Defining the context of ‘cool’

WANT to appear cooler to others like Shah Rukh Khan? Try smiling instead of showing an inexpressive attitude, suggests research.

For many people, one of the unspoken rules of being cool is maintaining an emotionally inexpressive attitude. But new research suggests that smiling is considered more cool than an inexpressive attitude.

“We found over and over again that people are perceived to be cooler when they smile compared to when they are inexpressive,” said Caleb Warren, Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona.

To check the link between concealing emotions and coolness, appearing in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, the team asked participants to view advertisements for a brand. The model in the ad was either smiling or not.

The participants consistently rated the smiling models as cooler than the inexpressive models.

Participants preferred the smiling pictures and participants had a less favourable impression of the brand when the models were inexpressive, Warren said.

However, when a news article showed mixed martial arts fighters, who were going to face one another at a press conference, participants rated the inexpressive athlete as more cool and dominant than a smiling athlete.

When the context changed to a friendly meeting with fans, then the participants rated the smiling fighter as cooler.

“This shows that being uncool or cool can depend on the context,” Warren noted.