The two faces of popularity

In 2017, the American psychologist Mitch Prinstein wrote a book called The Popularity Illusion: Why status is toxic but likeability wins all, in which he takes data from dozens of studies carried out during the current and the previous century to analyze what does "being popular" really means.

One of the essential ideas behind his work is that popularity can be divided into 2 very distinct - almost antagonistic - subgroups:

— Having status

— Being likeable

To be **genuinely liked** by other people pays off, in many occasions even more than holding a position of status and power.

The author studies the effects of these two modalities in several fields and comes to the conclusion that, in the long term, to be genuinely liked by other people pays off, in many occasions even more than holding a position of status and power.

This idea is a kind of double-edged sword because, according to dozens of surveys, a brand having high status in the industry in which it belongs doesn't always translates into being liked. Data confirms that consumers, bosses or colleagues, tend to prefer a brand or a person that they regard as likeable.

In recent years there have been cases in which high status companies with such as Volkswagen or Samsung have been involved in corporate scandals that have seriously reduced the confidence that consumers had placed in them.

This book is highly recommended to anyone who wants know how popularity influences our lives in unexpected ways and it's packed with scientific findings that are presented in a very engaging and approachable way.