TY - JOUR

T1 - On the Comparability of Basic Personality Models

T2 - Meta-Analytic Correspondence, Scope, and Orthogonality of the Big Five and HEXACO Dimensions

AU - Thielmann, Isabel

AU - Moshagen, Morten

AU - Hilbig, Benjamin E.

AU - Zettler, Ingo

PY - 2021/11

Y1 - 2021/11

N2 - Models of basic personality structure are among the most widely used frameworks in psychology and beyond, and theyhave considerably advanced the understanding of individual differences in a plethora of consequential outcomes. Overthe past decades, two such models have become most widely used: the Five Factor Model (FFM) or Big Five, respectively,and the HEXACO Model of Personality. However, there is no large-scale empirical evidence on the general compara-bility of these models. Here, we provide the first comprehensive meta-analysis on (a) the correspondence of the FFM/BigFive and HEXACO dimensions, (b) the scope of trait content the models cover, and (c) the orthogonality (i.e., degree ofindependence) of dimensions within the models. Results based on 152 (published and unpublished) samples and 6,828unique effects showed that the HEXACO dimensions incorporate notable conceptual differences compared to the FFM/Big Five dimensions, resulting in a broader coverage of the personality space and less redundancy between dimensions.Moreover, moderator analyses revealed substantial differences between operationalizations of the FFM/Big Five. Takentogether, these findings have important theoretical and practical implications for the understanding of basic personalitydimensions and their assessment.

AB - Models of basic personality structure are among the most widely used frameworks in psychology and beyond, and theyhave considerably advanced the understanding of individual differences in a plethora of consequential outcomes. Overthe past decades, two such models have become most widely used: the Five Factor Model (FFM) or Big Five, respectively,and the HEXACO Model of Personality. However, there is no large-scale empirical evidence on the general compara-bility of these models. Here, we provide the first comprehensive meta-analysis on (a) the correspondence of the FFM/BigFive and HEXACO dimensions, (b) the scope of trait content the models cover, and (c) the orthogonality (i.e., degree ofindependence) of dimensions within the models. Results based on 152 (published and unpublished) samples and 6,828unique effects showed that the HEXACO dimensions incorporate notable conceptual differences compared to the FFM/Big Five dimensions, resulting in a broader coverage of the personality space and less redundancy between dimensions.Moreover, moderator analyses revealed substantial differences between operationalizations of the FFM/Big Five. Takentogether, these findings have important theoretical and practical implications for the understanding of basic personalitydimensions and their assessment.

U2 - 10.1177/08902070211026793

DO - 10.1177/08902070211026793

M3 - Journal article

VL - 36

SP - 870

EP - 900

JO - European Journal of Personality

JF - European Journal of Personality

SN - 0890-2070

IS - 6

ER -