What is Openness to Experience?

This video describes the personality trait of openness to experience from the five-factor model of personality. The five-factor model of personality traits, which is also known as “The Big Five” model of personality. In this model, personality comprises five personality traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The acronym OCEAN is helpful for remembering the personality traits. Openness to experience is characterized by insight, creativity, an appreciation of art, liking theories, abstract thinking, fantasizing, challenging authority, flexibility, adventurousness, intellectual curiosity, and a high awareness of feelings. Extreme openness to experience is associated with disruptive levels of non-conformity, alienation of potential friends, and fantasizing too much. Individuals who score low on openness to experience tend to dislike change, make safe decisions, have a restricted range of interests, and like routines. Conscientiousness is characterized by impulse control, planning tasks carefully, being highly organized and prudence. Extraversion is characterized by getting energy from social interaction, talkativeness, and having a large number of acquaintances. Agreeableness is characterized by being cooperative, increased level of caring, empathy, friendly, seeking to compromise. Neuroticism is characterized by mood dysregulation, anxiety, worry, depression, frustrating, nervousness, being easily upset, and low emotional stability. Genetics explain about 50% of personality traits, but the percentage is not the same for every personality traits. Openness to experience, like all personality traits, tends to be stable over time.

[@veronicabetz9452]

I find it interesting that higher scores for this trait have a positive correlation to intelligence.

[@roecocoa]

I'm curious about the heritability of openness to experience, since I am 91% open, but my younger brother (a world-traveling, self-taught musician) scored in the middle range, and our parents were quite stodgy and conservative even when they were the age I am now. Some of my aunts and uncles are more artistic/philosophical than average, but I've always felt that my creativity and intellectual curiosity put me at odds with my immediate family.

[@fleshpuppet2679]

I am an Openess to Experience and an INFP.

[@jacalyn153]

I think I score high in openness but my husband of 52 years is very low in openness and is very regimented. In the beginning it caused problems. But we learned that our uniqueness was a gift.I learned from him that I needed to be a bit more balanced and he learned to be more open to unplanned experiences. Work toward balance God loves a just balance

[@mikehunt4023]

Just did a personality test and got openness for every question the whole world makes sense for me atm

[@marybachmann]

I'll say I found it interesting! I've been skeptical of the OCEAN model to this point, but your description of "openness" has just explained my entire life. Thank you. I shall spend more time on this model.

[@ucfpureego]

Mary @H2OsEdge Me too. It's like he knows me so well

[@kelly4321]

I think personality traits can be adaptive as well, as you experience different things and grow into your own mindset as opposed to going along with what others have set before you to follow, as in when the individual was young.

[@christinley5213]

Just want to thank you for all of your teachings. Iv bin listing to you at wrk for past few weeks..you have tought me so much..thank you!!:)

[@zureezee1887]

I appreciate this video as it goes in depth to describe an individual with this trait as well as what it means to have high or low scores in openness to experience

[@KerryLiv]

I would like to thank you, Dr Grande. I became curious with the science and logic behind your profession, after going through evaluation, relating to the loss of a child. I found there is hope, even in the depths of life challenges and deepest pain. Thank God for hope through His love, and so many who help others including yourself

[@qiuwbr091]

Gently Dr. Grande leads to understanding old wounds, or family issues. Ex. Someone in my family was open to some experiences, but their war experiences shut them down to getting further medical help. I just realized that it is because the concentration camp his military unit was sent; had the German word for “Medical Hospital” over the ovens. Who in their right mind would want to voluntarily go to a hospital after that? Thanks for being so gentle Dr. Grande I get it now.

[@andreasleonlandgren3092]

Supporting Grande! Everyday

[@elenabrown3542]

this is the best by Dr. Grande

[@monicaperry13]

I did not know too much about openness to experience before viewing this video. I think it’s interesting that it’s the biggest predicts of success out of all of the personality traits and that it is the most heritable.

[@briannagoitiandia9833]

I was surprised to learn that it is a predictor of success as well, but Dr. Grande's explanation of why clearly indicates why it is.

