The Circumplex of Personality Metatraits and the HEXACO model: Toward refinement and integration

There is a considerable body of evidence from the last 20 years, indicating the need for the reconceptualization of the highest level of the personality structure that the Big Five/Five-Factor Model (FFM) was assumed to occupy. The main goal of the presented study was to test the relationships between two models that have been developed in this respect: The Circumplex of Personality Metatraits (CPM), based on the higher-order factors of the Big Five, and the HEXACO model including a sixth basic personality dimension (Honesty-Humility).

The sample consisted of 500 respondents (56.8% females; M_age = 31.9, SD_age  = 14.0), all of whom completed the CPM, HEXACO, and FFM measures.

The results corroborated the expectation that the HEXACO model can be coherently located within the CPM model, despite the latter is rooted in the FFM research tradition. However, this substantial integration has been made possible by a relatively slight but crucial modification of the CPM, already suggested by previous research.

After the modification, which concerned the location of the Neuroticism/Emotional stability trait, the CPM enables a comprehensive integration of major models of personality structure encompassing the Two-Factor Model, the FFM, and the HEXACO.