What the HEXACO measures
While the Big Five (OCEAN) is the dominant model of personality, cross-cultural lexical studies by Kibeom Lee and Michael Ashton repeatedly found a sixth major factor that the Big Five failed to capture. The HEXACO model incorporates this sixth factor: Honesty-Humility. This addition vastly improves the model's ability to predict workplace delinquency, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and unethical behavior, making it superior to the Big Five for corporate risk management.
The dimensions it assesses
- H - Honesty-Humility: Sincerity, fairness, greed avoidance, and modesty. (Low scorers are manipulative, deceitful, and narcissistic).
- E - Emotionality: Fearfulness, anxiety, dependence, and sentimentality (Similar to Neuroticism, but incorporates emotional attachment).
- X - eXtraversion: Social self-esteem, social boldness, sociability, and liveliness.
- A - Agreeableness: Forgiveness, gentleness, flexibility, and patience (Contrasted with anger and stubbornness).
- C - Conscientiousness: Organization, diligence, perfectionism, and prudence.
- O - Openness to Experience: Aesthetic appreciation, inquisitiveness, creativity, and unconventionality.
Already have a HEXACO score from somewhere else? Look it up without retaking the questionnaire.
What your score means
Calculate the total score for each of the 6 dimensions by summing the raw (or reversed) scores of the 4 corresponding items.
| Score | Interpretation | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 4 – 8 | Lower range | The individual heavily favors the opposite pole of the trait. (Note: Low Honesty-Humility is a massive red flag for organizational risk, correlating strongly with the Dark Triad). |
| 9 – 15 | Middle range | The individual exhibits situational flexibility. |
| 16 – 20 | Upper range | The trait is a defining hallmark of the individual's personality. |
These ranges describe groups of people, not individuals. A score near a boundary is not meaningfully different from one just across it, and no range on this table is a diagnosis.
What to do with your result
- The "H" Factor (Honesty-Humility): This is the HEXACO's defining feature. If you score Low H, you are highly manipulative, driven by greed, and view relationships transactionally. In corporate settings, these individuals commit fraud. From a personal development standpoint, the user must establish strict external ethical guardrails, as their internal moral compass is largely based on "what they can get away with."
- Emotionality vs. Neuroticism: The HEXACO moves "Anger" out of Emotionality and into Agreeableness. Therefore, a high Emotionality score here indicates anxiety and deep sentimentality/empathy, rather than hostile mood swings.
- Leadership Matrix: The safest, most effective corporate leaders typically possess High H (will not embezzle), High C (will execute plans), and High X (can motivate the team).
Common questions about the HEXACO
- What does the HEXACO measure?
- A six-dimensional model of human personality, adding the "Honesty-Humility" dimension to the traditional Big Five.
- Can the HEXACO diagnose me?
- No. Personality Profile, Six Factor (HEXACO) is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic tool. It can flag that something may need a closer look. It cannot tell you what is causing it. It describes tendencies rather than diagnosing anything, and no result here is a condition or something to fix.
- How long does the HEXACO take?
- 24 questions, which most people finish in 8 – 12 minutes. There is no time limit, and answering honestly matters more than answering quickly. The results page checks for patterns suggesting the questions were rushed.
- Is this HEXACO test really free?
- Yes. No account, no email address, no payment. Psychometrics Today is funded by donations rather than advertising, which is also what allows us to publish instruments whose authors permit free but non-commercial use.
- Are my answers stored or shared?
- No. Your answers are scored inside your browser and never sent to us. There is no database of responses, because we never receive any. Closing the tab erases them, which is why results cannot be recovered afterwards.
- How often should I retake the HEXACO?
- Traits and preferences move slowly, so retaking this every few months is more informative than retaking it often. Larger shifts usually follow a genuine change in circumstances.
- How accurate is the HEXACO?
- Screening questionnaires are good at flagging that something merits attention and poor at establishing what it is. This one is sensitive to how you feel on the day you take it, and many instruments were validated on narrow populations whose cut-offs may not transfer cleanly to everyone. The references at the foot of this page are the primary sources.
Sources
Rights held by Kibeom Lee & Michael C. Ashton. Developed and validated by the researchers cited below.
- Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2009). The HEXACO-60: A short measure of the major dimensions of personality. Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(4), 340-345.
- Lee, K., & Ashton, M. C. (2004). Psychometric properties of the HEXACO personality inventory. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 39(2), 329-358.
Licensing
free-permitted. Free for research and educational use, downloadable from hexaco.org.