
The researchers argue that the global reach of music, film, fashion, and social media has helped standardize the image of cool across cultural boundaries. As cultural industries circulate role models and aesthetics worldwide, the attributes associated with coolness have become more stable and, in many cases, commercially shaped.
Does this commercialization mean coolness has lost its rebellious edge? Pezzuti suggested that while coolness has evolved and become more functional in contemporary society, it still plays a crucial role. “Coolness began in small, rebellious subcultures—think Black jazz musicians of the 1940s and beatniks of the 1950s—but as societies place greater value on creativity and change, cool people remain vital for driving cultural and social innovation,” he said.
The study limited inclusion to participants familiar with the slang meaning of “cool.” Most experiments were conducted online, which the authors note may limit generalizability to communities with limited internet access.
About this social neuroscience and psychology research news
Author: James Sliwa
Source: APA
Contact: James Sliwa – APA
Image credit: Neuroscience News
Original research: “Cool People” by Todd Pezzuti et al., published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. (Open access)
Abstract
Cool People
What makes someone “cool”? Is coolness the same as being good, and does the meaning of cool vary across cultures? This study examines which personality traits and values people associate with coolness and compares them to the traits associated with being good.
Data from 5,943 respondents across 13 countries reveal that many attributes associated with cool people overlap with those associated with good people, but the two concepts are distinct. Cool people are consistently seen as more extraverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open, and autonomous. By contrast, good people are viewed as more conforming, traditional, secure, warm, agreeable, universalistic, conscientious, and calm.
This cross-cultural pattern suggests the meaning of cool has crystallized around a similar set of values and traits globally. The authors use these findings to develop a theory about how coolness contributes to social hierarchies and to the evolution of cultural practices and norms.