When someone puts a new food in front of you, are you more inclined to dig in or avoid taking the first bite? When you wake up, do you wonder what new thing you might do that day? People with a natural inclination to want to experience new things tend to score high in the “openness to experience” category of the Big Five personality model. That natural tendency could also reflect some genetic influence.

If you're ready to find out where your openness to experience (or lack thereof) comes from, an AncestryDNA^® + Traits test can reveal whether you have genetic markers linked to this adventurous trait.

What Does It Mean to Be Open to Experience?

Being open to experiences is a personality trait that determines how receptive you are to new experiences and ideas. It's one of the dimensions in the five-factor model of personality.

People who are open to experiences are willing to try new things and aren't afraid of the unfamiliar. They may even actively seek out new things to try or be risk takers. Those who have a high degree of openness may also not fear embarrassing themselves when they dance, for example. Typically, they're inventive, in tune with themselves and their inner feelings, and highly curious.

Those who are less open to new experiences tend to prefer familiar routines over mixing things up. Less open individuals may be picky eaters as they prefer familiarity. They may also be more of an introvert.

The Genetics Behind Trying New Things

Interested in how the openness personality trait is related to genetics? The AncestryDNA^® team asked over 225,000 people, “How much do you enjoy trying new things?” Their responses, when compared with their DNA, revealed over 440 DNA markers associated with people’s willingness to try new things.

By using these DNA markers, the scientists calculated a polygenic risk score to predict your likelihood of possessing the trait based on your DNA. At the same time, the Ancestry^® scientists determined that differences in people’s DNA could only explain about 9% of the variation in their openness to trying new things. Based on this, the inclination to try new things is mostly informed by your environment and experiences, but genetics does play a small role.

Differences in certain genes are known to have a strong effect on openness. For example, other researchers have determined that people who carry a certain version of the dopamine receptor DRD4 tend to show higher rates of openness, along with sensation-seeking behaviour and risk-taking. Additionally, the different versions of the serotonin transporter gene 5-HTTLPR are associated with levels of openness. The long version of this gene is associated with higher levels of openness, while the short version of the genes is not.

What Else Influences a Willingness to Try New Things?

Some research on birth order and the Big Five personality traits shows middle children tend to be more open to experience and agreeable. In part, it's believed to be due to their position in the family. Middle children have always had to share their parents’ attention with other siblings, unlike the oldest sibling who once was an only child. Likewise, middle children have to adapt to change as younger siblings are born. Middle children are more likely to be creative and to teach themselves early on to combat boredom. In many cases, this can lead to a willingness to learn or try something new.

Emotional regulation also influences openness to experience, as revealed by a meta-analysis of 132 studies on the Big Five personality traits. The study found higher levels of openness, paired with extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, are associated with higher adaptive emotion regulation strategies. In other words, those who have strong emotional regulation abilities tend to be more open to new experiences.

Interesting Findings About Trying to Learn New Things

Researchers link high levels of openness, along with other positive Big Five traits, as predictors of life satisfaction. One study followed 9,110 Dutch participants ages 16-95 for 11 years and revealed that those who increased in openness also saw increased levels of life satisfaction over the same period of time.

It's possible your genetics influence whether you resist the unknown or dive head-first into something new. If you're ready to see how much of that openness may come from your genetics, AncestryDNA^® + Traits can reveal if you have the genetic markers for trying new things. If you've already taken a test, you have access to your results with an Ancestry^® membership.

 

References

Abu Raya, Maison, Adedoyin O. Ogunyemi, et al. “The neurobiology of openness as a personality trait.” Frontiers in Neurology. August 13, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.1235345.

Barańczuk, Urszula. “The five factor model of personality and emotion regulation: A meta-analysis.” Personality and Individual Differences. March 1, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.11.025.

McCrae, R. R., & John, O. P. “An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications.” Journal of Personality. June 1992. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00970.x.

Olaru, Gabriel, van Scheppingen, Manon A., et al. “The Link Between Personality, Global, and Domain-Specific Satisfaction Across the Adult Lifespan.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2023. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-pspp0000461.pdf.

“Openness.” Psychology Today. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/openness.

“What Your Sibling Birth Order Reveals About Your Personality Traits (Even If You’re an Only Child).” Comprehensive MedPsych Systems. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://www.medpsych.net/2021/08/19/what-your-sibling-birth-order-reveals-about-your-personality-traits-even-if-youre-an-only-child/.