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Personality

HEXACO Personality (Brief)

A 24-item brief HEXACO personality assessment measuring six dimensions: Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience. Each dimension is assessed with 4 items.

Measures 6 traits

8 min · 24 questions

Instructions

Read each of the 24 statements and rate how accurately it describes you. There are no right or wrong answers - answer honestly based on how you actually are.

Choose Standard ($9.99), Plus ($12.99), or Personalized ($24.99) after completing the test.

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Scientifically Validated

Based on established psychological research

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Detailed Results

Comprehensive insights and recommendations

About the Quick HEXACO Test (24 Items)

This is a deliberately brief HEXACO test: four statements for each of the six factors, 24 in total, finished in about eight minutes. It measures the same six dimensions as the full instrument - Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience - but trades depth for speed.

A 24-item form is built for one job: a fast, low-effort read on your broad six-factor profile, including the Honesty-Humility factor that the Big Five does not measure on its own. It works well as a first look before committing to a longer test, as a quick check-in you can repeat over time, or as a lightweight measure in a survey where attention is scarce. Your answers are scored against population norms so you still get percentiles rather than raw numbers, but with four items per factor the precision is necessarily lower than a longer scale.

This is the 8-minute quick version of our HEXACO family. The full 60-item HEXACO test is the canonical version and gives substantially more reliable scores and a far more detailed report; use this 24-item form for a first look or a repeated quick check-in, and the 100-item form when you want facet-level depth.

Items
24
Duration
~8 min
Format
5-point agree-disagree ratings, four items per factor
Free result
Your HEXACO factor bands, with one revealed, free after completion
Full report
A detailed per-factor report with band-specific interpretation and development suggestions ($9.99)

What it measures

Each of the six factors is a continuous spectrum, and the report describes both poles neutrally rather than labeling either as good or bad. Because each factor is estimated from just four statements, treat these scores as a broad-strokes sketch of where you sit, not a fine-grained measurement. The factor most people come to HEXACO for is Honesty-Humility, which captures sincerity, fairness, modesty, and a low drive to exploit others; this brief form gives you a quick read on it, and the full 60-item version measures it far more reliably. The six factors below are the same dimensions the longer HEXACO forms measure with more items each.

  • Honesty-HumilitySincerity, fairness, modesty, and low entitlement versus a willingness to manipulate, cut corners, or seek gain at others’ expense.
  • EmotionalityFearfulness, anxiety, sentimentality, and need for support versus emotional detachment and tolerance of stress and risk.
  • ExtraversionSocial self-esteem, sociability, and liveliness versus a quieter, more reserved orientation to social life.
  • AgreeablenessForgiveness, gentleness, and patience versus a more critical, quick-to-anger style. In HEXACO this is distinct from honesty.
  • ConscientiousnessOrganization, diligence, and prudence versus a more flexible, spontaneous relationship with plans and impulse control.
  • Openness to ExperienceCuriosity, aesthetic appreciation, and unconventional thinking versus a preference for the familiar, practical, and conventional.

The science and validity

The six-factor HEXACO structure is among the well-replicated findings in personality psychology, recovered across many languages through lexical research, and its distinguishing contribution is the Honesty-Humility factor that the Big Five does not isolate. The question with a 24-item form is not whether the model is sound but how much reliability you give up for brevity. Brief HEXACO measures, such as the 24-item Brief HEXACO Inventory (BHI), were designed precisely for this trade-off, and their developers are explicit that four items per factor yields lower internal consistency and test-retest reliability than the full HEXACO-PI-R scales.

That makes a 24-item test appropriate for research screening, repeated quick check-ins, and getting a general sense of a six-factor profile, but not for fine distinctions between people who score close together or for any high-stakes decision. Our scale is scored against adult norms and the report is generated from your profile by strict scoring rules. If you want dependable factor scores you can act on - particularly a trustworthy reading of Honesty-Humility - the full 60-item version uses ten items per factor and gives substantially more reliable results.

References

  1. de Vries, R. E. (2013). The 24-item Brief HEXACO Inventory (BHI). Journal of Research in Personality, 47(6), 871-880.
  2. 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.
  3. Lee, K., & Ashton, M. C. (2004). Psychometric properties of the HEXACO Personality Inventory. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 39(2), 329-358.

Read more about our standards: How our tests are built and validated.

Sample items

  • "I would feel uncomfortable accepting credit for work a colleague mostly did."Illustrative Honesty-Humility-style item - answered on an agree-disagree scale (not a scored item).
  • "I prefer keeping a steady routine to chasing new and unfamiliar experiences."Illustrative Openness-style item (reverse-keyed, not a scored item).
  • "I tend to forgive people quickly rather than hold a grudge."Illustrative Agreeableness-style item (not a scored item).

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from the standard 60-item HEXACO test?

Both measure the same six factors, including Honesty-Humility. The difference is length and reliability: this brief form uses four items per factor and finishes in about eight minutes, while the 60-item version uses ten items per factor and gives substantially more dependable scores plus a richer report. Read the 24-item scores as a quick snapshot; use the 60-item form when you want results you can rely on, especially for a trustworthy reading of Honesty-Humility.

How accurate is a 24-item HEXACO test?

With only four items per factor, a brief screen like this trades reliability for speed: internal consistency and test-retest reliability are lower than the full scales, so the scores are best read as a broad sketch rather than a precise measurement. It is well suited to a quick snapshot, a repeated check-in, or research screening, but not to fine distinctions or any high-stakes decision. For dependable factor scores, take the full 60-item version.

Does this still measure Honesty-Humility?

Yes. All six HEXACO factors are covered, including Honesty-Humility - the sincerity, fairness, modesty, and low-exploitation factor that the Big Five does not isolate. With four items the score is a quick indicator rather than a precise measurement, so if Honesty-Humility is your main interest, the 60-item form will give you a far more reliable reading.

Is this quick HEXACO test free?

Yes. Taking the test is free, with no account required to start, and your free results reveal one factor in full while the rest stay locked. The optional paid report adds factor-by-factor interpretation written against your specific score bands.

How long does it take?

About eight minutes. There are 24 statements, four for each of the six factors, and most people answer each in a few seconds. There is no time pressure - answer honestly rather than quickly.

Who built this test?

The brief-form items follow the established short HEXACO tradition (the Brief HEXACO Inventory and the HEXACO-60), and the scoring, norms, and report were built and reviewed by Dr. Milos Kankaras, PhD psychometrician, whose background includes large-scale assessment work for the OECD, the EU, and UNESCO.

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