The Big Six: The HEXACO Model of Personality

The HEXACO Model of Personality Structure is a six-dimensional model of human personality.

The HEXACO model was created by Ashton and Lee and explained in their book, The H Factor of Personality based on findings from a series of lexical studies involving several European and Asian languages.

The six factors, or dimensions, include:
– Honesty-Humility (H)
– Emotionality (E)
– Extraversion (X)
– Agreeableness (A)
– Conscientiousness (C)
– Openness to Experience (O)

Each factor is composed of traits with characteristics indicating high and low levels of the factor.

This video is 3:36 minutes in length.

Personality testing for employee selection offers the potential to identify job applicants who will contribute positively to workplace culture and abstain from damaging behaviors such as fraud, theft, and harassment.

The Big Six…

Each factor is composed of traits with characteristics indicating high and low levels of the factor.

The HEXACO model was developed through similar methods as other trait taxonomies and builds on the work of Costa and McCrae and Goldberg.

The model, therefore, shares several common elements with other trait models.

However, the HEXACO model is unique mainly due to the addition of the Honesty-Humility dimension.

Notice that each factor has two sides or “poles”, with the terms at one pole being roughly opposite in meaning to the terms at the other pole. Personality characteristics at the same pole of the same factor are correlated positively with each other; that is, high levels of one characteristic tend to go together with high levels of another.

Personality characteristics at opposite poles of the same factor are correlated negatively with each other; that is, high levels of one characteristic tend to go together with low levels of another. Personality characteristics on different factors tend to be roughly uncorrelated with each other; that is, high levels of one characteristic do not necessarily suggest either high or low levels of the other.

Honesty-Humility (H)

Definition: Persons with very high scores on the Honesty-Humility scale avoid manipulating others for personal gain, feel little temptation to break rules, are uninterested in lavish wealth and luxuries, and feel no special entitlement to elevated social status.

Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale will flatter others to get what they want, are inclined to break rules for personal profit, are motivated by material gain, and feel a strong sense of self-importance.

Emotionality (E)

Definition: Persons with very high scores on the Emotionality scale experience fear of physical dangers, experience anxiety in response to life’s stresses, feel a need for emotional support from others and feel empathy and sentimental attachments with others.

Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale are not deterred by the prospect of physical harm, feel little worry even in stressful situations, have little need to share their concerns with others, and feel emotionally detached from others.

Extraversion (X)

Definition: Persons with very high scores on the Extraversion scale feel positive about themselves, feel confident when leading or addressing groups of people, enjoy social gatherings and interactions, and experience positive feelings of enthusiasm and energy.

Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale consider themselves unpopular, feel awkward when they are the center of social attention, are indifferent to social activities, and feel less lively and optimistic than others do.

Agreeableness (A)

Definition: Persons with very high scores on the Agreeableness scale forgive the wrongs that they suffered, are lenient in judging others, are willing to compromise and cooperate with others, and can easily control their temper.

Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale hold grudges against those who have harmed them, are rather critical of others’ shortcomings, are stubborn in defending their point of view, and feel anger readily in response to mistreatment.

Conscientiousness (C)

Definition: Persons with very high scores on the Conscientiousness scale organize their time and their physical surroundings, work in a disciplined way toward their goals, strive for accuracy and perfection in their tasks, and deliberate carefully when making decisions.

Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale tend to be unconcerned with orderly surroundings or schedules, avoid difficult tasks or challenging goals, are satisfied with work that contains some errors, and make decisions on impulse or with little reflection.

Openness to Experience (O)

Definition: Persons with very high scores on the Openness to Experience scale become absorbed in the beauty of art and nature, are inquisitive about various domains of knowledge, use their imagination freely in everyday life, and take an interest in unusual ideas or people.

Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale are rather unimpressed by most works of art, feel little intellectual curiosity, avoid creative pursuits, and feel little attraction toward ideas that may seem radical or unconventional.