{"id":32,"date":"2025-09-29T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/good-worldwide.go-vip.net\/upworthy\/2025\/09\/29\/two-kinds-of-high-school-popularity\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T22:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T22:00:00","slug":"two-kinds-of-high-school-popularity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/09\/29\/two-kinds-of-high-school-popularity\/","title":{"rendered":"Research reveals two kinds of high school popularity, which lead to opposite outcomes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even decades into adulthood, most of us still remember who the popular kids<\/a> were in high school, at least by face if not by name. Something about adolescent social interactions<\/a> really sticks with us, and popularity (or lack thereof) is one thing that stands out in a typical high school experience. However, our memories of the popular kids<\/a> last a lot longer than their actual popularity does, especially if those kids were a particular kind of popular. <\/p>

Mitch Prinstein, PhD,<\/a> a clinical child and adolescent psychologist, professor of psychology and neuroscience, and the director of clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explains that there are two kinds of popularity in his book, Popular: Finding Happiness and Success in a World That Cares Too Much About the Wrong Kinds of Relationships.<\/a> <\/em>According to his research, one type of popularity is a predictor of a long and fulfilling life, while the other is the opposite. <\/p>

\"popularity,
There's a difference between likeable popularity and status popularity. Photo credit: Canva<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> <\/p>

“Those who are popular can be two different groups,” Prinstein shared with the Speaking of Psychology<\/em> podcast.<\/a> “You have some who are popular when they were young, and they would be the kind that we would call ‘likable.’ However, a different kind of popularity emerges in adolescents, which we refer to as ‘status.’ And those are very different types of popularity. Likeability is good, status is pretty bad.”<\/p>

“Likeable”<\/a> popularity is found in people who have genuinely likeable traits. These traits make people want to spend time with them and trust them because they make people feel valued and included. “Status” popularity is found in people who are influential and powerful, but not necessarily well-liked. We can probably all name people from our high school days who fit each of those categories of popular, and perhaps some who overlap both. (The class president who also happens to be a really kind and caring person, for instance.) <\/p>

Prinstein’s analysis of the research indicates<\/a> that people who are likeable popular are more likely to end up in a happy marriage with well-adjusted kids and a successful career, whereas high status popularity correlates to long-term problems with depression, anxiety, substance use, and relationship problems. In other words, the “cool” kids who dominate the social landscape with power and influence in high school often don’t fare as well as the kids who are popular because people truly like them. <\/p>

\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t