There is a secret formula that helps explain why people as different as David Bowie, Samuel L. Jackson and Charli XCX seem so safe from themselves and, well, cool?
A new study suggests that there are six specific features that these people tend to have in common: People considered cool are widely perceived as extroverts, hedonists, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous.
The study, published Monday in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, interviewed nearly 6,000 participants from 12 countries around the world. Their beliefs about what is “cool” were similar regardless of where they lived, and despite differences in age, income level, education or gender.
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“What surprised me was the fact that the result was practically the same everywhere,” said Caleb Warren, one of the study authors and professor at Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, who has been researching consumer psychology for two decades.
In the study, each participant had to recognize the word “cool” in English, without translation, suggesting that they were already familiar – or perhaps even idolized – notions of detachment from rich western countries like the United States.
In this sense, the study offers a window for the diffusion of cultural beliefs from one group to another, said Joseph Henrich, an anthropologist and professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard, who did not participate in the study.
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“Globally, American success led to the diffusion of musical styles and a huge amount of cultural content, including apparently the concept of cool,” said Henrich.
Being cool is not a widely studied theme. Previous research has shown that being cool is generally considered positive: cool people are also friendly, competent, modern and attractive. But Warren and his colleagues wanted to know what makes a person distinctly “cool” instead of just “good”.
Then the researchers asked participants to think of specific people: one that was cool, one that was not cool, one that was good and one that was not good. Then they asked them to evaluate each person by responding to questionnaires that collectively mediate 15 different attributes.
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Although cool and good people shared traces compared to cool, good people were perceived as more conformist, traditional, safe, warm, pleasant, universalists (the extension where a person sees everyone and everything as equal or equally worthy of care and respect), conscientious and calm.
Those perceived as capable were equally considered cool and good.
A limitation of the study was that anyone who did not know the word “cool” was automatically excluded. As a result, data cannot determine how often the word is used in different countries or if, in certain cultures, being cool leads to higher social status compared to others. In addition, although the study included participants of various ages, the population was predominantly young: the average age of each region was usually 30 years or less.
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Other studies have shown that there are important cultural differences that can affect the traits we value.
“Factors such as aggressiveness gives us higher status in some western cultures and, at the same time, less status in the East,” said Mitch Prinstein, head of psychology at American Psychological Association, who wrote two popularity books, which could be a consequence of being cool.
Research on being cool suggests that the desire to be cool is particularly strong during adolescence, and influences not only what people buy or who admire, but also how they talk and what they do to have fun.
But what is considered cool by culture in general may not be the same as you personally believe you are cool. That’s why Warren and his colleagues asked each participant to think about the people who considered cool versus good. Interestingly, in general, the types of traits typically associated with kindness or help were more often perceived as good instead of cool.
So being cool is a feature that is worth pursuing?
For this, Warren said, “I have serious doubts.”
Being cool, which involves taking risks and being socially early during adolescence, can offer youth popularity, but a study published in 2014 found that many teenagers who behaved would thus face difficulties in their 20s, developing problems with alcohol, drugs and relationships. “They do more extreme things to try to look cool,” said one of the researchers to The New York Times.
For popular young people at school, “status is dominance, visibility, attention,” said Prinstein. But, he added, it is how dear you are contributing to long -term success.
“Even though the young man is probably going to go out if he will do well if he has at least one close friend,” he added.
Perhaps being cool – especially the disadvantage of “too cool for school” – not all they say.
