Science has figured out what makes a person “Cool”

For anyone who’s ever wondered what the secret ingredient is to being “cool,” your tortured days of guessing are over. A new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology has apparently cracked the code.

Researchers surveyed nearly 6,000 people across the globe and have distilled the very essence of coolness down to six specific traits. So, get out your notebooks, because it’s time to find out if you make the cut (spoiler alert: you probably don’t).

Here’s the secret sauce, according to the folks who actually studied the data:

• Being Extroverted: This one’s pretty obvious. You can’t be the life of the party if you’re hiding in the corner crying into the punch bowl.
• Adventurous: Cool people don’t just sit on the couch. You’ve gotta be willing to try weird food, go on a spontaneous road trip, or at least pretend you know how to dance.
• Open: This means being open to new ideas and experiences. It’s hard to be cool if your mind is as closed as a Chic-fil-a on Sundays
• Autonomous: Cool people march to the beat of their own drummer. They don’t care if you think their favorite band is lame or their pants are weird; their self-worth isn’t tied to your opinion.
• Hedonistic: This just means you enjoy life’s pleasures. Cool people know how to have a good time, and making that good time your most important priority puts you in the same rare air as cool people (and unfortunately some unsavory people as well!).
• Powerful: This doesn’t necessarily mean you can bench-press a car. It’s about having influence and a certain command of the room that makes people listen when you talk.

Now, here’s the interesting part. The study also found that being “cool” is not the same as being “good.”

Good people were seen as more conforming, traditional, and warm, while cool people had that rebellious, autonomous edge. Even one of the study’s authors, Caleb Warren, expressed “serious doubts” about whether coolness is a trait even worth pursuing, noting that kids who try too hard to be cool often struggle later in life. So maybe the real secret isn’t being cool after all, but just finding a friend who thinks you are. Or, you know, just being a good person who’s fun at parties.