Getting mad and getting even: Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility as predictors of revenge intentions

HEXACO Agreeableness has been suggested to be the personality dimension that chiefly underlies forgiveness and retaliation, but some evidence suggests that these variables are also related to Honesty-Humility. In this study, self- and peer reports of personality were collected from a sample of 198 students to examine how the HEXACO Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility factors differentially predict responses to a hypothetical transgression. Honesty-Humility was found to correlate more strongly with the intention to commit vengeful acts that are premeditated and calculated than with the intention to engage in immediate retaliation or displaced aggression. In contrast, HEXACO Agreeableness was related to all of these outcome variables, showing no such differential relations. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.