6 Ways Narrow-Minded People Differ from Open-Minded Ones

When you are narrow-minded, life is a bit harder. If open-mindedness is a spectrum, are you aware of where you fall?

People who are narrow-minded often struggle with surprises and differences. Anything outside of the “norm” is difficult to handle and this often steers them away from trying anything new.

On the opposite end, open-minded people have an easier time accepting new ideas, which often results in a more relaxed lifestyle. If you are unsure of whether you sit closer to narrow or open-mindedness, here are six ways in which the two differ.

1. Creative abilities

Open-minded people tend to be more creative than their narrow-minded friends. Open-minded people are curious to learn new things and often develop passions in the arts.

A recent study proved that narrow-minded people are less likely able to visualize more than one thing at a time. Participants were shown a red image in one eye and a green image in the other and only the most open-minded people were able to concentrate on both at once. The more narrow-minded people, with less creative capacity, had to focus on one color at a time while switching back and forth in their minds.

2. Reasoning and arguing

You can’t reason with a narrow-minded person because they are not open to any new possibilities. A narrow-minded person always thinks they are right while an open-minded person is open to the possibility they may be wrong.

Narrow-minded people will cling on to seemingly knowledgeable sources such as religion and argue that it is a fact. Once they believe something is a fact, it is impossible for them to even humor an idea that contradicts that fact.

Open-minded people can be religious, however, they are able to think critically about new concepts and imagine circumstances from others’ points of view, even if it’s not a point of view they agree with.

3. Dealing with change

Narrow-minded people have a harder time dealing with change. They often have a strict world-view and are used to everything they experience fitting neatly inside of it. Narrow-minded people feel the need to control things as much as possible. When there is a big change in their life, narrow-minded people get very stressed out as if feels like their world is being turned upside down.

Carnegie Mellon researchers Russell Golman and George Loewenstein write , “The desire for clarity is consistent with an underlying drive for simplicity and sense-making”.

When something doesn’t quite make sense to a narrow-minded person, it drives them crazy. Open-minded people, however, are up for new experiences and even excited by the unknown.

4. Opinions and judgment

Narrow-minded people are often more opinionated, which leads to their negative judgment upon others. Narrow-minded people often see one answer or possibility as being right and anyone who goes against the current must be a lesser person.

While open-minded people can accept and appreciate that everyone is different, narrow-minded people view different opinions as bad. To say the least, narrow-minded people can not “agree to disagree”.

5. Curiosity

Open-minded people are fascinated by many aspects of life and learn as much as they can to feed their ever growing curiosity. On the other hand, learning new things can be frightening for a narrow-minded person. They may hide from learning anything outside of their comfort zone as a way to protect themselves.

For example, someone who is narrow-minded may have problems studying science or history if it contradicts even one of their beliefs. An open-minded person will accept that there is more than one possibility and they may never know the answer for sure. 

6. Happiness

Often narrow-minded people are too harsh on themselves as they feel that everything has to be a certain way. When reality doesn’t match their expectations, they feel let down and most of all, angry with themselves. Open-minded people will be let down by certain life experiences, however, they are usually able to let it go and move on much quicker.

After reading these six points and evaluating your life, would you consider yourself a narrow-minded or open-minded person? 

If you feel you may be narrow-minded, don’t worry, as there is always room for improvement. Try surrounding yourself with more open-minded people and learning from them. They will likely be open to giving you a few pointers.