The HEXACO personality model: what it is, and its components

This personality model contains 6 categories to describe individuals.

Understanding personality has been, and is, one of the basic purposes of Psychology as a scientific discipline; since behind this phenomenon lies the key to discover how human beings think, feel and behave in our natural environment.

That is why it has always been proposed as one of the basic substrates of behavior or emotion, and for many years theoretical models of different origin and structure have been postulated, through which to approach its study and analysis.

In this article we will address the most recent of them all, more specifically the HEXACO personality model (Ashton and Lee, 2001). This is one of the proposals that has received most scientific coverage in the last two decades, as it successfully integrates the roots that precede it and provides substantial innovations with respect to these.

We will then briefly review the epistemological context in which the model arose, its valuable proposals (both in terms of form and content) and the areas in which it is now beginning to be applied. This will also evoke the similarities and differences with respect to previous models.

HEXACO personality model

The first thing that catches the "attention" of the HEXACO personality model is that it has 6 basic factors, one for each letter of its name, which allude to the different traits or factors included in it. In this way, it proposes: honesty-humility (H), emotionality (E), extraversion (X), cordiality (A), scrupulousness (C) and openness to experience (O); forming the acronym by which it has become popular and tracing a series of dimensions in which any human being can be placed. It is, therefore, a spectrum of intensity in which a spectrum of intensity that includes the "normal" personality and the "pathological" personality (which predisposes to (predisposing to mental health problems).

As can be seen, this theoretical model involves an increase in the number of factors with respect to Eysenck's classic three-dimensional postulate (neuroticism, extraversion, and extraversion). (neuroticism, extraversion and psychoticism) and Costa and McCrae's pentadimensional postulate, which became known as the Big Five (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and responsibility). The latter became, without a doubt, the most widely used by the entire scientific community; although in recent years it has been receiving numerous criticisms for its inability to explain the full variance of human diversity.

The HEXACO model, like the "Big Five", was constructed on the basis of an analysis of the lexicon with which people described the forms that personality could take. That is, a sample of multiple languages was used, and from its analysis the words that served to define the behavior of human beings were extracted, observing a consensus between cultures that could be summarized in the 6 factors finally included in HEXACO. Of these, the most relevant were neuroticism and extraversion, which also emerged as those with the greatest predictive power in terms of emotional difficulties.

One of the main purposes of personality models is to find, at least, protection and risk factors for the appearance of various psychopathologies.. Underlying all this is the interest in knowing how human beings act and think when relating to other people in their environment or to themselves, since from there it would be possible to predict and explain the nuances of their affective and intimate life. All this is very important when designing intervention programs that take into account individuality and adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the patient.

The most important contribution of HEXACO is the factor of honesty-humilityfor which there was no analogue so far in the previous personality models. In addition, it renames neuroticism (labeling it as emotionality) and incorporates sentimentality as a facet of it (previously included in agreeableness). The redistribution of the facets of each factor also extends to anger control, which was traditionally part of neuroticism and with HEXACO is reassigned to agreeableness. The rest of the factors (extraversion as well as openness to experience and conscientiousness) remain very similar in their formulation.

There is currently a questionnaire designed to explore the factors outlined above, called the HEXACO-PI (revised in 2006). It has three different versions, depending on the total number of items included; it may consist of 200, 100 or 60 items. The last two are the most widely used, since they have a similar reliability (very good/excellent) and are less expensive to administer. They have an additional advantage: they can be answered by the person him/herself or by a family member or relative who knows him/her well..

The 6 factors of the HEXACO model

Let's go into more detail to see what each of the factors included in the HEXACO personality model means and how it is expressed. It should be taken into consideration that none of them can be interpreted in negative termsand that all people score more or less high on all of them. Even so, it is known that the combination of intense neuroticism and low extraversion constitutes a risk profile for the development of clinically significant depression and anxiety.

Honesty-humility

The honesty-humility factor is certainly the most relevant contribution of the HEXACO personality model to understanding how personality functions. It is an original contribution of the same, which expands the number of basic dimensions and the perspective of analysis of the phenomenon.

This factor refers to sincerity, which contemplates a preference for telling the truth and omitting any self-serving distortion of the facts.. It also implies an accurate perception of oneself, which avoids extolling one's own worth and chooses to emphasize what one really is. Those who score high on this variable wield a balanced sense of justice in their relationships with others and are capable of renouncing pride when it interferes with the vision of a relational conflict. In short, they favor persuasion based on authenticity.

