HEXACO-60
See what each dimension means, how it is scored, and how your result is read against the population that actually fits you.
The HEXACO-60 is a short, well-validated measure of six broad personality dimensions. Its distinctive feature is Honesty-Humility - sincerity, fairness and modesty - which the classic Big Five does not capture on its own.
The model
What it measures
Select a dimension to see the four narrower facets it is built from. Each factor is the average of ten short statements rated on a 5-point agree-disagree scale.
HEXACO keeps the familiar Big Five territory and adds Honesty-Humility, redistributing some content across Emotionality and Agreeableness. Honesty-Humility predicts integrity and exploitative behaviour over and above the classic five factors.
Sincerity, fairness, modesty and a low pull toward greed.
- HHonesty-Humility
Sincerity, fairness, modesty and a low pull toward greed.
Facets: Sincerity, Fairness, Greed-Avoidance, Modesty.
- EEmotionality
Fearfulness, anxiety, and the need for emotional support.
Facets: Fearfulness, Anxiety, Dependence, Sentimentality.
- XeXtraversion
Social self-esteem, boldness, sociability and liveliness.
Facets: Social Self-Esteem, Social Boldness, Sociability, Liveliness.
- AAgreeableness
Forgiveness, gentleness, flexibility and patience.
Facets: Forgiveness, Gentleness, Flexibility, Patience.
- CConscientiousness
Organisation, diligence, perfectionism and prudence.
Facets: Organization, Diligence, Perfectionism, Prudence.
- OOpenness
Aesthetic appreciation, inquisitiveness, creativity, unconventionality.
Facets: Aesthetic Appreciation, Inquisitiveness, Creativity, Unconventionality.
The evidence
Science and validity
Factor scales show solid internal consistency across community and student samples, and the six-factor structure replicates across many languages. Honesty-Humility adds predictive value for integrity, lower Dark-Triad tendencies and less exploitative behaviour beyond the Big Five.
You rate each statement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Some are reverse-keyed. Each dimension is the mean of its ten items - higher means more of that trait. There are no pass/fail cut-offs; the result is norm-referenced.
Where you stand
How a score becomes a percentile
A raw score only means something against a comparison group. For example, a Conscientiousness score of 4.2 sits near the 80th percentile against published English-speaking adult data - higher than roughly four in five adults. Drag the slider to see how a score on each dimension maps to a percentile; your real result is matched to the population that fits you when you take the test.
Your result, visualised across every dimension
Take the test once and see a full profile like this example, each dimension placed against the population most relevant to you, with plain-language interpretation.
See my full profile →Example profile shown for illustration.
The reference data
Benchmarked against the population that fits you
We benchmark your result against the population that actually resembles you, across 12 reference groups.
Each reference group is used as its own benchmark, not to rank one country against another.
How it works
What the questions feel like
Illustrative statements showing the style of the items. These are examples, not the official scored items.
I would feel uncomfortable accepting a reward I had not really earned.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
I plan ahead and keep my workspace in order.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
I enjoy ideas and experiences that are unusual or new to me.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
I would feel anxious if I had to face a difficult situation alone.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
Honest strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Captures Honesty-Humility, a practically important trait the Big Five misses.
- Short (10 minutes), free for research, validated in many languages.
- Strong, well-replicated six-factor structure.
Limitations
- The 24 facet scales are brief, so facet-level scores are indicative rather than precise.
- Like all self-reports, it can be shaped by self-presentation; it describes tendencies, not destiny.
- Cross-country mean comparisons are confounded by measurement differences.
See your full profile
A complete report, matched to the population that fits you, with plain-language interpretation of every trait.
Frequently asked questions
What does the HEXACO-60 measure?
Six broad dimensions - Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, eXtraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Openness - each from ten items. Its distinctive feature is Honesty-Humility.
How is it different from the Big Five?
It adds a sixth factor, Honesty-Humility, and reorganises some content across Emotionality and Agreeableness. Honesty-Humility adds predictive value for integrity and exploitative behaviour.
Is the HEXACO-60 free?
The HEXACO-PI-R is free for research and non-commercial use with attribution from hexaco.org. On Psychology.me, the 2-minute Snapshot is free and the full HEXACO profile is a paid report.
How long does it take?
About 10 minutes - 60 statements on a 5-point scale.
Related tests
- Kankaraš, M. (2017). Personality matters: Relevance and assessment of personality characteristics. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 157, OECD Publishing, Paris.
- 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.
- Garcia, L. F., et al. (2022). Stability of HEXACO-60 structure across 18 countries. Journal of Personality, 90(2), 256-276.
HEXACO and HEXACO-PI-R are the work of Kibeom Lee and Michael Ashton; this independent informational page describes the instrument and links to the official source at hexaco.org.