What Makes A Person "Cool"?

This is where I am coming from: as a patent attorney, I spent years working with inventors, ideas, and emerging technologies. My role involved evaluating creativity and innovation. However, I often wondered why only a few individuals succeeded in transforming their ideas into major breakthroughs. I wanted to understand what kind of personality could turn an idea into a movement.

Rather than studying business strategy or popular advice, I turned to clinical psychology. I did not intend to become a practicing psychologist. My goal was to develop a better understanding of personality traits and mental patterns that predict real-world success. Psychology provided me with proven assessment tools and frameworks. These tools offered a deeper understanding of the connection between personality and performance.

One such tool became relevant when I encountered a recent article from the American Psychological Association titled"Cool People", by Pezzuti, Warren, and Chen, click here.

Defining "Cool" and Its Importance

The article examines a basic yet complex question: What makes someone cool?

According to the authors, coolness functions as a social signal. It represents status and autonomy. It is not the same as being good or morally upright. Cool people are not necessarily kind or ethical. Instead, they are socially desirable, bold, trend-setting, and influential.

The authors make it clear what they are looking for:

In modern, media-driven societies, coolness has social value. It often predicts who will set trends, lead change, or innovate. These individuals may not always be likable, but they often capture attention and admiration, or as the authors put it:

A Cross-Cultural Study

The research was conducted across 13 regions, including both WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) and non-WEIRD cultures:

WEIRD countries: United States, Australia, Germany, Spain, South Africa
Non-WEIRD countries: India, China, Nigeria, Turkey, Mexico, Chile, Hong Kong, South Korea

The findings showed that the idea of coolness is consistent across cultures. Regardless of location, people identified cool individuals by the same six traits.

The Six Psychological Traits of Cool People

Cool people often display the following characteristics:

1. Extraverted – Outgoing, energetic, and sociable
2. Hedonistic – Pleasure-seeking and thrill-oriented
3. Powerful – Confident and assertive
4. Adventurous – Risk-tolerant and novelty-seeking
5. Open to Experience – Creative and curious
6. Autonomous – Independent and rebellious

These traits are not closely linked with traditional moral virtues. The article says that cool people are often admired, but not necessarily for being kind or humble.

How to Measure Coolness on Yourself

What you could do in order to find out whether you are cool is to start a survey among your immediate social contacts. You ask them whether they perceive you as "cool". But showing the effort of getting into this venture would immediately show that you are uncool, with 100% certainty. So what remains are online tests.

From what I can say from my own experience in self-assessment psychology, there is no single psychological self-assessment test that directly measures coolness. However, combining several validated tools can offer a strong approximation.

The article highlights two psychological assessments: a short-form version of the Big Five Personality Scale, which measures traits such as Extraversion and Openness. In addition, the study uses a modified form of the Portrait Values Questionnaire, based on Schwartz's values model, which captures dimensions such as Hedonism and Power. Autonomy is assessed using a modified version of the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ), which evaluates autonomy as a personal value rather than as a behavior or a psychological need.

If one follows the article, by combining high scores in these dimensions, it is possible to identify individuals likely to be perceived as cool.

If I may add in my 10 cents worth of common sense, I would rather use the Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNS) to assess Autonomy. It provides a more practical measure than the value-based approach in the "Cool People" article, especially if your goal is to understand a person's lived experience rather than their abstract ideals. The BPNS focuses on whether someone feels free and self-directed in their daily life —capturing actual psychological need satisfaction, not just whether they admire autonomy as a value. It reflects how much autonomy a person experiences in work, relationships, and personal decisions—areas directly linked to motivation, well-being, creativity, and real-world influence. In contrast, Schwartz's Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ), used in the article, measures what people say they value (like independence or novelty), which doesn't necessarily match how they behave or feel under pressure. Someone may claim autonomy is important yet live passively due to fear, obligation, or social norms. So, if you're looking to identify someone who is genuinely cool in action, not just in aspiration, the BPNS is a stronger tool. Or one combines both: the PVQ shows aspirational values, while the BPNS reveals the psychological reality.

You can see already that this approach leads nowhere. I will below show you a more practical approach.

What Does Not Predict Coolness

And I can also add from my own knowledge that the following assessments are not useful for identifying coolness:

• Intelligence Tests (IQ)
• Moral or Virtue Tests

• Emotional Intelligence Tests

Not only that the article doesn't state these assessments, everyone knows that high kindness or humility correlate negatively with perceived coolness. And while EQ tests may help to predict a person's success in social settings, it does not relate to coolness, at all.

Screening for "Not Cool"

You can already see where my article goes. Instead of trying to find the rare cool individual, it is more effective to screen out those that are not being seen as cool.

And here is my recommended free online Tool: the HEXACO Personality Inventory

Relevant Traits in HEXACO:

• Extraversion (needed for coolness)
• Openness (needed for coolness)
• Conscientiousness (too high may suggest rigidity)
• Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility (too high may suggest passivity or excessive niceness)
• Emotionality (too high may indicate anxiety or fearfulness)

A person who scores low on Extraversion and Openness, but high on Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Emotionality, and Honesty-Humility is unlikely to be seen as cool.

Evaluate Yourself: Are You Cool or Not?

To assess your own personality traits, consider taking the HEXACO test. It is free, validated, and available online through the University of Calgary.

Instructions:

1. Visit the HEXACO survey link: Take the Test
2. Begin the test by clicking "Next" on the welcome screen
3. Respond to 100 short statements using a 1 to 5 scale
4. Complete the survey in about 15–20 minutes
5. Review your scores across six specific dimensions<//li>

Key Indicators of "Uncool" Traits:

• Low Extraversion
• Low Openness to Experience
• High Agreeableness
• High Conscientiousness
• High Emotionality
• High Honesty-Humility

The test results do not reflect moral failure. They rather suggest a lower likelihood of being perceived as cool.

Can someone learn to be cool?

So you have found out that you are not cool. Can you do something about that?

Yes, it is possible to learn how to appear to be cool, although not in the way most people expect.

Only after you have decided that you want to learn this personality trait should you embark on this journey.

The first insight is that being perceived as cool is not a fixed trait like eye color. It is a learnable combination of (changed) mindset, social behavior, and personal habits. According to the "Cool People" study, individuals perceived as cool tend to show six specific traits: Extraversion, Hedonism, Power, Adventurousness, Openness to Experience, and Autonomy. Each of these traits can be developed. For example, one can practice becoming more outgoing through public speaking, add spontaneity to life by breaking routines, build confidence by setting boundaries, increase risk tolerance by trying new activities, explore diverse perspectives through reading and art, and strengthen self-direction by learning to say "no" and taking responsibility for personal choices.

Important: coolness is not something that can be faked. Trying too hard to appear cool has the opposite effect. People who are truly seen as cool are authentic, self-directed, and confident without seeking approval. To improve in this area, individuals can begin by identifying their weaker traits using a tool such as the HEXACO personality inventory. From there, they can take deliberate steps to strengthen specific traits – such as joining a public speaking club to become more extraverted. The key is to focus on action rather than perfection, to express personal opinions without fear, and to engage regularly with people who are bold, curious, and independent-minded.

Call-to-Action

First, answer this question: after reading the scholar article "Cool People" and my comments above, do you still really want to learn this personality trait?

Second, do the Hexaco test as explained above.

Third, develop your strengths and work on your action-related weaknesses.

Martin "plain talk" Schweiger

IP Lawyer Tools by Martin Schweiger

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.