What makes a person cool? Is itsunglassesindoors? Impeccablemusictaste? Smoking behind the bike sheds?
Well, the sad reality is, if you have to ask, it’s a sure sign that you’re not.
A new study has unveiled the six definingpersonality traitsthat make you cool, but there’s one mistake that cancels them all out – if you have to ask, you probably aren’t cool. You’d never catch Clint Eastwood,Bob DylanorKate Mossreading this article.
According to the study, the six traits that define coolness are:extroversion, hedonism, power, adventurousness, openness, and autonomy.
Earlier this year, The Rest Is Entertainment hosts Marina Hyde and Richard Osman discussed whether celebrities are increasingly losing their cool. Marina suggested that having an air of mystique or a ‘portion of unknowability’ is a ‘big part’ of the entry requirements.
She said: ‘The main threat to cool has been a cultural threat, which is that everyone is a sort of homogenised mass of approved opinions and behaviours, and I think you need to be quite free-spirited and almost dangerous in some ways.’
The latestresearch, published in the American Psychological Association, argues that people are on a ‘quest to be cool’ – and that shapes who they ‘admire, how they talk, where they shop, and what they do for fun.’
‘Cool people are admired and perceived to be friendly, competent and attractive,’ the authors wrote. ‘The word “cool” first emerged in African American and bohemian subcultures, blossomed with the rise of the 1960s counterculture, and has since spread around the globe.’
The authors note that over the years, cool has had many synonums – like hip, swell and rad – most of which have faded while cool endured. It’s universally understood and still something people desire.
As well as demonstrating traits like being open and autonomous, being cool has historically been synonymous with not expressing emotion.
Why else do you think the lead singers of the world’s biggest rock bands never smile in photos? Because it makes them look better.
In an experiment for the study, participants rated both celebrities and everyday people based on how cool they thought they looked.
Even a smiling James Dean – the epitome of cool – was rated lower. He was so cool that Lana Del Rey referred to him as ‘fresh’ in her 2012 track Blue Jeans, 57 years after he died.
Overall, the study found that coolness isn’t just a trait. It’s something that can encourage ‘cultural change in economies that have become increasingly dependent on creativity.’
So maybe being cool isn’t just about looking good in shades — it’s about having the guts to care less, challenge more, and never, ever smile for the camera.
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