Identifying HEXACO personality types: what do type characteristics tell us about student misconduct?

TL;DR

This study explores how different HEXACO personality types are linked to student academic misconduct, revealing patterns that could help improve educational strategies.

Contribution

The study introduces a person-centered approach to identify HEXACO personality types associated with academic misconduct.

Findings

Risk-takers and Performance-oriented students reported the highest levels of misconduct.

Secure and Socially Considerate students showed the lowest misconduct rates.

Insecure students had higher plagiarism rates and signs of psychological distress.

Abstract

While previous research has largely focused on individual trait associations with academic misbehaviour, this study used a person-centred approach to explore personality type differences in student misconduct. The distribution of the personality types was also compared across sociodemographic groups and fields of study.

A sample of 1,398 health and non-health university students replied to a multiple-choice questionnaire covering HEXACO personality traits, eight forms of academic misconduct, and background information. Personality types were explored through cluster analysis, and differences in their behaviour and characteristics were examined using chi-square test and ANOVA.

The five personality types identified differed in their self-reported academic misconduct. Risk-takers disclosed the highest levels of misconduct, followed by Performance-oriented students, who had competitive dispositions. Secure and Socially Considerate students exhibited more well-adjusted and prosocial traits, respectively, disclosing the lowest rates of misconduct. Insecure students scored higher than these two types on Plagiarism, combining traits associated with psychological distress that may affect their performance. The personality types also revealed gender and socioeconomic differences, and a more uniform distribution in health than in non-health fields.

This study expands on past research by analysing a distinct set of personality types in association with academic misconduct. Understanding the psychosocial characteristics and field of study distribution of these types helped to propose tailored educational strategies to foster their compliance with academic integrity.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-025-07599-5.

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