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Enneagram of Personality
¶
The
Enneagram of Personality
, more often known simply as the
“
Enneagram
”, is a typology known to many socionics enthusiasts.
Socionics and the Enneagram
¶
Like
Myers-Briggs typology
and socionics itself, the
Enneagram is heavily influenced by, if not totally derived from,
Jung’s typology
. And, like Myers-Briggs typology, in the
West an interest in the Enneagram is one of the common routes leading an
individual to an interest in socionics.
The Enneagram differs from those other typologies in that it also
focuses heavily on how the psychology of a person of a certain type
changes according to their level of stress, feelings of accomplishment,
and degree of mental health. Unlike Myers-Briggs, there is a fairly
well-developed and consistent concept of intertype relationships, their
manifestations, and development.
There are many views on how Enneagram types correlate with socionic
types, or if they do at all. One view is that a person of a socionic
type can only belong to a very limited number of Enneagram types, and
vice-versa. Others dismiss this notion and claim that the two systems
are totally independent. Possible correlations are discussed below.
Enneagram origins
¶
Adapted from
Wikipedia
article
Although it is usually only understood and used as a personality
typology, the
Enneagram
is also taught in ways that focus on its
potential in developing higher states of being, essence and
enlightenment.
The founder of the Enneagram is generally recognized to be
Oscar
Ichazo
(born 1931), a
Bolivian philospher. Ichazo identified nine ways in which the ego
becomes fixated within a person’s psyche at an early stage of life. For
each person one of these ‘ego fixations’ then becomes the core of a
self-image around which their psychological personality develops. Each
fixation is also supported at the emotional level by a particular
‘passion’ or ‘vice’. The principal psychological connections between the
nine ego fixations can be ‘mapped’ using the points, lines and circle of
the Enneagram figure.
As the purpose of Ichazo’s teachings is to help people transcend their
identification with - and the suffering caused by - their own
mechanistic thought and behaviour patterns, his theories about the
fixations is founded on the premise that all life seeks to continue and
perpetuate itself and the human psyche must follow the same common laws
of reality as such. From this, using Trialectic logic, Ichazo defined
the three basic human instincts for survival (Conservation - digestive
system, Relations - circulatory system and Adaptation - central nervous
system) and two poles of attraction to self-perpetuation (Sexual -
sexual organs and Spiritual - spinal column).
With a baseline of a psyche in a state of unity as a prototypical model,
the fixations are defined as aberrations from this baseline, much as the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is an
observation-based method for diagnosing personality disorders. The
primary difference between modern psychology and Ichazo’s work is that
Ichazo has proposed a model of the components of a human psyche whilst
modern psychology has instead preferred to agree only upon observed
behavior rather than attempt to define an essential model from which
aberrations arise due to psychological traumas.
Ichazo has related the fixations with the major categories of the DSM to
indicate that fixations are the precursor to mental illness. The
fixations are diagnosed from the particular experience of psychological
trauma a child suffers when expectations are not met in each respective
Instinct. Since a small child is completely self-centered in its
expectations it will experience disappointment of expectation viewed by
the child as a matter of one of the three fundamental attitudes
(attracted, unattracted or disinterested are the only possible
attitudes), and thus experience trauma and begin to form mechanistic
thought and behavior patterns in an attempt to protect itself from
experiencing a recurrence of the trauma. By understanding the fixations
and through self observation, the hold on the mind and suffering caused
by the fixations is reduced and even transcended.
The nine types
¶
According to Enneagram of Personality theory the points of the Enneagram
figure indicate a number of ways in which nine principal ego-archetypal
forms or types of human personality (also often called “Enneatypes”) are
psychologically connected.
People of each Enneatype are usually referred to after the number of the
point on the Enneagram figure (Eights, Fours, Sixes etc.) that indicates
their particular psychological space and ‘place’ of connection to the
other types. They are also often given names that suggest some of their
more distinctive archetypal characteristics.
Brief descriptions of the nine Enneatypes are as follows:
Ones
:
Reformers, Critics, Perfectionists
People of this personality type are focused on personal integrity. Ones
can be wise, discerning and inspiring in their quest for the truth. They
also tend to dissociate themselves from their flaws or what they believe
are flaws (such as negative emotions) and can become hypocritical and
hyper-critical of others, seeking the illusion of virtue to hide their
own vices. The greatest fear of Ones is to be flawed and their ultimate
goal is perfection.
Ego fixation: resentment
Holy idea: perfection
Passion: anger
Virtue: serenity
Stress point: Four
Security point: Seven
Twos
:
Helpers, Givers, Caretakers
Twos, at their best, are compassionate, thoughtful and astonishingly
generous but they can also be particularly prone to clinginess and
manipulation. Twos want, above all, to be loved and needed and fear
being unworthy of love.
Ego fixation: flattery
Holy idea: freedom
Passion: pride
Virtue: humility
Stress point: Eight
Security point: Four
Threes
:
Achievers, Performers, Succeeders
Highly adaptable and changeable. Some Threes walk the world with
confidence and unstinting authenticity; others wear a series of public
masks, acting the way they think will bring them approval and losing
track of their true self. Threes are motivated by the need to succeed
and to be seen as successful.
