Warm or Cold, Capable or Not: The Split-Second Judgment Running Your Reputation

Susan Fiske, alongside Cuddy, Glick and Xu, embarked on some research at Princeton University in the early 2000s and later published the study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

The study and research was trying to understand how people develop prejudice or dislike towards others. Participants were asked to rate 23 different societal groups. They were provided with trait words which linked to WARMTH, like friendliness, good natured, trustworthy. They were given a second set of trait words linked to COMPETENCE, like: capable, skilled, confident. Participants then had to rate how much of each group was seen as having those traits.

When Fiske’s team analysed the results and data, the trait ratings split into 2 clear paths, warmth and competence. Most groups did not land on the edge or extremes of each quadrant, they tended to land in mixed quadrants.

So how is this useful or relevant for us in 2026? We’ve mentioned repeatedly that influence and being likeable is a learned behavior, and depending upon how others perceive us, we can implement simple behaviors to come across as more likeable.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who finds yourself in the top left quadrant (warm and competent), lucky you, people will naturally gravitate towards you, they’ll like you and admire you.

If you find yourself in the top right quadrant (warm and incompetent), people will show pity towards you. You come across as friendly but lack expertise or skills.

If you find yourself in the bottom left quadrant (cold and competent), people will perceive you as unfriendly or unapproachable. They’ll see you as technically or skillfully strong but feel envy towards you.

If you find yourself in the bottom right quadrant (cold and incompetent), people will have contempt towards you. You are perceived as not adding much value and lacking in skills.

The good news is not all is lost. Depending on where you land, we can all make changes to be seen as more warm or competent:

To come across as more WARM: Genuinely smile at people (use your eyes too), use open body language and talk with a conversational and friendly tone.

To come across as more COMPETENT: Be assertive, ask insightful questions, be controlled with your pacing and pausing, and walk into the room with presence and pride.

At the end of the day, warmth and competence are perceptions, not fixed traits, and perceptions can be shaped. The people who influence us most aren’t the most talented, they’ve just learned to be seen as both warm and competent.