Openness – Reticence Scale (OE/A) within the structure of the Giessen Personality Inventory is designed to assess the perceived degree of openness toward others, trustworthiness in interpersonal relationships, and readiness for emotional interaction. It reflects a fundamental attitude toward intimacy, the ability to share feelings, and the need for love and acceptance. It is based on the concept of the formation of primary trust or, conversely, wariness and alienation.
It reflects fundamental features of social contacts rooted in early life experiences — specifically, the formation of basic trust or mistrust toward the world (in the context of Erik Erikson's theory). The items in this scale allow for an assessment of how inclined a person is to build emotionally rich relationships, share personal experiences, and seek understanding and support, or whether they prefer distance, avoid vulnerability, and hide their need for love and attachment.
The scale covers the following key aspects:
- Emotional Openness – readiness to share experiences and show trust;
- Social Involvement – striving for closeness, friendship, and support;
- Need for Love and Acceptance – both overt and covert;
- Trust/Mistrust of Others – the level of baseline social wariness;
- Degree of Personal Space Protection – a drive for independence or isolation.
At the openness pole of the scale, sincerity, trustfulness, warmth, and a pronounced need for love and closeness are noted. Characteristic features include ease in establishing contacts, open expression of feelings, absence of fear of emotional intimacy, and dependence on positive feedback from others.
At the reticence pole, restraint in expressing feelings, a tendency to hide needs, mistrust, and detachment are observed. This can be either a stable personality trait or a form of psychological defense.
Application of the scale in different versions of the questionnaire:
- In the "Self" version, the scale reveals how much an individual perceives themselves as open or restrained in contacts.
- In the "He" / "She" versions, it assesses how another person's capacity for intimacy and trust is evaluated.
Interpretation of Results
To ensure a standardized interpretation of the Giessen Personality Inventory results, raw scores are converted into T-scores. This linear transformation process brings the score distribution of each scale to a unified metric system characterized by a mean (M) of 50 and a standard deviation (SD) of 10. This allows for a normative comparison of individual indicators with a reference sample and unifies the interpretation of various personality characteristic expressions, thereby facilitating inter-scale comparison and clinical assessment of the personality profile.
High values are associated with perceptions of alienation, emotional closure, and restraint in expressing feelings. There may be a mindset toward self-sufficiency, wariness in social contacts, and a desire to hide vulnerability and an inner need for acceptance. In some cases, a tendency to limit close relationships and selectivity in showing trust is noted.
Average values reflect a balanced perception of social openness: maintaining a reasonable distance and the ability to establish trusting relationships without excessive involvement or closure. This level indicates an adaptive interaction style with others, without pronounced tendencies toward reticence or excessive oversharing.
Low values correspond to the perception of an individual as emotionally accessible, trusting, capable of candor, and striving for mutual attachment. There is high sensitivity to relationships, a pronounced need for closeness, and a readiness to share intimate experiences. When highly expressed, a dependence on approval and emotional response from others may manifest.