Ego fixation: vanity
Holy idea: hope
Passion: deceit
Virtue: truthfulness
Stress point: Nine
Security point: Six
Fours
:
Romantics, Individualists, Artists
Fours are driven by the desire to understand themselves and find a place
in the world. They often fear that they have no identity or personal
significance. Fours embrace individualism and are often profoundly
creative and intuitive. However, they have a habit of withdrawing to
internalize, searching desperately inside themselves for something they
never find and creating a spiral of depression.
Ego fixation: melancholy
Holy idea: originality
Passion: envy
Virtue: equanimity
Stress point: Two
Security point: One
Fives
:
Observers, Thinkers, Investigators
Fives are motivated by the desire to understand the world around them,
specifically in terms of facts. Believing they are only worth what they
contribute, Fives have learned to withdraw, to watch with keen eyes and
speak only when they can shake the world with their observations.
Sometimes they do just that. However, some Fives are known to withdraw
from the world, becoming reclusive hermits and fending off social
contact with abrasive cynicism. Fives fear incompetency or uselessness
and want to be capable and knowledgeable above all else.
Ego fixation: stinginess
Holy idea: omniscience
Passion: avarice
Virtue: detachment
Stress point: Seven
Security point: Eight
Sixes
:
Loyalists, Devil’s Advocates, Defenders
Sixes long for stability above all else. They exhibit unwavering loyalty
and responsibility, but once betrayed, they are slow to trust again.
They are particularly prone to fearful thinking and emotional anxiety as
well as reactionary and paranoid behavior. Sixes tend to to react to
their fears either in a phobic manner by avoiding fearful situations or
by confronting them in a counterphobic manner.
Ego fixation: cowardice
Holy idea: faith
Passion: fear
Virtue: courage
Stress point: Three
Security point: Nine
Sevens
:
Enthusiasts, Adventurers, Sensationalists
Sevens are adventurous and busy with many activities with all the energy
and enthusiasm of the
Puer Aeternus
. At their best they embrace life
for its varied joys and wonders and truly live in the moment but, at
their worst, they dash frantically from one new experience to another,
too scared of disappointment to actually enjoy themselves. Sevens fear
being unable to provide for themselves or to experience life in all of
its richness.
Ego fixation: planning
Holy idea: work
Passion: gluttony
Virtue: sobriety
Stress point: One
Security point: Five
Eights
:
Leaders, Protectors, Challengers
Eights value their own strength and desire to be powerful and in
control. They concern themselves with self-preservation. They are
natural leaders, who can be either friendly and charitable or
dictatorially manipulative, ruthless and willing to destroy anything in
their way. Eights seek control over their own lives and destinies and
fear being harmed or controlled by others.
Ego fixation: vengeance
Holy idea: truth
Passion: excess (lust)
Virtue: innocence
Stress point: Five
Security point: Two
Nines
:
Mediators, Peacemakers, Preservationists
Nines are ruled by their empathy. At their best they are perceptive,
receptive, gentle, calming and at peace with the world. They also,
however, tend to dissociate from conflicts and to indifferently go along
with others people’s wishes. They may also simply withdraw and act via
inaction. They fear the conflict caused by their ability to
simultaneously understand opposing points of view and seek peace of mind
above all else. Nines are especially prone to dissociation and
passive-aggressive behaviour.
Ego fixation: indolence
Holy idea: love
Passion: laziness (sloth)
Virtue: action
Stress point: Six
Security point: Three
Wings
¶
Whilst a person’s Enneatype is determined by only one of the
ego-fixations, their personality characteristics are also influenced and
modified in different ways by all of the other eight fixations as well.
Most Enneagram teachers and theorists believe that one of the principal
kinds of influence and modification come from the two points on either
side of their Enneatype. These two points are usually known as the
‘wings’.
Observation seems to indicate, for example, that Ones will tend to
manifest some characteristics of both Nines and Twos. Some Enneagram
theorists believe that one of the wings will always have a more dominant
influence on an individual’s personality, while others believe that
either wing can be dominant at any particular time depending on the
person’s circumstances and development.
This aspect of Enneagram theory was originally suggested by Claudio
Naranjo and then further developed by some of the Jesuit teachers.
Stress and security points
¶
The lines connecting the points of the Enneagram figure (the triangle
and hexagon) are believed to indicate psychological connections between
the Enneatypes. The points connected by the lines are usually called the
‘stress points’ and ‘security points’.
The more traditional understanding of the stress and security points is
that when people are in a more secure or relaxed state they will tend to
also express the more positive personality characteristics of the
security point type and, when stressed or insecure, the more negative
characteristics of the stress point type. Relaxed or secure Ones, for
instance, may tend to manifest some more positive personality aspects of
the Seven type since Ones tend to be highly self-inhibitory whilst
Sevens give themselves permission to enjoy the moment. Stressed Ones,
however, may express some more negative aspects of the Four personality,
particularly the obsessive introspection; they also share a certain
amount of self-loathing and self-inhibition.
