The Adventurousness Facet (Openness).
Adventurousness is the behavioural face of Openness - the readiness to take the unfamiliar route, order the dish you cannot pronounce, or rearrange a routine that works fine just to try something different. It is only one of six components of Openness, and it is easy to mistake for the whole trait or for extraverted thrill-seeking: you can crave novel experiences while being quiet and reflective, and you can be intellectually open while preferring a settled, familiar life.
Adventurousness (a facet of Openness to Experience)
Adventurousness is one of the six facets of Openness to Experience in the Big Five. It captures your appetite for new experiences and variety: willingness to try unfamiliar activities, foods, places, and routines rather than sticking to the tried and tested. It is about behavioural openness to novelty in everyday life, distinct from the imaginative, aesthetic, and intellectual sides of Openness, and from the thrill-seeking energy of Extraversion.
This page explains what the Adventurousness facet measures, what high and low scores look like, how it sits apart from the other Openness facets and from Extraversion, and the trade-offs at each end.
What Adventurousness measures
Adventurousness is your pull toward novelty and variety in lived experience: trying new activities, travelling to unfamiliar places, changing up routines, and generally preferring the new over the established. High scorers actively seek variety and feel constrained by sameness; low scorers find comfort and efficiency in the familiar and see little reason to change what already works.
Crucially, it is about openness to new experiences, not about risk-taking for its sake or the need for high-arousal thrills. Wanting to try an unfamiliar cuisine or take a different route to work is Adventurousness; chasing adrenaline and excitement is closer to the Excitement-Seeking facet of Extraversion. The two can coincide but are not the same.
High and low
High Adventurousness shows up as variety-seeking: new restaurants, unfamiliar destinations, fresh ways of doing ordinary things, and a low tolerance for staying in a rut. It brings flexibility, a broad base of experience, and easy adaptation when circumstances change.
Low Adventurousness is not the same as timid or closed-off. Low scorers simply prefer the familiar - favourite places, settled routines, known quantities - and find consistency comfortable and efficient rather than dull. They can be slow to embrace change and may miss out on experiences a more exploratory person would grab, but they build depth, reliability, and mastery in the things they return to.
How it differs from the other Openness facets (and from Extraversion)
Within Openness, Adventurousness is only the try-new-things facet. It is distinct from Imagination (a vivid inner fantasy life), Artistic Interests (sensitivity to art and beauty), Emotionality (openness to your own feelings), Intellect (curiosity about ideas and abstract problems), and Liberalism (readiness to challenge tradition and authority). These can diverge: someone high on Adventurousness but low on Intellect loves new places and activities without much taste for abstract theory, while someone high on Intellect but low on Adventurousness explores ideas eagerly yet keeps a settled, familiar daily life.
It also differs from Extraversion. Adventurousness is about openness to novel experiences; Extraversion is about social energy and reward-seeking. A quiet introvert can be highly adventurous in what they try, and a sociable extravert can be a creature of habit. Where the two overlap is the Excitement-Seeking facet of Extraversion, which is specifically about thrills and stimulation rather than variety as such.
Trade-offs
At the high end, a constant pull toward the new can mean restlessness with stable situations, abandoning good routines out of boredom, or spreading experience thin without building depth. At the very high end the appetite for variety can make commitment and consistency feel like confinement. At the low end, the cost is missed opportunities and slower adaptation when change is necessary, plus the risk of a narrower life than you might otherwise have. Neither pole is better - they fit different circumstances, and the useful move is to know which one you are and deliberately stretch toward the other when the situation calls for it.
Also relevant: All 30 facets explained
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to score high on Adventurousness?
You actively seek out new experiences and variety - new activities, places, foods, and ways of doing things - and you find routine and sameness constraining. It is the "try new things" component of Openness, and it reflects openness to novelty in everyday life rather than thrill-seeking or risk-taking.
Is Adventurousness the same as being an extravert or a thrill-seeker?
No. Adventurousness is about openness to new experiences and variety, which is part of Openness. Extraversion is about social energy and reward-seeking, and thrill-seeking is its Excitement-Seeking facet. A quiet introvert can be highly adventurous in what they try, and a sociable extravert can prefer familiar routines.
Is low Adventurousness the same as being boring or fearful?
No. Low Adventurousness means a genuine preference for the familiar - settled routines and known quantities that feel comfortable and efficient. It is independent of the other Openness facets and is not the same as fear or timidity, so a low-Adventurousness person can be confident and content while building real depth in the things they stick with.
How do I find my Adventurousness score?
Our 300-item Big Five test scores all 30 facets, including Adventurousness, against population norms; the 120-item form also resolves the facets. The shorter 50-item and 10-item forms give your Openness trait score but do not break it into facets.
References
- Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1995). Domains and facets: Hierarchical personality assessment using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 64(1), 21-50.
- DeYoung, C. G., Quilty, L. C., & Peterson, J. B. (2007). Between facets and domains: 10 aspects of the Big Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(5), 880-896.
- Johnson, J. A. (2014). Measuring thirty facets of the Five Factor Model with a 120-item public domain inventory: Development of the IPIP-NEO-120. Journal of Research in Personality, 51, 78-89.
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