What makes someone cool?
It's a question that's inspired music videos, marketing campaigns, and probably more than a few midlife crises. Now, a team of psychologists has done the seemingly impossible: they’ve decoded what cool actually is—across cultures, countries, and continents.
In a sweeping study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, researchers surveyed nearly 6,000 people in 13 countries including the U.S., Germany, South Korea, Brazil, and South Africa. The goal? Identify which traits consistently signal coolness around the world.
The result: a six-factor formula for global cool.
These are the six personality traits most commonly associated with cool people:
Extroversion – They’re sociable and expressive, but not necessarily loud.
Hedonism – They know how to enjoy life, pleasure, and good vibes.
Power – They project influence and confidence, not dominance.
Adventurousness – They take risks and try new things.
Openness – They’re curious and willing to challenge norms.
Autonomy – They think for themselves and aren’t easily swayed.
Cool isn’t always good—and that’s key. As researchers explained to The Times, coolness and moral virtue are not twins. Cool people can be kind—but they’re not always agreeable. They're often admired, sometimes envied, and occasionally feared. Gandhi might be “good.” James Dean? Cool.
What’s more, these coolness traits transcend cultural specifics. As Fast Company reported, even in places as diverse as Turkey and Mexico, people agreed on the core traits of cool. One standout difference: in the U.S., people found individualism to be cooler than in collectivist cultures, but the rest of the traits held up.
Cool, it turns out, is about more than aesthetics—it’s a human archetype.
Lead researcher Todd Pezzuti explained it best: “Coolness has definitely evolved over time, but I don’t think it has lost its edge. It’s just become more functional.”
The roots of modern cool may trace back to jazz musicians like Lester Young in the 1940s, whose effortless style birthed an entire cultural aesthetic. That torch passed to film rebels like Brando and Dean, then to hip-hop, skate, and indie culture—and now it's refracted through global social media personas from Lagos to Los Angeles.
Cool, in 2025, is borderless.
In a world that often values perfection, cool people break the script. They walk their own way, make up their own minds, and lean into risk. That combination—freedom + charm + courage—is magnetic.
Want to be cool? You might not need leather jackets or sunglasses at night. You might just need to embrace life on your own terms, and do it with a little heat, a little heart, and a whole lot of confidence.