5.8 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enneagram of Personality | 2/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:19:29.956388+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Three triads of type patterns === The nine Enneagram personality type patterns are grouped into various triads of three types in which each of the types have multiple common personality issues. The most well-known of these triad groupings is also associated with the three "centers of intelligence" as taught by G. I. Gurdjieff. These three centers are traditionally known as the intellectual, emotional, and instinctual centers. Although each person is understood to always have all three centers active in their personality structure, certain personality issues are more associated with one of the centers depending on a person's dominant type pattern. In Enneagram of Personality teachings each of these centers has a more particular or stronger association with one of the triads of personality types as follows:
The intellectual center is particularly associated with types 5, 6, and 7. People with one of these dominant type patterns are largely motivated by "thinking" issues related to fear. The emotional center is particularly associated with types 2, 3, and 4. People with one of these dominant type patterns are largely motivated by "feeling" and "image" issues related to anxiety and depression. The instinctual center is particularly associated with types 8, 9, and 1. People with one of these dominant type patterns are largely motivated by "gut" issues related to anger. An individual's tritype is a three digit number where each digit corresponds to individual's dominant type in each of the three centers of intelligence.
=== Wings === Most, but not all, Enneagram of Personality enthusiasts teach that a person's basic type is modified, at least to some extent, by the personality dynamics of the two adjacent types as indicated on the enneagram figure. These two types are called "wings". A person with the Three personality type, for example, is understood to have points Two and Four as their wing types. The circle of the enneagram figure may indicate that the types or points exist on a spectrum rather than as distinct types or points unrelated to those adjacent to them. A person may be understood, therefore, to have a core type and one or two wing types which influence but do not change the core type. Empirical research into the wing concept by Anthony Edwards did not support the hypothesis. Related to, but not the same, as the wing concept is Ichazo's viewpoint involving the active, attractive, and function forces. According to him, the type is made from a starting point, referred to as the active force. In turn, the type is also led with an attractive force. This ends with the "function", where the result is the formation of a type in between the two. Naranjo said about the wings that a person "can easily see" their primary type as being between its adjacent wings.
=== Connecting lines === For some Enneagram theorists the lines connecting the points add further meaning to the information provided by the descriptions of the types. Sometimes called the "security" and "stress" points, or points of "integration" and "disintegration", some theorists believe these connected points also contribute to a person's overall personality. From this viewpoint, therefore, at least four other points affect a person's overall personality; the two points connected by the lines to the core type and the two wing points. The earlier teachings about the connecting lines are now rejected or modified by Enneagram teachers, including Claudio Naranjo who developed them.
=== Instinctual subtypes === Each of the personality types is understood as having three "instinctual subtypes". These subtypes are believed to be formed according to which one of three instinctual energies of a person is dominantly developed and expressed. The instinctual energies are called "self-preservation", "sexual" (also called "intimacy" or "one-to-one"), and "social". On the instinctual level, people may internally stress and externally express the need to protect themselves (self-preservation), to connect with important others or partners (sexual), or to get along or succeed in groups (social). From this perspective, there are 27 distinct personality patterns, because people of each of the nine types also express themselves as one of the three subtypes. An alternative approach to the subtypes understands them as three domains or clusters of instincts which result in increased probability of survival (the "preserving" domain), increased skill in navigating the social environment (the "navigating" domain), and increased likelihood of reproductive success (the "transmitting" domain). From this understanding the subtypes reflect individual differences in the presence of these three separate clusters of instincts. It is believed that people function in all three forms of instinctual energies, but one instinct will be more well-developed and dominant.
== Type indicator tests == Enneagram type indicator tests have been developed by prominent teachers, such as Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson who developed the Riso–Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI) in 1993. Their research focused on constructing it as a personality measurement instrument. The RHETI has heuristic value but minimal scientific research conducted. The Stanford Enneagram Discovery Inventory was developed by psychiatry professor David Daniels at Stanford University and was later renamed the Essential Enneagram Test. This assessment was employed to conduct various research studies, including on the personalities of identical twins. A 2002 review of validation studies of various Enneagram tests found guarded support for their reliability and validity.