Openness is one of the five traits in the Big Five model of personality. It’s about how much your mind goes to ideas, pictures and what-ifs. We call it imagination. The questionnaire itself calls it intellect.

Is it bad to be high or low in openness?

No. It’s a tendency, not a verdict, and each end gives something and can cost something. Someone higher in it often loves deep talks and what-ifs. Someone lower often prefers practical talk about what’s real.

What does research link openness to?

Across several meta-analyses, people higher in openness tend to be somewhat more creative. Source: da Costa, Páez, Sánchez, Garaigordobil & Gondim (2015), Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.

Imagination

Researchers call it openness to experience (the questionnaire itself calls it intellect).

How much your mind goes to ideas, pictures and what-ifs.

Down to earthLives in ideas

Very lowLowIn the middleHighVery high

Types with Imagination as a strong trait

From one end to the other

Higher

Running three what-ifs ahead of the plan.

With people: Loves deep talks and what-ifs.
At school or work: Likes new problems and creative tasks. Routine gets boring.
When things get hard: Thinks it through from every angle, sometimes too many.

Gives: You can picture things before they exist.
Can cost: The picture in your head can feel more real than the day in front of you.

Lower

Trusting what’s in front of you over what-ifs.

With people: Prefers practical talk about what’s real.
At school or work: Likes clear methods and ways that work. Change for its own sake grates.
When things get hard: Focuses on what can be done today.

Gives: You stay with what’s real.
Can cost: New ways of doing things can feel like more trouble than they’re worth.

In the middleLiking new ideas when they’re useful.

What research links it to

Across several meta-analyses, people higher in openness tend to be somewhat more creative.
da Costa, Páez, Sánchez, Garaigordobil & Gondim (2015), Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology
Following 205 students through their first year at university, researchers found people tended to pick friends about as open to new experiences as themselves.
Selfhout et al. (2010), Journal of Personality
In a meta-analysis of over 70,000 students, openness was linked to better grades, though less strongly than conscientiousness.
Poropat (2009), Psychological Bulletin
In a week of random check-ins with young adults, people higher in openness were more often doing something creative, like drawing, writing or trying a recipe.
Silvia et al. (2014), Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

How it changes over time

On average, it rises in the teenage years and dips in old age.

Roberts, Walton & Viechtbauer (2006), Psychological Bulletin

Questions people ask

What is openness?: Openness is one of the five traits in the Big Five model of personality. It’s about how much your mind goes to ideas, pictures and what-ifs. We call it imagination. The questionnaire itself calls it intellect.
Is it bad to be high or low in openness?: No. It’s a tendency, not a verdict, and each end gives something and can cost something. Someone higher in it often loves deep talks and what-ifs. Someone lower often prefers practical talk about what’s real.
What does research link openness to?: Across several meta-analyses, people higher in openness tend to be somewhat more creative. Source: da Costa, Páez, Sánchez, Garaigordobil & Gondim (2015), Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.
Can openness change?: Traits tend to move slowly. On average, it rises in the teenage years and dips in old age. Source: Roberts, Walton & Viechtbauer (2006), Psychological Bulletin. Scores can also move a little from one day to the next, so a quiz shows how you answered now.