What openness measures
Openness covers several related tendencies: interest in abstract ideas, a strong response to art and beauty, a liking for variety, and a willingness to question how things have always been done. Someone high in openness might read about astronomy one week and take up pottery the next. Someone low in openness tends to know what they like, keep it, and judge ideas by whether they work in practice.
The trait is not the same as intelligence or education. A person with a doctorate can prefer routine, and a person who left school early can be endlessly curious. It also does not mean open-minded in the sense of fair or tolerant. Low scorers can listen to other views very fairly, and high scorers can be dismissive of people who prefer the familiar.
This test measures openness with items from the public-domain IPIP Big-Five Factor Markers, which call the trait intellect or imagination. Answers are compared with about 6,800 US adults who responded to the same items. A score below the 30th percentile counts as low, the 30th to 70th as average, and above the 70th as high. A middle score often means a person is curious in some parts of life and set in their ways in others.
High openness
People who score high on openness are drawn to new experiences and ideas. They often enjoy museums, unfamiliar food, travel, philosophy or science, and they like conversations that start with "what if". At work they tend to suggest alternatives and question procedures. The downside is that routine can bore them, they may start more projects than they finish, and practical people can find their constant suggestions tiring.
Low openness
People who score low on openness prefer the familiar and the concrete. They tend to stick with methods, places and foods they know, and they judge new ideas by whether those ideas work in practice. Many are steady, practical and hard to sell on fads. The downside is that they may turn down a useful change too quickly, and more adventurous people can read their caution as a closed mind.
Questions about openness
- What does high openness mean?
- A high openness score means a person is more curious than most about ideas, art, places and new ways of doing things. On this test it means scoring above the 70th percentile of about 6,800 US adults. High scorers often enjoy abstract conversation and variety. They can also get bored by routine and may struggle to finish projects once the new part is over.
- Is openness the same as intelligence?
- No. Openness is about interest and preference, not ability. It describes how much someone wants to explore ideas and experiences, not how well they reason or how much they know. Plenty of very capable people prefer familiar methods, and plenty of curious people are not academic. The item set this test uses calls the trait intellect or imagination, but it measures interest in ideas, not skill with them.
- What is the opposite of openness?
- The low end of openness is usually described as conventional, practical or preferring the familiar. People there value routine, tradition and concrete facts more than abstract ideas or novelty. That is not the same as being closed-minded or unfair. A low scorer can listen carefully to a new idea; they want evidence that it works before they change what they do.
- Can a person's openness change?
- Adult personality scores are fairly stable, but they can shift over years. Experiences people choose, such as travel, study or a new kind of job, can make some of them more willing to try the next new thing. A result can also vary a little with mood on the day of the test. A single score is best read as a snapshot, not a permanent label.