Imagination as a facet of Openness/Intellect: A new scale differentiating experiential simulation and conceptual innovation

Previous research has investigated the nature of imagination as a construct related to multiple forms of higher-order cognition. Despite the emergence of various conceptualizations of imagination, few attempts have been made to explore the structure of imagination as a trait in the context of existing hierarchically-nested personality dimensions. We present a scale for measuring trait imagination that distinguishes between experiential simulation and conceptual innovation, aligned with the two major subfactors (aspects) of the Big Five dimension Openness/Intellect. Across two large samples, we provide evidence of a consistent factor structure distinguishing experiential, conceptual, and general descriptions of imagination, as well as validity as measures of facets of Openness and Intellect. Our findings provide a measure of major forms of imagination in line with mainstream models of the hierarchical structure of personality.