The HEXACO Honesty-Humility, Agreeableness, and Emotionality factors: a review of research and theory

Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2014 May;18(2):139-52. doi: 10.1177/1088868314523838. Epub 2014 Feb 26.

Abstract

We review research and theory on the HEXACO personality dimensions of Honesty-Humility (H), Agreeableness (A), and Emotionality (E), with particular attention to the following topics: (1) the origins of the HEXACO model in lexical studies of personality structure, and the content of the H, A, and E factors in those studies; (2) the operationalization of the H, A, and E factors in the HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised; (3) the construct validity of self-reports on scales measuring the H factor; (4) the theoretical distinction between H and A; (5) similarity and assumed similarity between social partners in personality, with a focus on H and A; (6) the extent to which H (and A and E) variance is represented in instruments assessing the "Five-Factor Model" of personality; and (7) the relative validity of scales assessing the HEXACO and Five-Factor Model dimensions in predicting criteria conceptually relevant to H, A, and E.

Keywords: Agreeableness; Emotionality; HEXACO; Honesty-Humility; personality assessment; personality structure.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Behavioral Research
  • Emotions
  • Humans
  • Models, Psychological
  • Personality Inventory*
  • Personality*
  • Reproducibility of Results