[@Anson120]

Yep,I am high in openess. It is very lonely. I never been in a relationship because no one where I live is interesting. In other words, no girls wearing band t shirts. Mix openess with MDD and you have me. It is terrible.

[@angelinastanton7996]

This was a great review of the openness to experience personality trait and how it is linked to positive outcomes such as success. It was important that Dr. Grande pointed out that there can also be downsides to being at an extreme end of a personality trait.

[@jasiowpl]

Thank you for a video .

[@DrGrande]

You're welcome!

[@jasonmages4323]

Very well spoken

[@johnharrisjr2808]

Good explanation of openness to experience. My score on openness to experience was low indicating that i think in plain and simple terms. I would be described as down-to-earth, practical, & conservative

[@user-my9rp2kf3g]

nonsense. how can you be practical with fake knowledge?

[@zanerobison2956]

Could you make a video analyzing an individuals behaviors with high openness to experience and relatively high conscientiousness. the rigid nature of high conscientiousness seems to contradict the free nature of individuals with high openness. How would their train of thought be compared to their counterparts Ps I’m not sure if you have a video discussing this but yeah I haven’t slept and I’m just curious like your videos as always have a good day/night

[@Cam-zw1ms]

I think I am high in openness but I like routine and I am pretty unflexible, I don’t take risks and I don’t disrespect authorities or laws etc... I guess I am mid range but more on the high side since I am very intellectually curious, always in my imagination, pretty creative etc

[@WayneStakem]

I only found out about the Big Five Model recently. I definitely related to "openness to experience". I took the test and scored 92%. It was high as I suspected. I do not like routine. I'm more chaotic, spontaneous and imaginative. It's weird though. I'm reading some notes taken about me by psychiatrists when I was a teenager and they refer to me as imposing "strict routines" on myself (something which never happened). This was stated throughout the first few months of the treatment. I never, ever, imposed any routine on myself until they told me to do this after I suffered severe insomnia. The psychiatrist I dealt with were morons. They seemed to have total blind faith in their assumptions. I even challenged them for taking their own presumptions, assumptions, and weak inductions too seriously. I didn't have "induction" in my vocabulary, but I had a good intuition for what it was. Entertaining an idea is perfectly fine, but, when you start believing such loose logic to be true.. you're a fucking moron as far as I'm concerned. They rarely seemed to look for confirmation (other than chasing confirmatory bias). If something contradicted them I was often simply dismissed with lines like "you're just ignorant" (failing to understand that they were ignorant to all of my problems). I was diagnosed with "autism". It seems so fucking ludicrous to me. I debated the psychiatrist in one hospital for about 10 minutes one day about how I didn't believe I was autistic and how his reasoning made no damn sense. Anyway, I was admitted to a second hospital and discharged soon afterwards. The psychiatrist there was just as ignorant to my problems and wouldn't talk to me much (he preferred talking to my mother, reading files, and talking to others). He discharged me eventually since I didn't fit the legal criteria of mental illness. Little did I know... he claimed I was autistic. Three morons. Both psychiatrists of both hospitals and the consultant psychiatrist calling me autistic and giving wildly inaccurate descriptions which seem completely absurd now reading them. Do you think that autism might be over-diagnosed? I've been watching a lot of videos and reading a bit about psychiatric disorders and the only one I can relate to is post traumatic stress disorder and complex post traumatic stress disorder. I definitely don't have "autism". For a while I stopped questioning it even though I knew it was untrue. People would always tell me that "being in denial is a symptom". Bullshit.

[@WayneStakem]

Openness to experience: 92% Conscientiousness: 40% Extroversion: 10% Agreeableness: 42% Neuroticism: 79% Seem autistic?

[@WayneStakem]

I was anti-social (in terms of not liking to socialize), depressed on and off, and reclusive. But by no means "organized" or having any "routines" implemented in my daily life. The only routines I can think of may be in regards to exercising every day...

[@WayneStakem]

Am I right in interpreting that openness to experience negatively correlates with autism?

