What Can Our Openmind Personality Assessment Tell You About Your Psychological Blind Spots?
Introduction
Self-awareness is often heralded as a crucial component of personal growth. Yet, even the most introspective among us harbor psychological blind spots—areas of our personalities or behaviors we either don’t see or underestimate. Openmind, an advanced online psychometric personality assessment tool, uses the Big Five personality framework and integrates implicit response techniques to reveal these blind spots. By measuring both our conscious attitudes and our subconscious tendencies, Openmind offers a profound exploration into the parts of our psyche that influence us most, often without our awareness.
Understanding Openmind's Approach
Openmind uses the Big Five personality framework, or OCEAN model, which includes Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. What makes Openmind unique is its use of both explicit (conscious) and implicit (automatic, subconscious) attitudes toward these traits, capturing nuanced differences between our self-perception and our underlying, automatic responses.
These implicit and explicit distinctions are what can reveal psychological blind spots. Often, we act in ways we believe align with our values, but our implicit responses may tell a different story. Openmind helps identify these incongruities, encouraging self-reflection and growth.
Blind Spots in Each Personality Trait
1. Openness to Experience
Openness encompasses creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to embrace new experiences. People often consciously value curiosity and flexibility, but implicit biases can show a more complicated picture. For instance:
Possible Blind Spot: A person may explicitly identify as open-minded, valuing diverse perspectives, but their implicit scores may reveal hesitation toward certain unfamiliar ideas. This can occur when societal or personal expectations shape how one “should” respond to new information, masking unconscious biases that make openness situational.
How to Address It: Reflect on areas where you resist change or where certain ideas make you uncomfortable. Are these responses rooted in genuine values or inherited biases? Understanding where you might selectively practice openness can help balance conscious ideals with implicit biases.
2. Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness reflects self-discipline, responsibility, and organization. Individuals high in this trait are typically goal-oriented and reliable. However, discrepancies between explicit and implicit attitudes toward conscientiousness can reveal important blind spots:
Possible Blind Spot: You may perceive yourself as organized and disciplined, but implicit reactions could reveal lapses in reliability or a subconscious resistance to structure. This misalignment might indicate an internal conflict, where you want to be dependable but feel pressured by external expectations.
How to Address It: Consider situations where your reliability falters. Are there specific tasks or environments that trigger this? By recognizing patterns in unconscious responses to structure, you can refine your approach to be more authentically aligned with how you naturally operate.
3. Extraversion
Extraversion relates to sociability, assertiveness, and energy in social settings. People often consciously view themselves as either introverted or extroverted, yet Openmind’s implicit testing can uncover hidden social preferences:
Possible Blind Spot: Perhaps you identify as sociable and outgoing, but implicit scores suggest slight discomfort in certain social scenarios, indicating a situational extraversion or an unconscious desire for solitude that you may overlook. Alternatively, an implicit preference for socializing may reveal an extroverted side not reflected in daily behavior.
How to Address It: Reflect on the contexts in which you feel genuinely energized versus drained. Understanding whether you’re truly more extroverted or introverted in different environments can help you manage social energy and expectations more effectively.
4. Agreeableness
Agreeableness involves empathy, kindness, and cooperation. Many people consciously aim to be agreeable, but implicit attitudes can reveal an alternate side:
Possible Blind Spot: Consciously, you may see yourself as cooperative and empathetic, while implicit measures suggest a tendency to prioritize your own needs or opinions. This gap often results from a desire to meet social expectations, suppressing natural tendencies to assert your needs or boundaries.
How to Address It: Identify situations where you feel conflicted about asserting yourself or saying no. Recognizing instances where your unconscious reactions differ from conscious beliefs allows you to approach relationships with more honesty and balance.
