Espousers of this attribute are open to experience and place the love of diversity at the heart of their lives. They like to get stuck in and absorb new information like a sponge, particularly when life feeds their fascination with what it is like to be human. They enjoy meeting people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, so that they can challenge and refine their own values, beliefs and motivations.

Diversity is much more than an intellectual concept, it is something that runs through everything they think and do. Rather than strongly advocating particular views and particular approaches, they enjoy listening to people who hold markedly different views, even if they disagree with them. In turn, people value listening to them, often seeking guidance with their everyday problems. Their openness to new ideas and empathy with alternative viewpoints means that they can draw upon a comprehensive knowledge base when giving advice. They do not seek absolute answers, they revel in the complexities and subtleties of life.

Learning is supremely important for them and the most enjoyable way to learn is through and with other people. This desire to meet a variety of people influences their social life and where they live. As part of practicing what they preach, they like to be somewhere where people from different ethnic, racial and social backgrounds live. All this leads to the fact that they have great empathy and understanding for people, even when they have markedly different values and lifestyles.

Being open to different views means that they find it easier to see the possibilities in any situation, so are also open to different ways of achieving the same objective. They are not tied to any particular method when trying to resolve a problem.

In consequence, they would make great intermediaries, helping people with contrasting views to work together, but not necessarily good leaders, where they need to decide on a particular way forward. They prefer to make decisions in a collaborative way. Rather than seeking watered down compromises, their intention would always be to retain the differences, but to see them in the context of the bigger picture - valuing and integrating disparate perspectives.

They enjoy helping others, knowing that the quality of their support is even better when they care for themselves. In particular, they like to help people to be treated equally, or to achieve some level of justice in some way.

As a final note, significantly more women than men prefer a life based upon openness, particularly those over 50 years of age. As well as being open to what's around them, they are also open to what is going on inside.