Interested in Different Things or in Different Ways?

Abstract

Abstract. Openness and intellect may differentially predict engagement for two possible reasons. First, engagement with sensory experiences is associated with openness, whereas engagement with abstract information is associated with intellect – a distinction based on content. Second, openness reflects affective, and intellect cognitive processing – a distinction based on affect. These two positions are contrasted through associations of both openness and intellect with interest in a broad range of stimuli. Participants (N = 191) viewed images of visual art, philosophical quotations, and scientific discoveries and rated them on interest, appraised novelty and understanding. Only openness predicted greater interest in all stimuli types. Appraised understanding mediated the openness-interest relationship for visual art and philosophy, while intellect was associated with greater appraised understanding of science and philosophy. Openness was associated with weaker understanding-interest relationships for visual art, and greater reactivity to novelty for science and philosophy. We conclude that one way to think of the engagement distinction between openness and intellect is in terms of emotional versus cognitive engagement. That is, the aspects reflect engagement in different ways rather than in different things.