Latest news with #personalityTraits
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
What do you think makes someone cool?
Researchers think they've worked out which personality traits makes a person 'cool'. They asked 6,000 people from 12 countries to think of someone they thought was cool and not cool and then rate that person's to the study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology the six qualities are: Extraverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous. In other words, it's someone who is outgoing, lives for fun and is independent, making their own decisions. But we want to know what YOU think makes a person cool. Is it the way they interact with people? Is it how they dress? Maybe there's a celebrity you think is really cool - let us know in the comments below!. The history of cool The word 'cool' started out as a way to describe temperature - not too cold and not too hot and it can still be used in this the 16th Century, it had evolved to also describe a person if they were calm and collected. The modern use of the word cool came from black jazz musicians in the was used to describe a person who was rebellious or charismatic and who helped to create social change through things like art or protests. Words continue to evolve over time. You might not even use the word cool - maybe you use sick, sigma, or gucci forget to let us know what you think makes someone cool in the comments - you could even tell us what is totally uncool.
CTV News
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘Cool' people tend to have these six things in common, study finds
Regina George, Jay Gatsby and Olivia Pope are among the powerful, extroverted characters who check the "cool" boxes. But, the researchers behind the new study note, that isn't always the same thing as "good." (CBS/WarnerBros./Disney via CNN Newsource) An international team of researchers may have just cracked the code for what makes someone 'cool.' And no matter where you live, the personality traits that make someone 'cool' appear to be consistent across countries, according to the study, published this week in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. The researchers found that, compared with people considered to be 'good' or 'favorable,' those considered 'cool' are perceived to be more extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous. 'The most surprising thing was seeing that the same attributes emerge in every country,' said Todd Pezzuti, an associate professor of marketing at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile who was a co-lead researcher on the study. 'Regardless of whether it's China or Korea or Chile or the U.S., people like people who are pushing boundaries and sparking change,' he said. 'So I would say that coolness really represents something more fundamental than the actual label of coolness.' 'Cool' isn't the same as 'good' The researchers – from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, the University of Arizona and the University of Georgia – conducted experiments from 2018 to 2022 with nearly 6,000 people across a dozen countries: Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the United States. The participants were asked to think of a person in their lives whom they perceive to be 'cool,' 'uncool,' 'good' or 'not good.' They were then asked to rate that person's personality using two scales: the Big Five Personality scale, a widely used scientific model that helps describe personality traits, and the Portrait Values Questionnaire, intended to measure an individual's basic values. The study participants consistently associated being calm, conscientious, universalistic, agreeable, warm, secure, traditional and conforming with being a good person, more than with being a cool person. Being capable was considered to be both 'cool' and 'good' but not distinctly either. But the formula for being 'cool' was having the six character traits – more extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous – no matter the person's age, gender or education level. Pezzuti doesn't think these 'cool' traits are something that can be taught. 'We're born with those attributes,' he said. 'Five of those attributes are personality traits, and personality traits tend to be fairly stable.' The research showed that cool people and good people aren't the same, but there may be some overlapping traits, said co-lead researcher Caleb Warren, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Arizona. 'To be seen as cool, someone usually needs to be somewhat likable or admirable, which makes them similar to good people,' Warren said in a news release. 'However, cool people often have other traits that aren't necessarily considered 'good' in a moral sense, like being hedonistic and powerful.' A limitation of the research was that only people who understood what 'cool' means were included in the study. Pezzuti said it would be interesting – but difficult – to determine whether the findings would be similar among more traditional cultures or remote groups of people who may be less familiar with the term. 