In a developing country like India, unplanned urbanization has produced several undesirable consequences such as large-scale deforestation, inequities in the distribution of resources, and growing crime and intolerance. In turn, these produce psychological as well as socio-economic outcomes. The personality trait of Openness to Experience may moderate the negative effects of urbanization for an individual. Open individuals are more likely to adapt faster to change and be tolerant of diversity; they can also produce creative solutions to urban problems. The present paper investigated whether the physical features of one's environment—in particular, the amount of green cover in one's residential neighbourhood—can contribute to higher levels of openness to experience. Data was collected from two major cities of the state of Uttarakhand, India—Dehradun and Haridwar. Using the IPIP (International Personality Item Pool) scale for Openness to Experience, areas having low, medium and high levels of green cover were compared. Statistically significant differences were found between the three green cover areas on Openness to Experience; age was also found to be a significant predictor of Openness.
openness to experience, urbanization, green cover, age
