Personality 5 Factor Structure – Openness to Experience

Personality – 5 Factor Structure – Openness to Experience

The factor distinguishes imaginative, creative people from down-to-earth, conventional people.

Openness to Experience describes a dimension of cognitive style that distinguishes imaginative, creative people from down-to-earth, conventional people. Open people are intellectually curious, appreciative of art and sensitive to beauty. They tend to be, compared to closed people, more aware of their feelings. They tend to think and act in individualistic, unconventional and nonconforming ways though their actions may be conforming. They are adventourous and imaginative.

‘Intellectuals’ typically score high on Openness to Experience; consequently, this factor has also been called Culture or Intellect. Nonetheless, Intellect is probably best regarded as one aspect of Openness to Experience. Scores on Openness to Experience are only modestly related to years of education and scores on standard intelligent tests.

Another characteristic of the open cognitive style is a facility for thinking in symbols and abstractions far removed from concrete experience. Depending on the individual’s specific intellectual abilities, this symbolic cognition may take the form of: mathematical, logical or geometric thinking – artistic and metaphorical use of language – music composition or performance – one of the many visual or performing arts.

People with low scores on Openness to Experience tend to have narrow, common interests. They prefer the plain, straightforward and obvious over the complex, ambiguous and subtle. They may regard the arts and sciences with suspicion, regarding these endeavours as obscure or of no practical use. Closed people prefer familiarity over novelty; they are conservative and resistant to change.

Openness is often perceived as healthier or more mature. However, both open and closed styles of thinking are useful in different environments. The intellectual style of the open person may serve a educator or strategist well.  However, research has shown that closed thinking is related to superior job performance in police work, sales and a number of service occupations.

Facets of Openness to experience.

• Imagination:  To imaginative individuals the real world is often too plain and ordinary. High scorers for this facet use fantasy, not as an escape, but as a way of creating for themselves, a more richer and  interesting inner-world.

• Aesthetics: The tendency to appreciate art, music and poetry. High scorers in this area love beauty, both in art and in nature. They become easily involved and absorbed in artistic and natural events.

• Depth of Emotions: People who score high for this facet have good access to, awareness and access to their own feelings. They value emotional experience.

• Willingness to Experiment: There is an inclination to be eager to try new activities, try new foods, visit new places and experience different things. They find familiarity and routine boring.

• Intellectual Curiosity: As intellect and artistic interests are the two most important, central aspects of Openness to Experience such people are curious and open to new ideas.

• Tolerance for diversity: Values – the readiness to re-examine traditional social, religious, and political values and to challenge authority and convention.

Sample Openness items

Openness

• Believe in the importance of art.
• Have a vivid imagination.
• Tend to vote for liberal political candidates.
• Carry the conversation to a higher level.
• Enjoy hearing new ideas.
• Enjoy thinking about things.
• Can say things beautifully.
• Enjoy wild flights of fantasy.
• Get excited by new ideas has excellent ideas.
• Have a rich vocabulary and use difficult words.
• Are quick to understand things.

Closed

• Not interested in abstract ideas.
• Do not like art.
• Avoid philosophical discussions.
• Do not enjoy going to art museums.
• Tend to vote for conservative political candidates.
• Do not like poetry.
• Rarely look for a deeper meaning in things.
• Believe that too much tax money goes to support artists.
• Am not interested in theoretical discussions.
• Have difficulty understanding abstract ideas.
• Do not have a good imagination

Openness

Rate your openness to experience along the line from open to closed.

Open___________________________________________closed

Causes of Openness

Openness is heritable, like all of the major personality dimensions. One environmental cause of increased openness appears to be exposure to tertiary (College) education.

Correlates of Openness

Openness is often presented as healthier or more mature by psychologists. However, open and closed styles of thinking are useful in different environments. The intellectual style of the open person may serve a professor well, but research has shown that closed thinking is related to superior job performance in police work, sales, and a number of service occupations.

Biology of Openness

Higher levels of Openness have been linked to activity in the ascending dopaminergic system and the functions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Openness is the only personality trait that correlates with neuropsychological tests of dorsolateral prefrontal cortical function, supporting the link between Openness and IQ.