Visual reality is linked to personality

People who are more open to new experiences have a different visual perception of reality, according to a new study in the Journal of Research in Personality. Researchers found open-minded people tested higher for binocular rivalry — a visual perception phenomenon that combines two different images in either eye, rather then the eyes alternating back and forth between the images.

How it was tested: 123 volunteers were given a personality test measuring extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. Researchers then tested for binocular rivalry with a red patch to one eye and green for the other. People with high scores in openness were more likely to see the red and green patches fused together than alternate between the two.

What's next? Personality traits are not fixed, and now the big question is how perception changes with personality. Anna Antinori, lead author of the study, told Quartz "It may be possible that a change in people's personality may also affect how they see the world."