This factor is at the basis of many power dynamics, in the private sphere (sentimental life) and in the public sphere (economics and politics, for example). It is also related to an absence of material greed and less risk-taking behavior.

2. Emotionality

The emotionality factor factor is equivalent to what other authors have coined as neuroticism.. In this case, it refers to a persistent pattern of behavior and thinking, the fundamental consequence of which is the vulnerability to suffer from depressive or anxious disorders. It is undoubtedly the dimension that has been most closely related to psychopathology, which is why it has been described (in one way or another) in all previous theoretical models of personality.

People who score high on this trait feel anxious most of the time, and worry excessively about what has already happened or might happen. The emotion of fear becomes the most common emotion in their emotional life, conditioning their actions and thoughts in an extraordinary way.

All of this is also transferred to social interactions, where a cervical fear of independence or excessive avoidance tendency prevails.where a cervical fear of independence or an excessive tendency to avoidance prevails. In any case, negative affect is more intense and of much longer duration, so it is present during a very important part of the time.

Sentimentality is also a very important part of emotionality. It translates into the subjective experience of hypersensitivity to emotional fluctuations, so that their intensity and consequences are heightened.

3. Extraversion

Extraversion is a trait that is related, above all, to the social image that the subject has of himself/herself. the social image that the subject has of himself and the way in which this image is projected in the scenario of relationships with others.. People with high scores on this trait enjoy making friends, meeting with others, and even taking a proactive stance in the group tasks they participate in. This tendency is enhanced by an optimistic perception of their social skills.

Many studies have also found that extraversion is related to "positive" emotions, such as enthusiasm and/or joy. In addition, extroverts make better use of social networks (family or friends) in times of need, which is related to a reduced risk of affective disorders secondary to stress.

4. Openness to experience

Openness to experience describes the subject who is willing to accept what is new and different as part of what defines him/her. Curiosity is, therefore, the driving force that fuels their behavior and emotions. This profile is also associated with a preference for anything unconventional, for interests that are outside the mainstream of social preferences and for "creativity" in art and/or literature. in art and/or literature.

People with high scores on this trait are interested in experiencing all kinds of emotions, in entering into a varied or diverse life, and have little fear of the changes that accompany time. They maintain the capacity of astonishment before the beauty, in which they usually delight (visiting museums, e.g.). Some research on it finds a direct relationship between this trait and cultural level.

5. Cordiality

Cordiality is a factor that has been associated with kindness and the willingness to make social relationships bring well-being. Those with high scores on this factor forgive others when they are victims of grievances, are very kind in their relationships and are flexible in the face of imperfection..

In some cases, however, it degenerates into an unrealistic need to avoid conflict, which deprives people of the opportunity to respond to the frictions that are an inevitable part of everyday life (since they prefer to avoid such encounters).

Finally, patience is an indivisible part of the factor. It is characterized by the ability to delay impulse when interactions are perceived to be unfavorable, so as to the most "positive" of all possible responses.. It is at this point where anger control, which belonged to the neuroticism dimension in previous models, is relocated.

6. Scrupulousness

The dimension of scrupulousness refers to the tendency to act in an organized way and with a plan of action, instead of acting from thoughtlessness or impulsivity.. It also reflects a preference for acting diligently, coping with obligations and responding to the demands of the environment quickly and accurately. Those with high scores in this trait are prudent when choosing the most efficient alternative action, although sometimes they may show excessive perfectionism. In extreme cases it is associated with what we know today as obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Lines of research

The HEXACO personality model currently enjoys a large volume of research, as it is considered very accurate in describing patterns of behavior, thought and affect. In addition, the effect of polar opposites is being studied for each of the factors that compose it, given that due to their dimensional nature they can be valued as spectra with their own dichotomous extremes.

Thus, the model allows us to explore the impact of arrogance, the stability of affections, introversion, irresponsibility, irritability, etc. (specular factors of each of the major dimensions). Its use is being extended to contexts as varied as self-care, addictive behavior, general psychopathology and any other imaginable area in which personality may have a potentially relevant role. It is, therefore, a valuable contribution to psychological science whose fruits will advance our understanding of human beings.

Bibliographical references:

• Anglim, J., Knowles, E., Dunlop, P., & Marty, A. (2017). HEXACO Personality and Schwartz's Personal Values: A Facet-Level Analysis. Journal of Research in Personality, 68, 17-24.
• Roncero, M., Fornés, G., Garcia-Soriano, G. and Belloch, A. (2014). The HEXACO personality model: Relationships with emotional psychopathology in a Spanish sample. Revista de Psicopatologia y Psicologia Clinica, 19(1), 1-14.