The HEXACO is a personality structure model that creates a comprehensive framework for assessing one’s personality. The model is represented by six major dimensions, each representing a broad range of behaviors and tendencies that manifest across time and situations. The acronym HEXACO measures six factors: Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, eXtraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience. Like the Big Five, the HEXACO model approaches personality assessment through a trait-based approach. The approach is grounded in factor analysis, a statistical method used to identify patterns across variable data, represented by the questions and responses formulated through a lexical approach.
The HEXACO further incorporates an Observer Report Form alongside the traditional Self-Report Form, allowing for a comprehensive assessment of an individual’s personality from an external perspective. This Observer Report is designed for individuals who know the subject well (e.g., friends, family, coworkers) and can provide valid assessments of the subject’s typical behavior and attitudes.
Empirical and Theoretical Foundations:
The HEXACO model was developed through empirical research, initially involving comparisons of adjectives across languages, which aimed to identify a set of universal personality dimensions. The six dimensions that emerged from these studies—honesty—humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience—are thought to represent core aspects of human personality.
Lexical Hypothesis:
Like the Big Five personality model, the HEXACO model is partly based on the lexical hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that significant aspects of human personality are encoded in the natural language people use to describe themselves and others. By analyzing language, researchers can identify key personality traits.
Factor Analysis:
The development of the HEXACO model involved extensive use of factor analysis on personality descriptors collected from various sources, including personality surveys and dictionaries. Factor analysis helps to reduce the vast number of descriptive traits into clusters corresponding to personality’s core dimensions.
The Distinctiveness of the Honesty-Humility Dimension:
What sets the HEXACO model apart from other personality models, such as the Big Five, is the inclusion of the Honesty-Humility dimension. This dimension was identified as distinct and relevant through factor analysis of personality data, and it captures traits related to sincerity, fairness, greed avoidance, and modesty, which the Big Five do not comprehensively cover, making the measure ideal in the assessment of juror personality features.
Self-Report Questionnaires:
The HEXACO model typically employs self-report questionnaires to measure individual differences across the six dimensions. These questionnaires ask respondents to rate themselves on various statements that reflect behaviors, attitudes, and feelings corresponding to the six dimensions.
Application in Diverse Research and Practical Contexts:
The model is used in various research areas including psychology, business, and social sciences to study the relationship between personality traits and a wide array of outcomes like job performance, ethical behavior, leadership, and interpersonal relations. It’s also used in practical contexts for personnel selection, career counseling, and educational settings.