Openness to Experience Test - Check Your Openness Level in the Big Five

Personality

20questions

2minutes

Are you someone who loves trying new things, or do you prefer sticking to the familiar? Based on the Big Five theory, this test measures your level of "openness to experience" and reveals how curious you really are!

What this test tells you

Exploring an unfamiliar subject, imagining possibilities through art, or feeling at home with a familiar approach—20 questions help you reflect on how you respond to new experiences and ideas.

Answer 20 questions

Choose what describes your usual self rather than your ideal self.

Check your openness

See your openness as a percentage and one of five result labels.

Read your description

Explore your curiosity and attitude to change, including strengths and points to consider.

The percentage is an indicator within this test. It is not a population ranking or a measure of creative ability.

What is openness to experience?

Openness to experience describes a tendency to engage with new experiences and ideas. It involves interest in art and culture, imagination, and intellectual curiosity.

It is one of the Big Five, a framework that developed from research on personality language and questionnaires. Alongside openness are conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These are broad dimensions that vary by degree. This test provides an indicator of openness.

Value familiar approaches

Draw on established ways of thinking and previous experience when approaching something.

Explore new possibilities

Take an interest in approaches you have not tried and alternative ways of seeing things.

The paths illustrate a preference for familiar approaches or exploring possibilities. These are tendencies along a continuum, not two fixed types or a ranking of personal worth.

Three ways openness can show up

Your interests may vary across situations. These three perspectives help explain the topics covered by the questions.

Ideas and imagination

Enjoy thinking about abstract topics, imagining alternatives, or coming up with new ideas.

Art and sensitivity

Take an interest in painting, music, or literature and appreciate expression and beauty.

Experiences and viewpoints

Feel curious about unfamiliar activities and cultures or explore perspectives different from your own.

These perspectives organize the explanation. They are not separately scored subscales; your result shows an overall openness indicator.

The five openness results

Your result includes one of the following labels and a description of your tendencies. These are categories within this test; the moderate category is not an established population average.

Very Low Openness to Experience

You tend to value familiar surroundings and ways of thinking, approaching new experiences cautiously.

Low Openness to Experience

You tend to emphasize practical value and established approaches, preferring situations you can anticipate.

Moderate Openness to Experience

You show both interest in new experiences and appreciation for the comfort of familiar surroundings.

High Openness to Experience

You tend to be interested in new ideas and different perspectives and receptive to change.

Very High Openness to Experience

You tend to have a strong interest in unfamiliar fields and creative activities, using imagination to explore possibilities.

How to interpret your result

Different from intelligence or sociability

Enjoying intellectual exploration is not the same as having high cognitive ability. Introverted people can also be drawn to new ideas. An openness score alone cannot tell you how intelligent or socially skilled you are.

Different tendencies suit different situations

Welcoming new ideas and valuing established methods can both be useful. Openness alone does not determine planning skills, follow-through, or success at work. Career suitability also depends on skills, interests, and other factors.

Explore change through small experiences

If you are curious, try a different genre of art or an unfamiliar perspective and notice how you respond. One new experience does not promise a change in personality, and there is no need to pursue a higher score.

References

Openness to experience
American Psychological Association · APA Dictionary of Psychology
Openness to Experience, Intellect, and Cognitive Ability
DeYoung, Quilty, Peterson & Gray (2014) · Journal of Personality Assessment

These sources explain openness and its relationship to cognitive ability. They do not establish the accuracy or validity of this site's 20-question test.