Latest news with #traits
CNA
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNA
What makes someone cool? A new study offers clues
Is there a secret sauce that helps explain why people as different as David Bowie, Samuel L Jackson and Charli XCX all seem so self-assured and, well, cool? A new study suggests that there are six specific traits that these people tend to have in common: Cool people are largely perceived to be extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous. The study, which was recently published in the Journal Of Experimental Psychology: General, surveyed nearly 6,000 participants from 12 countries around the world. Their beliefs about what's 'cool' were similar regardless of where the study participants lived, and despite differences in age, income level, education or gender. 'What blew my mind was the fact that it was pretty much the same result everywhere,' said Caleb Warren, one of the authors of the study and a professor at the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona who has researched consumer psychology for two decades. In the study, each participant had to recognise the word 'cool' in English, without translation, suggesting that they were already familiar with – or maybe even idolised – notions of coolness from wealthy Western countries like the United States. In that sense, the study offers a window into the spread of cultural beliefs from one group of people to another, said Joseph Henrich, an anthropologist and a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard who was not involved in the study. 'Globally, American success has led to the diffusion of music styles and an immense amount of cultural content, including, apparently, the concept of cool,' Dr Henrich said. Coolness is not a widely studied subject. Past research has found that coolness is usually considered something positive: People who are cool are also friendly, competent, trendy and attractive. But Dr Warren and his colleagues wanted to know what makes a person distinctly 'cool' rather than just 'good.' So the researchers asked the participants to think of specific people: One who is cool, one who is not cool, one who is good and one who is not good. Then they asked the participants to evaluate each person by answering questionnaires that collectively measured 15 different attributes. While the cool and good people had overlapping traits, compared with their cool counterparts, good people were perceived as more conforming, traditional, secure, warm, agreeable, universalistic (the extent to which a person sees everyone and everything as being equal or equally worthy of care and respect), conscientious and calm. Those who were perceived as capable were equally considered cool and good. One limitation of the study was that anyone who did not know the word 'cool' was automatically filtered out. As a result, the data cannot determine how frequently the word is used in different countries or whether in certain cultures coolness will lead to a higher social status relative to others. In addition, while the study included participants with a wide range of ages, the population skewed young: The average age from each region was generally 30 or younger. Other studies have shown that there are important cultural differences that can affect the traits that we value. 'Factors like aggression make us have higher status in some Western cultures and simultaneously give us less status in the East,' said Mitch Prinstein, the chief of psychology at the American Psychological Association, who has written two books about popularity, which can be a consequence of coolness. Research on coolness suggests that the desire to be cool is particularly strong during adolescence, and it influences not only what people buy or whom they admire but also how they talk and what they do for fun. But what's considered cool by the broader culture might not be the same as what you personally believe is cool. This is why Dr Warren and his colleagues asked each participant to think about the people they considered cool versus good. Interestingly, across the board, the types of traits that are typically associated with kindness or helpfulness were more often perceived as good instead of cool. So is coolness a trait that's worth pursuing? To that end, Dr Warren, said, 'I have serious doubts.' Coolness that involves risk-taking and being socially precocious during adolescence may offer popularity during youth, but one study published in 2014 found that many teenagers who behaved in this way would later struggle in their 20s, developing problems with alcohol, drugs and relationships. 'They are doing more extreme things to try to act cool,' one of the researchers told The New York Times. For the popular kids in school, 'status is dominance, visibility, attention,' Dr Prinstein said. But, he added, it is how well-liked you are that contributes to long-term success. 'Even the most uncool kid will probably fare well if they have at least one close friend,' he added. Perhaps coolness – particularly the dismissive 'too cool for school' variety – isn't all it's cracked up to be.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
What you need to do to be considered "cool".
life and society about 1 hour ago What do David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Keanu Reeves have in common? They are - by almost anyone's standards - "cool". A new psychology study has been making the rounds, and it tries to get to the bottom of a simple question: What does it mean to be a cool person? The authors widdled the answer down to six specific traits. Caleb Warren is a professor at the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, and one of the authors behind this study, he chats to Jesse.
