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History of the test -

The HEXACO personality inventory was first designed by Canadian psychology professors Kibeom Lee and Michael C. Ashton, back in 2000.

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The original inventory -

Their original inventory was comprised of five key personality traits, each of which had been a key area of study for psychologists since the 1940s.

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Adding the sixth trait -

Lee and Ashton based their model on the five key traits that had already been recognized, but when they began to consider different cultures and languages, they added a sixth.

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Translation -

The HEXACO personality test has been used in countries around the world, and has been translated into multiple languages.

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Honesty-humility -

There are six domains in the HEXACO inventory, with the first being honesty-humility. People who score highly on this personality trait are those who rarely break rules.

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Honesty-humility -

The honest and humble people among us are not interested in living a life of luxury, and they rarely deceive others for personal gain or increased social status.

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Honesty-humility -

Those who score low on this personality trait, by contrast, tend to have an inflated sense of self-importance. They are materialistic and not afraid to bend the rules to get what they want.

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Emotionality - Next up on the inventory is emotionality. People who score highly on this trait tend to experience more anxiety. In particular, they are more afraid of physical dangers.

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Emotionality -

People with high emotionality scores also tend to be very empathetic. On the one hand they are great at understanding others, while on the other hand they need a lot of emotional support.

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Emotionality -

People with low emotionality scores, by contrast, tend not to live in fear of physical harm. They experience lower levels of stress, but they are also more detached from others.

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Extraversion -

The third trait on the inventory is extraversion. The term "extrovert" is used often nowadays, so you may be familiar with what this one means.

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Extraversion - People with high extroversion scores tend to feel happy and energized when in the company of others. They view themselves in a positive light and enjoy leading others.

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Extraversion -

People with low extraversion scores, on the other hand, tend to feel exhausted by social situations. They may feel that they are unpopular and are uncomfortable being the center of attention.

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Agreeableness -

After extroversion comes agreeableness. This is all about how people behave during a conflict, and how ready they are to find a compromise.

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Agreeableness -

People who score highly on this personality trait are great at managing their tempers. They are always ready to compromise, they judge others leniently, and they are very quick to forgive.

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Agreeableness -

People who score low on this trait, by contrast, tend to be very stubborn and great at holding grudges. They are quick to anger when they feel they've been mistreated.

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Conscientiousness - The fifth domain in the personality inventory is conscientiousness. This is mostly about how people make decisions and their level of rationality of thought.

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Conscientiousness -

People with high conscientiousness scores tend to carefully consider each decision they have to make. They always aim for perfection, and they are organized with their time and surroundings.

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Conscientiousness -

People with low conscientiousness scores, however, are much more likely to make decisions impulsively and/or let errors slide. Moreover, they are often put off by challenging tasks.

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Openness to experience - Last but not least, we have openness to experience. People with high scores in this domain are usually very imaginative and creative in the way they think.

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Openness to experience -

Indeed, people who are open to experience will often find themselves drawn to unconventional people or ideas, as well as driven to immerse themselves in nature and art.

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Openness to experience -

The low scorers in this domain are not so creative. They tend to steer clear of radical ideas, and they have lower levels of intellectual curiosity.

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Uses for the HEXACO test -

The HEXACO personality test can be useful for several reasons. Firstly, it can help people recognize their own personality traits and to understand better why they act the way they do.

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Mental health professionals - It can also be beneficial for mental health professionals, who can use the results of the test to help guide the way they administer their patients' treatment.

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Predicting behaviors - Another benefit of the HEXACO personality test is that it may be used to predict certain behaviors.

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Case in point -

For example, according to one meta-analysis, people who score higher in honesty-humility and openness to experience are more likely to engage in pro-environmental behavior.

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Drawbacks -

The HEXACO personality test is not perfect, however. In fact, it has some serious limitations.

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Open to individual interpretation - On the one hand, studies have found that people completing the HEXACO personality test tend to answer the questions based on the characteristics they find socially desirable.

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Open to individual interpretation - That is to say, the results are not always reflective of a person's actual personality, since they answer the questions in a way they think presents them in a favorable light.

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Doesn't account for cultural differences -

The other major drawback is that the test does not consider cultural differences, which means it is difficult to generalize results when looking at them across cultures.

Sources: (Verywell Mind)

See also: Find out more about yourself with the Enneagram personality test

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