HEXACO Model of Personality Structure
Lee, K. & Ashton, M. C. · 2004
Also known as: HEXACO-PI-R
The HEXACO model proposes six dimensions of personality: Honesty-Humility (H), Emotionality (E), Extraversion (X), Agreeableness (A), Conscientiousness (C), and Openness to Experience (O). It emerged from cross-linguistic lexical studies in seven languages that consistently recovered a sixth factor not captured by the Big Five. The Honesty-Humility dimension is the model's key differentiator, capturing individual differences in sincerity, fairness, greed avoidance, and modesty, and proving particularly predictive of counterproductive workplace behavior and Dark Triad traits.
Six-scale trait model extending the Five-Factor Model with a distinct Honesty-Humility factor.
- Source:
- Lee, K., & Ashton, M. C. (2004). Psychometric properties of the HEXACO Personality Inventory. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 39(2), 329-358.
Historical Context
The HEXACO model emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Ashton and Lee reanalyzed lexical personality studies across Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, and Polish languages. Unlike the Big Five which was developed primarily from English-language studies, HEXACO was built from the ground up as a cross-linguistic model. The 2004 publication of the HEXACO Personality Inventory formalized the framework, with the 2007 Personality and Social Psychology Review article establishing its theoretical and practical advantages over the Big Five.
Constructs
Honesty-Humility
A personality dimension unique to the HEXACO model (Ashton & Lee, 2004) that captures individual differences in sincerity, fairness, greed avoidance, and modesty, representing the tendency to be genuine in interpersonal relations, unwilling to manipulate or exploit others for personal gain, and uninterested in lavish wealth or special privileges. Distinct from Big Five Agreeableness, it focuses specifically on moral character and the propensity toward or against exploitation and entitlement.
Emotionality
The HEXACO model's (Ashton & Lee, 2004) counterpart to Big Five Neuroticism, encompassing facets of fearfulness, anxiety, dependence, and sentimentality, and reflecting the tendency to experience fear of physical danger, worry about minor problems, need emotional support from others, and form strong emotional bonds. Unlike FFM Neuroticism, HEXACO Emotionality excludes anger-related content (placed under HEXACO Agreeableness) and includes prosocial emotional sensitivity such as empathic concern and attachment.
Extraversion
The HEXACO model's Extraversion dimension (Ashton & Lee, 2004) encompasses social self-esteem, social boldness, sociability, and liveliness, reflecting positive self-regard, confidence in leading or addressing groups, enjoyment of social gatherings, and the experience of enthusiasm and energy. While broadly similar to FFM Extraversion, it places somewhat greater emphasis on self-confidence and social assuredness as core components.
Agreeableness
The HEXACO model's Agreeableness dimension (Ashton & Lee, 2004) comprises forgivingness, gentleness, flexibility, and patience, reflecting the tendency to overlook others' wrongdoings, be lenient in judging others, accommodate to the wishes of others, and control one's temper. It differs from FFM Agreeableness by incorporating anger-proneness (moved from Neuroticism) and excluding morality-related content (moved to Honesty-Humility), making it a narrower construct focused on interpersonal tolerance and emotional equanimity.
Conscientiousness
The HEXACO model's Conscientiousness dimension (Ashton & Lee, 2004) comprises organization, diligence, perfectionism, and prudence, reflecting the tendency to organize one's time and physical surroundings, work in a disciplined way toward goals, strive for accuracy and perfection, and deliberate carefully when making decisions. Closely aligned with FFM Conscientiousness in content and structure.
Openness to Experience
The HEXACO model's Openness to Experience dimension (Ashton & Lee, 2004) comprises aesthetic appreciation, inquisitiveness, creativity, and unconventionality, reflecting the tendency to become absorbed in the beauty of art and nature, be curious about various knowledge domains, use imagination freely, and take an interest in unusual ideas or people. Closely corresponds to FFM Openness, though it emphasizes unconventionality as a distinct facet.
Instruments
- IPIP-HEXACO(IPIP-HEXACO)Ashton, M. C., Lee, K., & Goldberg, L. R.2007
Tests built on this theory
Practical Applications
The HEXACO model is particularly valuable in organizational contexts for personnel selection and integrity screening, where the Honesty-Humility dimension predicts counterproductive work behavior, ethical decision-making, and Dark Triad traits better than Big Five measures. It is used in research on prosocial versus antisocial tendencies in workplace and social contexts. The HEXACO-PI-R is freely available for researchers and practitioners, facilitating its adoption in both academic and applied settings.
How It's Measured
Developed from cross-linguistic lexical studies using factor analysis of personality-descriptive adjectives in seven languages simultaneously, rather than from a single language like English.
Critiques & Limitations
The Honesty-Humility dimension is not always consistently replicated, with some studies finding inconsistent sixth factors such as hedonism-spontaneity. As with other trait-based models, HEXACO relies on factor analysis, which does not always ensure replicable results and can vary between samples depending on the measures used. Claims of universality should be cautiously considered since many languages and cultures remain unassessed, and some critics argue that item phrasing may overemphasize social desirability, potentially affecting the independence of the Honesty-Humility factor.
Key Publications
- Lee, K. & Ashton, M. C.. (2004). Psychometric Properties of the HEXACO Personality Inventory. 10.1207/s15327906mbr3902_8
- Ashton, M. C., Lee, K., Perugini, M., Szarota, P., De Vries, R. E., Di Blas, L., Boies, K., & de Raad, B.. (2004). A Six-Factor Structure of Personality-Descriptive Adjectives: Solutions from Psycholexical Studies in Seven Languages. 10.1037/0022-3514.86.2.356
- Ashton, M. C. & Lee, K.. (2007). Empirical, Theoretical, and Practical Advantages of the HEXACO Model of Personality Structure. 10.1177/1088868306294907
- Ashton, M. C. & Lee, K.. (2001). A Theoretical Basis for the Major Dimensions of Personality. 10.1002/per.417
- Lee, K. & Ashton, M. C.. (2008). The HEXACO Personality Factors in the Indigenous Personality Lexicons of English and 11 Other Languages. 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00512.x