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Study finds 6 traits that are universally cool, no matter where you live in the world

"Don't be shy, trailblazers wanted."

cool people, swag, popular, status, community, friends, success

A cool couple.

Image via Canva - Photo by Pressmaster
Mark Wales
By Mark WalesJul 04, 2025
Mark Wales
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Nothing elevates a person's status like the cool factor. If given the choice, most people would want to be cool, and many think that they are. Now, they may be able to know for sure. thanks to a study conducted on a global scale that answers the question, what makes someone cool?

Participants from across the world were asked a series of questions to find out. Almost 6,000 people from Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States weighed in on the cool question.

The research was able to identify six defining traits of cool people: autonomous, adventurous, hedonistic, extroverted, powerful, and open. It's interesting to note that by some standards, attributes of cool people often reflect the same habits of good people—but not all of them. Here are the six "cool" traits:

Autonomous

Autonomous people are very capable, independent persons. They have confidence and make decisive choices. You would consider them to be responsible and self reliant. These are not robots without emotion. They are master life navigators, self driven, and self aware.

Adventurous

 adventurous, ryan gosling, barbie, sunglasses, movies, open-minded, spontaneous, creative Ryan Gosling in the movie Barbie. media0.giphy.com  

Here come the trouble makers? Nope. This is a cooler way to describe curious and spontaneous people. Even creative people can be deemed "adventurous." These are open-minded people looking to make bold and unique choices.

Hedonistic

hedonistic, hedonism, charismatic, joy, pleasure seeking, unlikeable, spontaneous, fire, fire breathingTV series Porlandia.

 

 Giphy 

 

Maybe your first thought about a "hedonistic" person goes to describing someone a bit sexually mischievous. When it comes to cool factor, though, it's more about spontaneous decision making. These are emotionally expressive people living in the moment. They're trying to pull joy into their lives while pleasure seeking and living charismatic, exciting lives. Maybe some find these self involved people a bit unlikeable, but the world still considers them cool.

Extroverted

humor, hulu, fx, adults, comedy, extrovert, outgoing, sociable, energeticTV show Adults.

 

 Giphy 

 

Some people just have that 'life of the party' quality. They're fun and easy to be around. Outgoing, sociable, and comfortable in the spotlight, these energetic go-getters know how to initiate conversation and a good time.

Powerful

powerful, influence, charisma, resourceful, assertive, desired outcomes, abilityBruce Almighty, Jim Carrey

 

 Giphy 

 

Does this mean world leaders and trust fund babies need only apply? These people often have power, but most, if not all, the cool people I've known haven't. Powerful individuals are decisive and strategic. They certainly have an ability to influence the people around them. Cool people excel at persuasion using their charisma. When attempting to shape situations in their favor, being resourceful and assertive helps them win the minds and hearts of their communities.

Open

Maybe the most unexpected quality of cool people is simple openness. Looking through the lens of flexibility, inclusiveness, and non-judgement, these people know how to pull a group of people together. They have the courage to self-examine all while creating space for other people to contribute and feel valued. They are not afraid to change and evolve their personal views when new information is presented, which is a trait recognized today as most definitely cool.

Do you have any or all of these traits? Maybe you have just one or two of them, but still feel you've got swagger. The great thing about traits and habits is they can be cultivated and improved upon, which means you, too, can be cool. And to all the cool people already out there, keep it up. The world loves it.

adventurousautonomousextrovertedhedonisticpowerfulopenqualitiesstudyworldwideuniversaldefining traitscoolstatuslikeablecool people

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