'We don't know what we would find in supertraditional cultures like hunting-and-gathering tribes or sustenance farming groups,' Pezzuti said. 'One thing we would propose is that in those cultures, 'cool' people don't have as important of a role because innovation, or cultural innovation, isn't as important in those cultures,' he said. 'So I would say that cool people are probably present in those cultures, but their role isn't as big, and they're probably not as admired as they are in other cultures.' 'Cool' can be controversial When asked to think of a public figure or celebrity who embodies 'coolness' based on his research, Pezzuti immediately said Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. 'He's a controversial figure, but someone who comes to my mind is Elon Musk,' Pezzuti said, adding that he checks all the boxes of the six attributes identified in the study. Musk is 'undeniably powerful' and autonomous, he said, and appears to be extroverted due to his presence on social media platforms and in the media. 'I hear that he's timid, maybe more timid than he seems, but from an outsider, he seems very extroverted. He's entertaining. He's on podcasts and always in front of cameras,' Pezzuti explained. Some of Musk's behavior also appears to be hedonistic, he said. 'He smoked marijuana on the most popular podcast in the world, 'The Joe Rogan Experience.'' And Pezzuti added that Musk's ideas about colonizing Mars show him to be open and adventurous. The new paper is one of the few empirical studies that examines what exactly makes people 'cool,' said Jonah Berger, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. 'While people have long wondered (and theorized) about what makes people cool, there hasn't been a lot of actual empirical research on the topic, so it's great to see work exploring this space,' Berger, who was not involved in the new paper, wrote in an email. 'While coolness might seem like something you are born with, there are certainly steps people can take to try and move in that direction,' he said. 'Given how many people want to be cool, and how much money is spent with that goal in mind, it certainly seems worth studying.' Future research in this space could evaluate coolness in tandem with goodness and badness rather than in isolation from it, said Jon Freeman, an associate professor of psychology at Columbia University. 'In real life, coolness can be a positive quality but can also have a negative connotation in certain social contexts. It may be valuable for future work to examine the differences between good coolness and bad coolness, and this study's approach offers a great foundation,' Freeman, who also was not involved in the new study, wrote in an email. 'From a scientific standpoint, cool would seem far more a product of inference and social construction than genetics, although low-level temperament informed by genetics could feed into ongoing personality construction,' he said. ''Cool' is deeply ingrained in our social vocabulary because it serves as a shorthand for complex inferences. It encapsulates signals of status, affiliation, and identity in ways that are instantaneous yet deeply stereotyped. From a scientific perspective, studying coolness is important precisely because it reveals how rapid, schematic trait inferences influence behavior and social dynamics, especially in the age of social media and influencer culture.' Jacqueline Howard and Asuka Koda, CNN
CNN
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Study finds six ‘cool' people personality traits
Study finds six 'cool' people personality traits An international team of researchers may have just cracked the code for what makes someone 'cool.' CNN's Jacqueline Howard reports. 01:08 - Source: CNN Vertical Trending Now 14 videos Study finds six 'cool' people personality traits An international team of researchers may have just cracked the code for what makes someone 'cool.' CNN's Jacqueline Howard reports. 01:08 - Source: CNN Joey Chestnut on the taste of competitive eating Ever wondered if competitive eaters at the annual July 4th Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest can taste what they're eating at that speed? In a 2024 interview, CNN's Don Riddell put that question to the greatest competitive eater in history, Joey Chestnut. 00:37 - Source: CNN How AI could help male infertility Researchers at Columbia University Fertility Center developed an AI-powered tool that can scan millions of images from a semen sample in under an hour to detect hidden sperm cells that traditional methods might miss. CNN's Jacqueline Howard explains how this could open new possibilities for families looking to have children. 