Popular examines how our popularity in adolescence affects our success and happiness later in life. A leading psychologist analyzes why popularity plays such a key role in development and still influences adults. While childhood intelligence and family background are less predictive, research shows how popular someone was as a youth is highly correlated with future outcomes. However, it's not always conventional popularity that fares best. As children, likability can provide benefits, but adolescent popularity focused on status, power, and notoriety actually hurts more than realized. The book explores managing social impulses in beneficial ways rather than always striving for the wrong type of popularity.