[@yusrayousif6023]

Hi, doctor. I’m so excited to talk to you about this topic ( the five factor model of personality) in personal. I did a research one years ago about this topic that’s why I want to be keeping research in this topic that’s why if you like it please answer me to doing more research about this topic?? I am waiting for your answer!

[@janicedixon2051]

So I scored low on openness to experiences as I don’t like change and many other factors associated with this trait. However, I have not struggled professionally. Can this personality trait differ depending on the individual?

[@rhondabaileyyy]

This video helped me to understand openness to experience in greater detail.

[@angelinastanton7996]

I also feel that I learned much additional information on openness to experience from watching this video. I appreciated hearing about the pros and cons of this trait.

[@lizconnor1820]

I previously associated openness to experience with adventurousness more so than intellectual curiosity and artistic appreciation so I appreciate this clarification. Interesting video!

[@amandagerrick5004]

I agree, Liz. I also thought that openness to experience meant that you were more adventurousness but when I took the personality test I realized that's not what it meant. This video goes into greater detail about exactly what openness to experience really means.

[@inhale1496]

Books = Openness

[@andreasleonlandgren3092]

Make the change and turn it into routine. Start st your pace its ok the hard part is starting and ending.

[@Jotto999]

I heard you say around 1:55 that openness tends to increase a little bit with age; don't you mean decrease, or am I misremembering the literature?

[@The_Bearded_Spook]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@PeterKato83]

I heard it decreases too and it kind of makes sense because older people seem stuck in their ways which I would imagine would indicate low openness.

[@FrancesShear]

Isn't Openess to Experience characteristic of all children which doesn't change since it is so basic to survival? After all without it no child could be promoted into achieving a step into more independance or the next level of their education. When it comes to seeing an increase in the characteristic of openess to experience in what areas of respects could some people increase in that characteristic as they grow older besides being 'nonconformity' like spending too much time in the imagination when there is less freedom to move about while living in a nursing home?

[@Pose005]

What do you think of the view that Openness to Experience consists of two main factors: Intellect and Openness?

[@atlaskaiser693]

Is it contradictory to have very high openness and high consciousness ?

[@AzureSymbiote]

No. I have that combo.

[@PeterKato83]

I read somewhere that high openness often contradicts high conscientiousness but you can be high in both. Also, people often misreport their own traits.

[@courageousneurotic695]

What if you’re in the middle?

[@mikhailjohari6016]

89% openness to experience

[@tawandazindoga711]

what is that strange, dry, woody star ornament behind him.

[@MalicahCharles]

I think I struggle with openness ass I spend all day daydreaming listening to music when I should be doing something like study etc.

[@TheEgg185]

I would imagine that someone high in openness would be more likely to try, and, therefore become addicted to, drugs.

[@malvane8061]

Some of the other factors of OCEAN can counter that, such as Introversion. You'd be open, but you'd also be analytical /skeptical of drugs.

[@karafosso]

I definitely agree on the first point but I think conscientiousness and neuroticism would have more of an impact on addiction.

[@spectralv709]

People low in conscientiousness are statistically more likely to try drugs if you read the wiki page on that trait, partly because they’re more willing take risks and tend to be less socially conservative, in general. I’d imagine people high in openness and relatively low in conscientiousness disproportionately include your crowd who are interested in psychedelic drugs like acid/DMT/ayahuasca/etc. since those drugs are often taken with the purpose of intellectual or emotional exploration

[@susiequebec1207]

no! We don't need drugs to enjoy our lives. We are too busy getting into some new adventure, or new research, new hobby, etc.

[@ucfpureego]

I'm high in openness and never tried any drugs.

[@MrKelz419]

I find a lot of highly open people tend to have underlying boundary issues. They dissmiss people who aren't as adventurous and interested in ideas as "not having a life" and "boring" and then complain about being ostacised by regular people. It's very hard to feel sympathy for people like that.

[@ChaiLatte13]

Chronic illness has definitely negatively changed my personality...ugh.

[@lisadiconti]

I don't think one trait should be considered better than another trait. I think what we value has a lot to with societal norms. For instance, the Asian culture values introversion, not extroversion.