From San Francisco to Sydney, Chile to China, cultures vary greatly around the world.
But a new study reveals there’s an international consensus when it comes to what it means to be ‘cool’.
Researchers conducted experiments with almost 6,000 participants from countries around the globe and found cool people have surprisingly similar personalities.
And it turns out that those who fit the description are universally perceived to have the same traits.
‘Everyone wants to be cool, or at least avoid the stigma of being uncool, and society needs cool people because they challenge norms, inspire change, and advance culture,’ said co-lead researcher Todd Pezzuti, PhD, an associate professor of marketing at the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile.
The study included experiments carried out between 2018 and 2022 in the United States, Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.
Participants were asked to think of someone who they thought was cool, not cool, good or not good.
They then rated the person’s personality and values.
In the context of the movie ‘Grease’ Danny Zuko, played by John Travolta, is often portrayed as cool but his behaviour also reveals a ‘complex’ where he prioritizes his reputation as a tough guy over his genuine feelings for Sandy
Analysis revealed that ‘good’ people were perceived as more conforming, traditional, secure, warm, agreeable, universalistic, conscientious and calm.
Meanwhile ‘cool’ people were thought to be more extraverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous.
‘To be seen as cool, someone usually needs to be somewhat likable or admirable, which makes them similar to good people,’ co-lead researcher Caleb Warren said.
‘However, cool people often have other traits that aren’t necessarily considered ‘good’ in a moral sense, like being hedonistic and powerful.’
As the reach of the fashion, music and film industries grows worldwide, the meaning of cool ‘has crystallized on a similar set of values and traits around the globe’ and has become ‘more commercially friendly,’ the researchers said.
‘Coolness has definitely evolved over time, but I don’t think it has lost its edge,’ Dr Pezzuti said.
‘It’s just become more functional. The concept of coolness started in small, rebellious sub-cultures, including Black jazz musicians in the 1940s and the beatniks in the 1950s.
‘As society moves faster and puts more value on creativity and change, cool people are more essential than ever.’
Another traditionally ‘cool’ character is James Bond, played here by Sean Connery. Experts found ‘cool’ people tend to be extraverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous
The research was published online in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
The study reads: ‘The quest to be cool shapes who people admire, how they talk, where they shop and what they do for fun.
‘Scholars agree that people spend an inordinate amount of time and money in their attempt to seem cool.
‘People across the globe use the word cool and want to be cool, but what does it mean to be a cool person?
‘Our research begins to answer these questions.’
