In their book ‘The H Factor of Personality’, Canadian (organisational) psychologist Kibeom Lee and Michael C. Ashton describe why, for example, some people are manipulative and others materialistic. They do this based on the so-called HEXACO Personality Test. This model can map human personalities. The letters are an acronym for Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, eXtravesion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Openness to experience. The purpose of the HEXACO Personality Test is to provide as complete an image of human personality as possible.

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HEXACO Personality Test

2. What is the HEXACO Personality
Test?
 In their book ‘The H Factor of Personality’, Canadian (organisational)
psychologist Kibeom Lee and Michael C. Ashton describe why, for
example, some people are manipulative and others materialistic.
 They do this based on the so-called HEXACO Personality Test.
 This model can map human personalities.
 The letters are an acronym for
 Honesty-Humility,
 Emotionality,
 eXtravesion,
 Agreeableness,
 Conscientiousness and
 Openness to experience.
 The purpose of the HEXACO Personality Test is to provide as
complete an image of human personality as possible.
 For this, they utilise a survey that can be used both for self-report and
observation.
 There are short versions with about 60 questions in circulation, as
well as longer versions with over 100 questions.

3. A Closer Look at HEXACO
 The HEXACO Personality Test consists of 6 dimensions of
human personality.
 Each of these 6 factors has characteristics that indicate a high
or low level of the dimension concerned.
 The HEXACO Personality Test assumes that personality
traits that are important in society can be explained in words.
 The traits are described in such a way that they can be
understood in multiple languages.
 This was researched in many different languages in order to
gain as global a view of personality traits as possible.
 The personality factors are then divided into sub-categories
and the questions belonging to these can be answered with a
so-called 5-level Likert scale.
 Here, score 1 means ‘strongly disagree’ and score 5 means

4. 1. Honesty-Humility – Integrity(Facets -Sincerity, Fairness Greed
Avoidance and Modesty )
Level High
(unlikely to manipulate
others)
Low (Selfish and prefer to put
themselves first.)
Not out for personal gain
and won’t easily break
rules.
Uninterested in lavish
wealth or other luxuries
belonging or referring to
a certain social status.
Very attached to material gain.
Can easily break rules if it
suits.
Manipulate others for personal
gain
Exploits others for their own
needs.
Characteristi
c adjectives
sincere, loyal, honest,
reliable, helpful
deceitful, arrogant, boastful,
pretentious, pompous,
ostentatious, conceited, proud,
greedy, cunning, haughty,
devious, selfish, sneaky, self-
important, underhanded,
hypocritical, avaricious

5. 2. Emotionality(Facets-Fearfulness,Anxiety,Dependence,Sentimentality)
This concerns the extent to which people feel fearful, concerned,
dependant and sentimental.
Level High (More easily worried,
concerned or fearful and
recognise danger.)
Low (More distant and
independent)
Require emotional
support from others and
will be more worried about
others and empathise with
them.
They’re less interested in
others and are less easily
emotionally involved.
 They hardly know fear and
aren’t bothered by stress.
They’ll fully commit
themselves in dangerous
situations.
Characterist
ic adjectives
oversensitive, vulnerable,
indecisive, skittish,
sentimental, dreamy,
fearful, dependant,
unstable, nervous,
unbalanced,
hypersensitive, unsure,
determined, pragmatic, stable,
confident, balanced, decisive,
hard, firm, cold, imperturbable,
independent.

6. 3. eXtravesion – Extroversion(Social Self Esteem,Social
Boldness,Sociability,Liveliness)
(Concerns the extent to which people are high-spirited and express this to
people around them. They love any social situation, seek out the bustle and feel
completely at home at parties and other crowded events.).
Level High (they feel completely
at ease when they’re the
centre of a group, have to
address a large crowd or
when they’re expected to
suddenly take the lead.
Low (They’re reserved and
value their privacy. They’ll be
more likely to keep to the
background and prefer to avoid
crowded birthday parties.
They like any social
gathering and enjoy talking
to strangers.
When they’re the centre of
attention, they don’t feel at ease
and would prefer the ground to
swallow them whole in such a
situation.)
Characteri
stic
adjectives
exuberant, cheerful,
spontaneous, candid, open,
excited, enthusiastic,
happy, joyful, optimistic,
lively, smooth,
temperamental, merr
introvert, closed, quiet, gloomy,
reserved, unapproachable,
solitary, restrained, unsociable,
despondent, rigid, pessimistic,
wistful, remote.

7. 4. Agreeableness(Facets-Forgiveness,Gentlemeness,Flexibility,Patience)
This item of HEXACO Personality Test concerns the extent to which people are
gentle, forgiving, flexible and patient
Level High ( they’ll be quick to
look for compromises when
there’s a difference of
opinion.
They avoid conflicts or
want to placate with a
compromise.
Low (On the other side are
people who score low on
agreeableness.
They have little patience, will
be angry more quickly and
confront others.
They’re patient, remain
calm in difficult situations
and keep their anger in
check.
They choose cooperation
with others over personal
gain.
They’re critical of others, don’t
easily admit their own mistakes
and find it difficult to forgive.
Character
istic
adjectives
end good-natured,
composed, patient, gentle,
tolerant, compliant, amiable,
passionate, fierce, irritable,
quick-tempered, aggressive,
obstinate, explosive, pigheaded,

8. 5. Conscientiousness(Organization,Diligence,Perfectionism,Prudence)
This concerns the extent to which people are tidy, hard-working, perfectionistic
and thoughtful.
Level High (Are good in
organising, disciplined,
work in a goal-oriented
way, are precise and
strive for perfection.
Low (messy, often late, not
worried about making possible
mistakes and make impulsive
decisions.
Characteri
stic
adjectives
good-natured, composed,
patient, gentle, tolerant,
compliant, amiable, soft,
placid, meek, kind-
hearted, forgiving,
lenient, complacent,
peaceful
nonchalant, rash, lazy, accurate,
negligent, reckless,
irresponsible, rebellious,
lethargic, licentious,
thoughtless, indifferent,
frivolous, capric.

9. 6. Openness to experience(Asthetic Appreciation, Inquisitiveness, Creativity,
Unconvetionalism , Altruism)
This item of the HEXACO Personality Test concerns the extent to which people
are curious, open and creative and like unconventional things.
Level High (are interested in
anything new, enjoy art
and culture, often use
their imagination and like
listening to inspiring
speakers.
conventional, don’t like change
and aren’t attracted to strange
ideas. This group generally
doesn’t choose jobs that are
creative and/or free.
Characteristi
c adjectives
profound, critical,
original, philosophically
shrewd, creative, ironic,
witty, shrewd, artsy,
inventive, versatile
superficial, common, amenable,
compliant, unimaginative,
narrow-minded, uncritical,
conservative, submissive,
spineless.