CBC
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
What is the essence of cool? A global study narrows it down to 6 key traits
Cool is cool, no matter where you are in the world. That's the conclusion of a new study that surveyed nearly 6,000 people in 13 different countries about what makes a person cool, and found the answers to be surprisingly universal. "We wanted to [look at] the deeper characteristics associated with cool people. How do those change across cultures?" Caleb Warren, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Arizona, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "We found that, largely, they don't." The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology identifies six perceived traits associated with cool people: extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous. And "perceived" is the key word here. "Cool is an impression we have of others," Warren said. "And I think, like other impressions, we form these almost instantaneously." The difference between 'cool' and 'good' The researchers surveyed 5,943 people online between 2018 and 2022 in the United States, Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. They asked each participant to think of four specific people: someone cool, someone not cool, someone good, and someone not good. They then had the participants fill out questionnaires evaluating the personality traits of those people. "The question we wanted to ask in this research is: Is cool the same or just another way of saying you like someone, or you think they're good?" Warren said. "And so what we tried to do is distinguish cool people from good people." They found there is, indeed, some overlap between the two — but also some very big differences. Broadly, the authors say, good people were described as more agreeable, conforming, traditional, secure, warm, conscientious and calm. "Its not that being bad will make somebody cool," Warren said. "I think being different or distinct or counter-normative is … what ends up making people cool." 'One of the most important American cultural exports' Rebellion is and always has been at the very heart of cool, says author and professor Joel Dinerstein. "Contemporary cool owes everything to rebel counter-cultural movements, from Black jazz musicians to the [Beat Generation] to the punks," he told CBC in an email. Dinerstein has been teaching a class called "The History of Cool" for almost 20 years at Tulane University in New Orleans. He's also the author of The Origins of Cool and curated the National Portrait Gallery exhibit American Cool. He traces the origins of cool to the post-Second World War jazz scene, when Black musicians began "defying racism through language, style, and a nonchalant (cool) demeanour." In fact, he says, it was U.S. jazz saxophonist Lester Young who coined the modern usage of the word. Despite cool's distinctly American origins, Dinerstein wasn't at all surprised by the study's conclusion that cool is a universal concept. "Cool has been a global concept for more than a half-century," he said. "It is one of the most important American cultural exports, along with the nation's music and sports." Even the word "cool" has become universal across different languages, Warren said. "In our survey, we asked people about the word cool without trying to translate it," he said. "And so both the word and meaning have spread around the world, with the meaning largely intact." Is capitalism ruining cool? But as coolness spreads, does it lose its edge? The study's authors say that over the years, coolness has strayed from its counterculture origins and morphed into something "more mainstream" and "commercially friendly," with major brands like Pepsi and Nike turning it into a commodity. But Dinerstein isn't too worried. "I don't think corporate interests ever truly define cool as much as they, or the media, or certain lazy writers think," he said. Francis McAndrew — a social psychologist at Knox College and Illinois who has written about the concept of coolness —agrees. "I don't think that pop culture and advertising are creating the image of what it means to be cool as much as they are relentlessly reminding us about it to sell us stuff," he said. Ultimately, Warren says the value of coolness lies in its power to alter the status quo by raising the social status of people who "are able to move a culture forward by innovating or coming up with new ideas." It's also, he says, not easily manufactured. In a separate research project he's working on, he's found that people who actively try be cool are usually perceived as less cool.
Forbes
13-05-2025
- General
- Forbes
How To Become Unstoppable By Playing Your Unique Ace Cards
How to become unstoppable by playing your unique ace cards Your ace cards are the skills, traits, and characteristics at your disposal. They're sitting right there, waiting for you to play them. Maybe it's your network, your knowledge, or even physical attributes. Most business owners are making a huge mistake by not playing the ones they already have. Look at your life. What makes you different? What comes naturally that others struggle with? Stop trying to improve your weaknesses. You don't need to do that. Instead, start using what makes you exceptional. Entrepreneurs who double down on their natural talents create unstoppable momentum, while those constantly patching weak areas stagnate. Try to become a well-rounded professional creates mediocrity. Peak performers don't achieve greatness by being moderately good at everything. They become exceptional by identifying their natural advantages and going all in. Make that your approach. Your ace cards are often hiding in plain sight. Your gifts are unique. Play them boldly. Ask five people what your superpower is. Their answers reveal patterns you've overlooked because they come so naturally to you. Pay attention to activities where you lose track of time. Notice what colleagues consistently ask you for help with. These signals point to your unique advantages. Watch where your energy flows. As an extrovert close to 100% on the scale, I genuinely love people and feel alive when connecting with others. The more I position myself to chat with people and leave non-people stuff to colleagues, the more I can achieve. Track when you feel energized after activities. Notice what leaves you drained. Your ace cards energize you, while playing against your natural strengths depletes you. The most powerful advantage comes from unique combinations. The analytical thinker who also communicates clearly. The creative visionary with execution skills. The empathetic leader who makes tough decisions. Successful people spend their time doing actions that align with their strengths. Look for your unique combination of talents to create an uncontested advantage in your field. Weaknesses don't disappear by ignoring them. Tackle them head on and build systems to compensate. If you struggle with details, implement checklists and verification processes. If organization isn't your strength, create templates and workflows. If financial planning bores you, schedule regular reviews with an advisor. Systems free you to focus on playing your ace cards. Make success easy with processes and automation. No one excels at everything. Identify people whose ace cards complement yours. The visionary founder partners with the operational expert. The creative content creator teams up with the analytical marketer. The big-picture strategist works alongside the detail-oriented implementer. The right partnerships multiply impact without requiring you to become someone you're not. Many entrepreneurs stay trapped in roles they've outgrown. They keep doing tasks they started with, even when those activities no longer align with their strengths. Analyze your calendar for a week. Calculate what percentage of time you spend playing to your strengths versus compensating for weaknesses. Then redesign your role to maximize time spent on activities where you deliver unique value. Identifying your ace cards sets you apart. Analyzing your energy patterns shows where to focus. Building combinations creates your competitive edge. Creating systems handles your weaknesses. Finding partnerships multiplies your impact. Redesigning your role ensures you stay in your zone of genius. Your greatest regret will be the cards you never played. The world needs what only you can deliver.