01:41 - Source: CNN 'Squid Game' season three breaks record for Netflix Season three of 'Squid Game' is setting world records for Netflix with the most views of a show in three days and the number one ranked show in all available countries worldwide in its premiere week, says the streaming company. 00:37 - Source: CNN The teens trying to make 'MAHA' cool Lexi Vrachalus and Grace Price are two of the young influencers behind the newly formed 'MAHA Girls' account. They're bringing their social followings and "Make America Healthy Again" influence together to recruit a younger cohort of MAHA devotees. CNN's Meena Duerson chats with the 19-year-olds about where the movement is going. 02:51 - Source: CNN See swarms of 'lovebugs' invade South Korea Video posted on social media shows thousands of 'lovebugs' blanketing hiking trails on the Gyeyangsan mountain. South Korea is wrestling with an outbreak of the insects, which have been driven into warmer urban areas like Seoul due to climate change, according to a 2022 study. 00:42 - Source: CNN Beyoncé's 'flying' car prop tilts midair A technical mishap led to Beyoncé's 'flying' car prop to tilt during a Cowboy Carter concert in Houston, with fans capturing the moment on video. The singer was quickly lowered down and without injury, according to Beyoncé's entertainment and management company. 00:57 - Source: CNN 'Cobra Kai' star Alicia Hannah-Kim accuses co-star of biting her "Cobra Kai" star Martin Kove allegedly bit co-star Alicia Hannah-Kim during a fan convention in Washington, claiming it was a joke, according to police. 03:02 - Source: CNN See Jonathan Anderson's highly anticipated Dior debut Jonathan Anderson, founder of JW Anderson, made his debut as creative director of Dior. His collection, Dior menswear Spring/Summer 2026, was showcased during Paris Fashion Week. 00:45 - Source: CNN What biohacker Bryan Johnson says is the most powerful drug in existence CNN's Boris Sanchez spoke with controversial biohacker Bryan Johnson about the impact of the medical experiments he's done and what he thinks is the most underrated aspect of health. 01:08 - Source: CNN See swarms of 'lovebugs' invade South Korea Video posted on social media shows thousands of 'lovebugs' blanketing hiking trails on the Gyeyangsan mountain. South Korea is wrestling with an outbreak of the insects, which have been driven into warmer urban areas like Seoul due to climate change, according to a 2022 study. 00:42 - Source: CNN Thousands defy ban on Budapest Pride Protesters in Budapest are marching against a ban on Pride events across Hungary. People came from 30 different countries to show support under scorching heat, organizers said. 00:53 - Source: CNN Two men reunite baby bird with its mother Two men were walking in their neighborhood when they heard chirping near a sewer. When they approached, they could see a baby bird trapped inside the sewer. 01:17 - Source: CNN Newlyweds Bezos and Sanchez spotted on boat ride CNN's Melissa Bell reports from Venice, Italy, following newlyweds Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez as they wave at spectators during their boat ride through the city. 00:45 - Source: CNN
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
‘Cool' people tend to have these six things in common, study finds
An international team of researchers may have just cracked the code for what makes someone 'cool.' And no matter where you live, the personality traits that make someone 'cool' appear to be consistent across countries, according to the study, published this week in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. The researchers found that, compared with people considered to be 'good' or 'favorable,' those considered 'cool' are perceived to be more extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous. 'The most surprising thing was seeing that the same attributes emerge in every country,' said Todd Pezzuti, an associate professor of marketing at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile who was a co-lead researcher on the study. 'Regardless of whether it's China or Korea or Chile or the US, people like people who are pushing boundaries and sparking change,' he said. 'So I would say that coolness really represents something more fundamental than the actual label of coolness.' The researchers – from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, the University of Arizona and the University of Georgia – conducted experiments from 2018 to 2022 with nearly 6,000 people across a dozen countries: Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the United States. The participants were asked to think of a person in their lives whom they perceive to be 'cool,' 'uncool,' 'good' or 'not good.' They were then asked to rate that person's personality using two scales: the Big Five Personality scale, a widely used scientific model that helps describe personality traits, and the Portrait Values Questionnaire, intended to measure an individual's basic values. The study participants consistently associated being calm, conscientious, universalistic, agreeable, warm, secure, traditional and conforming with being a good person, more than with being a cool person. Being capable was considered to be both 'cool' and 'good' but not distinctly either. But the formula for being 'cool' was having the six character traits – more extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous – no matter the person's age, gender or education level. Pezzuti doesn't think these 'cool' traits are something that can be taught. 