What is open mindedness?
From a psychological perspective, the term is used to describe how willing people are to consider other perspectives or to try out new experiences.Open-mindedness can also involve asking questions and being active about searching for information that challenges your beliefs. It also encompasses the belief that other people should be free to express their beliefs and arguments, even if you do not necessarily agree with those views. Being open-minded means having the ability to consider other perspectives and trying to be empathetic to other people, even when you disagree with them.
Of course, open-mindedness has its limits. It does not imply that you must sympathize with every ideology. But making an effort to understand the factors that might have led to those ideas can be helpful in finding ways to persuade people to change their minds.
What is opposite of openmindedness?
The opposite of open-minded is closed-minded or dogmatic. People who are more closed-minded are usually only willing to consider their own viewpoints and are not receptive to other ideas.
Characteristics of Open-Minded People
They are curious to hear what others think
They are able to have their ideas challenged
They don’t get angry when they are wrong
They have empathy for other people
They think about what other people are thinking
They are humble about their own knowledge and expertise
They want to hear what other people have to say
They believe others have a right to share their beliefs and thoughts.
Benefits of being more open-minded
Gaining Insight: Challenging your existing beliefs and considering how new ideas can give you fresh insights not only about the world; it can also teach you new things about yourself.
Having New Experiences: Being open to other ideas can also open you up to new experiences.
Achieving Personal Growth: Keeping an open mind can help you grow as a person. You learn new things about the world and the people around you.
Becoming Mentally Strong: Staying open to new ideas and experiences can help you become a stronger, more vibrant person. Your experiences and knowledge continue to build on one another.
Feeling More Optimistic: One of the problems with staying closed-minded is that it often leads to a greater sense of negativity. Being open can help inspire a more optimistic attitude toward life and the future.
Learning New Things: It’s hard to keep learning when you surround yourself with the same old ideas. Pushing your boundaries and reaching out to people with different perspectives and experiences can help keep your mind fresh.
Factors That Influence Open-Mindedness
There are a number of things that can affect how open- or closed-minded a person is:
Personality
In the five-factor model of human personality, openness to experience is one of the five broad dimensions that make up human personality. This personality trait shares many of the same qualities with open-mindedness, such as being willing to consider new experiences and ideas and engaging in self-examination.
Expertise
Research suggests that people expect experts to be more dogmatic about their area of expertise. When people feel that they are more knowledgeable or skilled in an area than other people, they are less likely to be open-minded.Researchers have found that giving participants false positive or false negative feedback about their performance on a task influenced how closed-minded they were about considering an alternative political opinion.
Recommended Readings
Baron, J. (2000). Thinking and deciding (3rd ed). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kuhn, D. (1991). The skills of argument. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Peterson, C. and Seligman, M. E. P. (Eds.). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stanovich, K. E. (1999). Who is rational? Studies of individual differences in reasoning. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
