Cool is cool wherever you are
Cool personality traits are surprisingly similar across cultures, study finds
From Chile to China, cultures vary greatly around the globe, but people in at least a dozen countries agree about what it means to be cool, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
The researchers conducted experiments with almost 6,000 participants from countries around the world and found that cool people have surprisingly similar personalities. Even though Eastern and Western cultures often differ in many cultural attitudes, cool people were universally perceived to be more extraverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous.
“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 research was published online in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
The study included experiments from 2018 to 2022 in the United States, Australia, Chile, China (mainland and Hong Kong), Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. The 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. The researchers used the data to explore how cool people differ from uncool people and good people.
Good people were perceived as more conforming, traditional, secure, warm, agreeable, universalistic, conscientious and calm. Cool people and good people aren’t the same, but there are some overlapping traits, said co-lead researcher Caleb Warren, PhD, 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. “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 journal article stated.
Does that mean coolness has lost its edge if Apple or Marvel movies are telling us what it means to be cool?
“Coolness has definitely evolved over time, but I don’t think it has lost its edge. It’s just become more functional,” Pezzuti said. “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.”
Only participants who were familiar with the slang meaning of the word “cool” were included in the study. Most of the experiments were conducted online so the findings may not be generalizable to rural areas without internet access.
Article: “Cool People,” Todd Pezzuti, PhD, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Caleb Warren, PhD, University of Arizona, and Jinjie Chen, PhD, University of Georgia; Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, published online June 30, 2025.
Contact: Todd Pezzuti, PhD, may be contacted at todd.pezzuti@uai.cl.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA’s membership includes 173,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve lives.
Journal
Journal of Experimental Psychology
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Cool People
Article Publication Date
30-Jun-2025
Labels are everything: New study reveals role of popularity in news articles
‘Most read’ versus ‘most shared’ titles influence audience engagement
News readers often click on articles not based on topic but rather the behavior of their fellow audience members, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
And the way that news organizations label those articles could directly influence how much attention they receive and ultimately impact their revenue.
When you go to a news organization’s homepage, they typically label articles that readers are engaging with the most. The researchers focused on two common labels: “most shared” and “most read.”
“These types of labels are not going anywhere. Popularity even in news labels is a psychological phenomenon,” said Tari Dagago-Jack, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of marketing in the UGA Terry College of Business. “Popularity labels on news outlets are taking advantage of the idea that we follow the lead of others and that our decision-making is influenced by what other people are doing.”
Article section labels influence click rate
At first glance, you may assume that these labels, “most shared” and “most read,” mean the same thing: A lot of people checked out the article. But there’s a clear difference that consumers pick up on.
“If something is most shared, we might assume that means many people had to read it and then deem it interesting enough or important enough to pass it on,” Dagogo-Jack said. “But then there’s this other reality where we know a lot of things that are widely shared are often extremely frivolous like cat videos or funny memes.”
In nine surveys and experiments involving hundreds of people, the study found respondents interpreted “most read” stories as being more informative. “Most shared” articles were viewed as less serious and more entertainment based.
"The primary goal for reading news is to gain information, and the label ‘most read’ is a stronger signal of an article’s information value.” —Tari Dagago-Jack, Terry College
“We as readers have two primary motives: to be informed or to be entertained — that is, for a welcome diversion,” said Dagogo-Jack. “At a baseline level, we were finding that people were choosing ‘most read’ at a way higher rate than ‘most shared.’ The primary goal for reading news is to gain information, and the label ‘most read’ is a stronger signal of an article’s information value.”
That means if editors want certain articles to get more attention, they should tailor the label to the readers’ goals.
Knowing your audience, content is key for engagement
The same went for articles advertised on social media. Posts from faux news organizations that had captions describing a more educational article as “most shared” received fewer clicks.
This wasn’t the case, however, for news stories that were less serious and newsworthy. In that case, the “most shared” label worked as well as the “most read” label.
It’s a key message for reporters, editors and web developers: Know your audience and your content.
"People should ask themselves: Why am I even clicking on this thing? Is it just because everyone else read it?” —Tari Dagago-Jack
“For pop culture, sports or music — more entertainment — in those sections you should highlight what is ‘most shared,’” Dagogo-Jack said. “But for world news, politics and science sections, you should be using things like ‘most read’ or ‘most viewed.’”
Dagogo-Jack also recommends putting thought into labels. Ambiguous choices like “trending” or “most popular” may stump readers altogether, as there are so many things this could mean.
“Providing these lists helps us get over information overload or choice paralysis,” he said. “It’s a crutch and makes the decision process easier, but I often wonder: At what cost?
“You’re clicking on something that a lot of people like and social proof is valuable, but it may not necessarily provide what you are looking for, and you just gave up on the search. People should ask themselves: Why am I even clicking on this thing? Is it just because everyone else read it?”
This study was published in the Journal of Consumer Research and was co-authored by New York University assistant professor Jared Watson.
Journal
Journal of Consumer Research
Article Title
Most Read Versus Most Shared: How Less (vs. More) Social Popularity Labels Influence News Media Consumption
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