Gender and the HEXACO model of personality: Meta-analysis, measurement equivalence, and specification of agency as a core construct of investment

This paper summarizes gender gaps in the HEXACO six-factor model of personality, on the basis of Wood and Eagly’s (2012) biosocial construction theory of sex differences. A meta-analysis conducted for Study 1 (k = 78 samples, N = 135,959) shows that women tend to be notably higher than men on Honesty-Humility (dc = .45) and Emotionality (dc = .1.03), but that gender gaps are smaller for eXtraversion (dc = -.03), Agreeableness (dc = -.01), Conscientiousness (dc = .16), and Openness (dc = .09). Study 2 assesses gender measurement equivalence in the HEXACO, to establish that the observed gender mean differences in HEXACO domains can be attributed to actual differences in the underlying constructs, rather than to measurement bias (i.e., supporting metric and scalar equivalence). Finally, Study 3 proposes and tests whether observed gender gaps in the HEXACO facets can be attributed to facet-level saturation with agentic and communal content. Results show that agentic trait saturation is correlated r = -.77 with gender gaps in personality facets, communal trait saturation is correlated only r = .07 with gender gaps in personality facets, and that agentic and communal trait saturation combined correlate R = .80 with facet-level gender gaps. As such, gender gaps in HEXACO personality appear to be largely attributable to agentic trait saturation. Implications for gender gaps in personality and personality measurement under the HEXACO model are discussed.U of I OnlyAuthor requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD syste