Openness to new experiences is one of the five major aspects of personality development discovered and studied by psychologists. Researchers found that openness can be viewed as a global personality trait consisting of specific traits, habits, and tendencies that cluster together.
Personality tests measured six facets of openness:
- Fantasy: A tendency toward a vivid imagination and fantasy life.
- Aesthetics: A tendency to appreciate art, music, and poetry.
- Feelings: Receptivity to inner emotional states and valuing of emotional experience.
- Actions: The inclination to try new activities, visit new places, and try new foods.
- Ideas: A tendency to be intellectually curious and open to new ideas.
- Values: A readiness to re-examine traditional social, religious, and political values.
According to research, it is possible to assess openness by examining people’s homes and work spaces. Individuals who are highly open to new experiences tend to have distinctive and unconventional decorations. They are also likely to have books on a wide variety of topics, a diverse music collection, and works of art on display.
Psychological aspects
Openness to experience correlates with creativity, as measured by tests of divergent thinking. Openness is also associated with fluid intelligence, abilities which may come more easily when people are naturally curious and open to learning. Openness to new experiences is related to a desire to understand new things, a natural tendency to think about ideas, scrutinize information, and enjoy solving puzzles.
There are social and political implications to this personality trait. People who are highly open to new experiences tend to be politically liberal and tolerant of diversity. As a consequence, they are generally more open to different cultures and lifestyles.
Genetics and physiology
Openness to experience, like most other personality traits, is believed to have a genetic component. Identical twins show similar scores on openness to change, even when they have been adopted into different families and raised in very different environments.
Geography
People living in the eastern and western parts of the United States tend to score higher on openness to change than those living in the Midwest. The highest average scores on openness are found in the states of New York, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington, and California. Lowest average scores are found in North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, Alabama, and Wisconsin.
Openness tends to be normally distributed with a small number of individuals scoring extremely high or low, and most people scoring near average. I think of myself as being on the high side, especially since I hit midlife! It’s amazing what a few fortuitous misfortunes can do to open your mind to ALL of your POSSIBILITIES! Especially when you come to the conclusion that nothing you tried before ever really worked!
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Interesting post. I think I’m about 70% on the openness scale…not so much the fantasy and maybe a little reticent on the values. Was there anything associated to age in their study?
Hi Lia:
These studies pertained to only adult populations in general. Other studies say that the older we get the less likely we are to be able to change anything significant in our lives. They haven’t studied the baby boomers yet, have they? Midlife is when everything started changing for me, because it HAD TO!
Laura Lee