'We're born with those attributes,' he said. 'Five of those attributes are personality traits, and personality traits tend to be fairly stable.' The research showed that cool people and good people aren't the same, but there may be some overlapping traits, said co-lead researcher Caleb Warren, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Arizona. 'To be seen as cool, someone usually needs to be somewhat likable or admirable, which makes them similar to good people,' Warren said in a news release. 'However, cool people often have other traits that aren't necessarily considered 'good' in a moral sense, like being hedonistic and powerful.' A limitation of the research was that only people who understood what 'cool' means were included in the study. Pezzuti said it would be interesting – but difficult – to determine whether the findings would be similar among more traditional cultures or remote groups of people who may be less familiar with the term. 'We don't know what we would find in supertraditional cultures like hunting-and-gathering tribes or sustenance farming groups,' Pezzuti said. 'One thing we would propose is that in those cultures, 'cool' people don't have as important of a role because innovation, or cultural innovation, isn't as important in those cultures,' he said. 'So I would say that cool people are probably present in those cultures, but their role isn't as big, and they're probably not as admired as they are in other cultures.' When asked to think of a public figure or celebrity who embodies 'coolness' based on his research, Pezzuti immediately said Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. 'He's a controversial figure, but someone who comes to my mind is Elon Musk,' Pezzuti said, adding that he checks all the boxes of the six attributes identified in the study. Musk is 'undeniably powerful' and autonomous, he said, and appears to be extroverted due to his presence on social media platforms and in the media. 'I hear that he's timid, maybe more timid than he seems, but from an outsider, he seems very extroverted. He's entertaining. He's on podcasts and always in front of cameras,' Pezzuti explained. Some of Musk's behavior also appears to be hedonistic, he said. 'He smoked marijuana on the most popular podcast in the world, 'The Joe Rogan Experience.'' And Pezzuti added that Musk's ideas about colonizing Mars show him to be open and adventurous. The new paper is one of the few empirical studies that examines what exactly makes people 'cool,' said Jonah Berger, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. 'While people have long wondered (and theorized) about what makes people cool, there hasn't been a lot of actual empirical research on the topic, so it's great to see work exploring this space,' Berger, who was not involved in the new paper, wrote in an email. 'While coolness might seem like something you are born with, there are certainly steps people can take to try and move in that direction,' he said. 'Given how many people want to be cool, and how much money is spent with that goal in mind, it certainly seems worth studying.' Future research in this space could evaluate coolness in tandem with goodness and badness rather than in isolation from it, said Jon Freeman, an associate professor of psychology at Columbia University. 'In real life, coolness can be a positive quality but can also have a negative connotation in certain social contexts. It may be valuable for future work to examine the differences between good coolness and bad coolness, and this study's approach offers a great foundation,' Freeman, who also was not involved in the new study, wrote in an email. 'From a scientific standpoint, cool would seem far more a product of inference and social construction than genetics, although low-level temperament informed by genetics could feed into ongoing personality construction,' he said. ''Cool' is deeply ingrained in our social vocabulary because it serves as a shorthand for complex inferences. It encapsulates signals of status, affiliation, and identity in ways that are instantaneous yet deeply stereotyped. From a scientific perspective, studying coolness is important precisely because it reveals how rapid, schematic trait inferences influence behavior and social dynamics, especially in the age of social media and influencer culture.'