5. Neuroticism (Emotional Stability)
Neuroticism, or emotional stability, reflects resilience to stress and emotional volatility. People who consciously regard themselves as calm and collected may be surprised by what their implicit reactions reveal:
Possible Blind Spot: You may consciously believe you handle stress well, but implicit scores might indicate sensitivity to criticism or anxiety in uncertain situations. This misalignment is often due to suppressing or overlooking internal stress responses.
How to Address It: Reflect on situations where you might downplay stress or anxiety. Recognizing these internal pressures can help you develop more effective strategies to manage emotional responses genuinely.
Scenarios: Common Patterns of Psychological Blind Spots
Openmind identifies psychological blind spots through three main scenarios:
Scenario 1: Explicit Score Higher than Implicit
This scenario suggests that you consciously agree with a statement but unconsciously feel differently. For example, someone may consciously believe they’re highly organized but have a lower implicit score, indicating a subconscious resistance to structure.
Questions to Ask: Are you genuinely committed to this trait, or are external expectations driving it? Recognizing this tension can help you adjust to a more authentic alignment.
Scenario 2: Implicit Score Higher than Explicit
Here, your subconscious responses are stronger than your conscious beliefs. This might happen when you unconsciously feel confident in social settings but consciously underestimate your social ease.
Questions to Ask: Are past experiences or self-doubt affecting your perception? Addressing underlying confidence issues can empower you to embrace your strengths more openly.
Scenario 3: Implicit and Explicit Scores are Close
This scenario indicates consistency, where your conscious beliefs align with your subconscious tendencies. When both scores are close, it suggests a well-integrated personality trait, which can be a strength, though it doesn’t preclude growth.
Questions to Ask: What areas might benefit from expansion or refinement? Even well-aligned traits can be honed to enhance personal development.
Reflecting on Blind Spots for Personal Growth
Openmind not only identifies blind spots but also encourages users to explore why they exist. Understanding these gaps between conscious and unconscious responses can be eye-opening and transformative. It’s essential to approach these discoveries without judgment, focusing on areas that can be developed or balanced.
Practical Steps to Address Blind Spots
Journaling and Self-Reflection: Regular reflection on how you responded versus how you felt can help uncover hidden biases. Use specific prompts based on Openmind’s insights to delve deeper.
Feedback from Others: Friends, colleagues, and family members often see aspects of us we might miss. Seek feedback on specific traits to gain a broader perspective on your blind spots.
Mindfulness and Meditation: Practicing mindfulness can improve your awareness of automatic reactions, helping bridge the gap between conscious and subconscious responses.
Goal Setting: Set personal development goals around areas where you recognize blind spots. Focusing on small, actionable steps can gradually integrate subconscious tendencies with conscious beliefs.
Applications of Openmind’s Insights
Identifying blind spots isn’t just a self-awareness exercise; it has practical implications across many areas:
Professional Growth: Understanding where subconscious reactions differ from conscious intentions can improve workplace relationships, leadership style, and conflict resolution. Openmind’s results help users become more authentic, addressing both strengths and growth areas.
Relationships: Blind spots often affect how we relate to others. Becoming aware of hidden biases or communication patterns can improve empathy, patience, and emotional intelligence in personal relationships.
Stress and Resilience: Many blind spots center around stress response. Recognizing where subconscious reactions to stress differ from conscious beliefs enables users to adopt healthier coping mechanisms, improving overall resilience.
Conclusion: Embracing the Unknown Within
Self-discovery is an ongoing journey, and Openmind provides a unique tool to explore the depths of our subconscious personality. By identifying and addressing psychological blind spots, we can live more authentically, navigate relationships more effectively, and achieve a balance between who we consciously strive to be and our underlying tendencies.
Openmind reveals that self-awareness is as much about understanding what we don’t see as it is about identifying our known strengths. Embracing these unknown aspects, rather than shying away from them, allows for a richer, more complete picture of our true selves. So, the next time you explore your Openmind results, don’t just focus on the obvious traits; delve into the implicit reactions and use these insights to refine, adjust, and ultimately embrace every part of your personality.