Openness to experience

What openness measures

Openness to experience is the Big Five trait that captures intellectual and imaginative curiosity. It covers how vivid your inner world is, how much art and beauty move you, how aware you are of your own emotions, how much you enjoy variety, how much you like playing with abstract ideas, and how readily you question convention.

Like every Big Five trait, it's a spectrum rather than a category. Most people land somewhere in the middle, curious in some areas and conventional in others. Your score is reported as a percentile: 70 means you scored higher than about 70% of people.

What high openness looks like

People high in openness tend to get bored by routine and energized by the unfamiliar. They're often the ones who read widely, try the unusual dish on the menu, and ask "but why does it work that way?"

• Enjoy abstract ideas, theories and thought experiments
• Are moved by music, art, nature or writing
• Seek out travel, new hobbies and unfamiliar experiences
• Notice and put words to subtle feelings
• Are comfortable questioning rules and traditions
• Can lose interest once something becomes routine

What low openness looks like

Low openness isn't a lack of intelligence. It's a preference for the concrete, the proven and the familiar. People who score low tend to be practical, grounded and consistent, and they're often good at getting things done without reinventing them.

• Prefer tried-and-tested methods over experiments
• Focus on practical, concrete problems rather than abstract ones
• Value tradition, stability and clear expectations
• Enjoy familiar routines, places and people
• Are less swayed by fads and hype

Openness at work

High scorers often gravitate toward work with room to explore: research, design, writing, strategy, entrepreneurship, or any role that rewards new approaches. Lower scorers often shine where consistency and reliability matter, in operations, skilled trades, finance or administration, where proven processes are a strength rather than a limitation.

Neither end is better. Teams usually need both people who generate new ideas and people who keep the existing ones working.

Openness in relationships

Partners and friends with similar openness scores tend to enjoy the same kinds of conversations and activities. A big gap can show up as one person wanting to try something new every weekend while the other would rather keep a favorite ritual. Knowing it's a difference in wiring, not a lack of interest in each other, makes it easier to take turns.

The six facets of openness

Each Big Five trait breaks down into six narrower facets. Two people with the same openness score can get there in different ways.

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Common questions