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Who's the coolest person at your July 4 barbecue? They got six things goin' on, according to a new study
An international team of researchers may have just cracked the code for what makes someone 'cool.' And no matter where you live, the personality traits that make someone 'cool' appear to be consistent across countries, according to the study, published this week in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. The researchers found that, compared with people considered to be 'good' or 'favorable,' those considered 'cool' are perceived to be more extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous. 'The most surprising thing was seeing that the same attributes emerge in every country,' said Todd Pezzuti, an associate professor of marketing at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile who was a co-lead researcher on the study. 'Regardless of whether it's China or Korea or Chile or the US, people like people who are pushing boundaries and sparking change,' he said. 'So I would say that coolness really represents something more fundamental than the actual label of coolness.' The researchers – from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, the University of Arizona and the University of Georgia – conducted experiments from 2018 to 2022 with nearly 6,000 people across a dozen countries: Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the United States. The participants were asked to think of a person in their lives whom they perceive to be 'cool,' 'uncool,' 'good' or 'not good.' They were then asked to rate that person's personality using two scales: the Big Five Personality scale, a widely used scientific model that helps describe personality traits, and the Portrait Values Questionnaire, intended to measure an individual's basic values. The study participants consistently associated being calm, conscientious, universalistic, agreeable, warm, secure, traditional and conforming with being a good person, more than with being a cool person. Being capable was considered to be both 'cool' and 'good' but not distinctly either. But the formula for being 'cool' was having the six character traits – more extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous – no matter the person's age, gender or education level. Pezzuti doesn't think these 'cool' traits are something that can be taught. 'We're born with those attributes,' he said. 'Five of those attributes are personality traits, and personality traits tend to be fairly stable.' The research showed that cool people and good people aren't the same, but there may be some overlapping traits, said co-lead researcher Caleb Warren, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Arizona. 'To be seen as cool, someone usually needs to be somewhat likable or admirable, which makes them similar to good people,' Warren said in a news release. 'However, cool people often have other traits that aren't necessarily considered 'good' in a moral sense, like being hedonistic and powerful.' A limitation of the research was that only people who understood what 'cool' means were included in the study. Pezzuti said it would be interesting – but difficult – to determine whether the findings would be similar among more traditional cultures or remote groups of people who may be less familiar with the term. 'We don't know what we would find in supertraditional cultures like hunting-and-gathering tribes or sustenance farming groups,' Pezzuti said. 'One thing we would propose is that in those cultures, 'cool' people don't have as important of a role because innovation, or cultural innovation, isn't as important in those cultures,' he said. 'So I would say that cool people are probably present in those cultures, but their role isn't as big, and they're probably not as admired as they are in other cultures.' When asked to think of a public figure or celebrity who embodies 'coolness' based on his research, Pezzuti immediately said Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. 'He's a controversial figure, but someone who comes to my mind is Elon Musk,' Pezzuti said, adding that he checks all the boxes of the six attributes identified in the study. Musk is 'undeniably powerful' and autonomous, he said, and appears to be extroverted due to his presence on social media platforms and in the media. 'I hear that he's timid, maybe more timid than he seems, but from an outsider, he seems very extroverted. He's entertaining. He's on podcasts and always in front of cameras,' Pezzuti explained. Some of Musk's behavior also appears to be hedonistic, he said. 'He smoked marijuana on the most popular podcast in the world, 'The Joe Rogan Experience.'' And Pezzuti added that Musk's ideas about colonizing Mars show him to be open and adventurous. The new paper is one of the few empirical studies that examines what exactly makes people 'cool,' said Jonah Berger, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. 'While people have long wondered (and theorized) about what makes people cool, there hasn't been a lot of actual empirical research on the topic, so it's great to see work exploring this space,' Berger, who was not involved in the new paper, wrote in an email. 'While coolness might seem like something you are born with, there are certainly steps people can take to try and move in that direction,' he said. 'Given how many people want to be cool, and how much money is spent with that goal in mind, it certainly seems worth studying.' Future research in this space could evaluate coolness in tandem with goodness and badness rather than in isolation from it, said Jon Freeman, an associate professor of psychology at Columbia University. 'In real life, coolness can be a positive quality but can also have a negative connotation in certain social contexts. It may be valuable for future work to examine the differences between good coolness and bad coolness, and this study's approach offers a great foundation,' Freeman, who also was not involved in the new study, wrote in an email. 'From a scientific standpoint, cool would seem far more a product of inference and social construction than genetics, although low-level temperament informed by genetics could feed into ongoing personality construction,' he said. ''Cool' is deeply ingrained in our social vocabulary because it serves as a shorthand for complex inferences. It encapsulates signals of status, affiliation, and identity in ways that are instantaneous yet deeply stereotyped. From a scientific perspective, studying coolness is important precisely because it reveals how rapid, schematic trait inferences influence behavior and social dynamics, especially in the age of social media and influencer culture.'
