# On the nonlinear association between intelligence and openness: Not much of an effect beyond an average IQ

**URL:** <https://forum.riotiq.com/t/on-the-nonlinear-association-between-intelligence-and-openness-not-much-of-an-effect-beyond-an-average-iq/495>\
**Category:** IQ Research\
**Tags:** journal-article\
**Created:** [July 29, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://forum.riotiq.com/t/on-the-nonlinear-association-between-intelligence-and-openness-not-much-of-an-effect-beyond-an-average-iq/495 "2026-07-29T13:56:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![elwandarausch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e9bcb4/32.png) [@elwandarausch](https://forum.riotiq.com/u/elwandarausch)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://forum.riotiq.com/t/on-the-nonlinear-association-between-intelligence-and-openness-not-much-of-an-effect-beyond-an-average-iq/495/1 "2026-07-29T13:56:12Z")

</div>

![Article 1](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex007/uploads/riotiq/original/1X/1d8f7301838ddfb19e33452f97a149db4d9dd192.png)

There’s a well-known idea in psychology that smarter people tend to be more “open” - more curious, more into art, more willing to explore new ideas. Past research put that link at a modest but real correlation (around 0.20-0.30). This new study, using IQ tests and personality surveys from 371 UK adults, largely confirms that overall correlation (0.22) - but with an interesting twist: the relationship isn’t a straight line. It turns out that the connection between intelligence and openness is strongest at low-to-moderate IQ levels, and once you cross an IQ of roughly 105 (just a bit above average), the link basically disappears. In other words, being smarter doesn’t seem to make someone more open once they’re already reached an average-ish IQ.

 ![Article 2](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex007/uploads/riotiq/original/1X/c6e3fdff05b481525a0ab0881af7b355800fc94d.jpeg)

Digging deeper, the researchers found that openness isn’t one single thing - it breaks down into different flavors. “Epistemic” openness (curiosity, love of ideas, intellectual engagement) kept a steady positive relationship with intelligence across the board. But “experiential” openness (things like enjoying art galleries or classical music) showed a different pattern: it rose with IQ up to that ~105 mark, and then in some cases actually leveled off or even dipped afterward. So depending on which specific type of openness you’re measuring, intelligence might matter a lot, a little, or not at all.

 ![Article 3](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex007/uploads/riotiq/original/1X/dd7fb402a0ceac74ab5aca000ba3161416c2c5d9.jpeg)

The authors are careful to frame these results as suggestive rather than definitive — the sample size is fairly modest for this kind of item-by-item analysis, and they encourage replication before drawing firm conclusions. Still, the findings raise a thought-provoking possibility: maybe intelligence and “genuine” openness (curiosity, love of learning) are tightly linked, while what looks like the intelligence-openness connection at higher IQ levels might really be capturing something else — like “need for cognition” (a general enjoyment of thinking hard), which is a related but distinct trait. If that’s right, it suggests some caution is warranted before assuming that being smart automatically makes someone more broadly open-minded or experientially adventurous.

Link to full article: [Redirecting](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110169)