openness to experience

n. Openness to experience is one of the dimensions of the five factor model. It contrasts individuals who are intellectual, imaginative, sensitive, and open-minded with those who are down-to-earth, insensitive, and conventional. Openness to experience has been the most controversial of the big five factors, with some scholars noting that it possesses a greater breadth of meaning than the other four. Some authors emphasize sophistication and refinement of interests. Others emphasize the creative and imaginative component of this cluster of traits. Still others identify the factor as intellect, focusing on intellectual 
interests, preference for deeper and more effortful cognition, and the factor's correlation with intelligence tests. Open individuals enjoy deeper, more effortful thought and are attracted to the theoretical. They show a preference for liberal, as opposed to conservative, positions on political issues. Among the positive correlates of openness are absorption, moral development, and accepting attitudes toward minority groups, Finally, openness to experience is a major predictor of creativity. – SJD