Openness to Experience: Openness Personality Traits

Openness to experience, also known as openness/intellect, is a personality trait that measures how willing someone is to try new things and have new experiences. This personality psychology term comes from the big five personality theory (a.k.a. the five-factor model of personality), which also includes conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and extraversion. People with a high level of openness enjoy trying new things and have active imaginations.

Measuring human personality can be challenging because people are different for many reasons. However, a personality test known as the NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI R) can determine how personality types rank on the big five traits—openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and extroversion.

The questionnaire is a self-report on the reactions to different stimuli. Individual differences can be predictors for levels of the big five personality dimensions. The results of the big five model often correlate with outcomes in school, career, and mental health. (Openness occurs equally in each gender, leading psychologists to believe that gender differences do not play a part in this trait.)

There are six dimensions to openness to experience, including:

1. 1. Actions: People who rank high in openness enjoy trying new experiences and novel things. If you have a high level of openness, you are less likely to feel frustrated when things don’t go according to plan. (On the contrary, people with low openness prefer routine and familiarity.)
2. 2. Aesthetics: Openness often correlates with an appreciation for the arts and an emotional connection to aesthetically pleasing stimuli.
3. 3. Emotion: People are open to feelings and tend to experience intense emotions.
4. 4. Ideas: People who rank highly on openness tend to enjoy intellectually engaging conversations and brain-teasing games. When you have higher levels of openness, you are more accepting of ideas that differ from yours, so you may find it easier to collaborate and connect with others.
5. 5. Imagination: Openness often correlates with a creative imagination and the ability to fantasize.
6. 6. Values: Open people can be assertive about opinions and may challenge traditions, using their personal values as a guidepost.

Several personality traits are common among people with a high level of openness, such as:

• Active imagination
• Adventurousness
• Aesthetic sensitivity
• Creativity
• Divergent thinking
• Intellectual curiosity
• Open-mindedness

This personality trait correlates with well-being, suggesting that people with a high level of openness may be happier and healthier. Open people are likely to pursue careers that utilize their strengths, such as business leaders, innovators, and artists.

You can work to become more open to experiences by doing things that target aspects of openness. A few of the things you can do include:

• Boost your confidence. Do things that make you feel more confident (exercise, do activities you love, etc.). Doing so will help you feel more comfortable trying new things.
• Experience new cultures. Open people greatly appreciate arts, sciences, and other cultures. Learning about others’ experiences is a great way to improve your open-mindedness. Traveling to new places, visiting museums, and listening to new types of music are some ways to experience new cultures.
• Get out of your comfort zone. One of the most critical measures of openness relates to the willingness to try new things. Find a new hobby, try new restaurants, or vacation to a new place to get out of your comfort zone.
• Try to understand different opinions. Open individuals show interest in opinions that differ from their own. Next time you speak to someone with a different opinion about something, do your best to understand their perspective.

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