Don Richard Riso believes that the security points also indicate a
movement towards psychological wellbeing (the ‘direction of
integration’) and the stress points indicate the movement towards
breakdown (the ‘direction of disintegration’).
Another emerging belief about the connections between points is that
people may access and express the positive and negative aspects of both
points depending on their particular circumstances.
The lines connecting the points are often indicated on Enneagram figures
by the use of arrows and are sometimes also called ‘arrow points’.
The sequence of stress points is 1-4-2-8-5-7-1 for the hexagon and
9-6-3-9 for the triangle. The security points sequence is in the
opposite direction (1-7-5-8-2-4-1 and 9-3-6-9). These sequences are
found in the repeating decimals resulting from division by 7 and 3,
respectively, both of those numbers being important to Gurdjieff’s
system. (1/7 = 0.1428571…; 1/3 = 0.3333…, 2/3 = 0.6666…, 3/3 =
0.9999…).
Instinctual subtypes
¶
Each type also has three main instinctual subtypes - the
‘self-preservation’, ‘intimate’ and ‘social’ subtypes. Because each
Enneatype is different they may be perceived as having a tendency toward
one subtype or another.
Self-preservation subtypes pay most attention to physical survival
needs.
Intimate subtypes focus most on intimacy and one-to-one
relationships.
Social subtypes care most about others, in groups and communities.
The instinstual subtypes may be very similar to the “need areas” of the
FIRO-B instrument, called “Inclusion”, “Control” and “Affection”, except
that the score in each area carries equal weight in the person’s overal
personality, and there is no “tendency” towards one or another.
Directional scales
¶
The Enneagram types have also been mapped to Karen Horney’s “Three
Trends” (Moving
Towards, Against, Away
from), in two dimensions of
“Surface Direction”
and
“Deep
Direction”
1
2
(which also roughly parallel FIRO’s “Expressed” and “Wanted” behavior).
Each type on the surface moves one way, but underneath can move a
different way. This determines both behavior and motivations.
Surface Direction
Deep Direction
Against
(confronting)
0 Away
(withdrawing)
+ Towards
(embracing)
+ Towards
(Approval Seeking)
3
9
6
0 Away
(Ideal Seeking)
1
4
7
Against
(Power Seeking)
8
5
2
Deadly sins
¶
Seven of the characteristic emotional ‘passions’ or ‘vices’ of the
Enneatypes correspond with the traditional Seven Deadly Sins. Two
additional ‘sins’, ‘deceit’ and ‘fear’, are also included.
Ones - Anger, as the frustration that comes from Ones working hard to
do things right while the rest of the world doesn’t care about doing
things right and not appreciating the sacrifices and efforts Ones
have made.
Twos - Pride, as self-inflation of the ego, in the sense of Twos
seeing themselves as indispensable to others and to having no needs
whilst also being needed by others.
Threes - Deceit, in the misrepresentation of self by marketing and
presenting an image valued by others rather than presenting an
authentic self.
Fours - Envy of someone else reminds Fours that they can never be
what another person is, reawakening their sense of
self-defectiveness.
Fives - Avarice, as the hoarding of resources in an attempt to
minimize their needs in the face of a world that takes more than it
gives; thus isolating Fives from the world.
Sixes - Fear, often in the form of a generalized anxiety that can’t
find an actual source of fear. Sixes may wrongly identify a source of
fear through projection, possibly seeing enemies and dangers where
there are none.
Sevens - Gluttony, not in the sense of eating too much but, rather,
of sampling everything the world has to offer (breadth) and not
taking the time for richer experience (depth).
Eights - Lust, in the sense of wanting more of what Eights find
stimulating, to a point beyond which most people would feel
overwhelmed and stop.
Nines - Sloth, or laziness in discovering a personal agenda and
instead choosing the less problematic strategy of just going along
with other people’s agendas.
Correlations between enneagram types and socionic types
¶
There is no general agreement on how the types correlate, or even if
they should. Some of the most common trends seen are:
One
: any socionics rational type may well identify at least
partly with One, especially any IJ and particularly LSI, but also LSE
Two
: most typically ESE is identified with Two, but also EIE,
SEI, IEE, IEI and perhaps EII; essentially any type with confidence
in
Three
: in terms of Three’s motivations, some EIEs would fit
best; regarding behavior, many other types could also be seen as
Three, especially LIE, LSE, ILE, SLE, IEE
Four
: Fours are most typically IEI, but EIE and ILI can also
identify with this type; it’s essentially about focus on
Five
: Fives are essentially ILI and LII, but ILE, EII, IEI and
SLI could also relate best to Five
Six
: especially since this type is split in
phobic
and
counterphobic
version, many types could fit it; it’s probably
accurate that overall ESI fits it best, with almost any
quadra type plausibly relating to it
Seven
: this type can be best seen as a description of
socionics’s EP temperament, so SLE, ILE, IEE and SEE
Eight
: Eights are best related to socionics types with both
and
as fairly confident functions, so
LIE, LSE, SLE and possibly LSI, SLI and SEE
Nine
: This type is most typically SEI, but IEI and perhaps EII
could also be a match - it’s essentially about a higher preference
for positive
than
or