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Themes,
Threads Anne Maxwell, Editor |
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Themes and Threads
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where can I access a test to determine my Enenagram type?
- How might I interpret the results of an Enneagram test I have undertaken?
- What are subtypes?
- What is a wing?
- What are stress and security points?
- Can Enneagram types be assigned to groups?
- What are the three centres?
- What is the relation between the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Enneagram?
- Have there been attempts to correlate the MBTI and the Enneagram?
Where can I access a test to determine my Enneagram type?
Web sites which have tests:
- Personality Online: 180 questions, at: http://www.freshy.com/personality/.
Books which have tests:
Understanding the enneagram by Don Richard Riso
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How might I interpret the results of an Enneagram test I have undertaken?
Work on constructing and increasing the reliability of tests is still being done. Riso claims that his test is about as reliable as any personality test, at about 85%. A test is just one of many ways for determining type, and is best used in conjunction with other methods. These include, reading lengthier descriptions, attending workshops and panel discussions, interviews by certified instructors. Positive scores on more than one type, will be an indication of the range of type characteristics to which you have access.
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What are subtypes?
There are three subtypes for each of the nine enneagram types. The theory of the subtypes states there are three basic drives that people have, and whichever drive is strongest [or is this "most problematic"??] becomes the motive for most of what you do and is your subtype. These instinctual drives are:
Self preservation: relating to oneself; the drive to preserve the body
Sexuality: Relating in one-on-one interactions; the drive to preserve one's DNA.
Social interaction: Relating to the group; group membership; the drive to connect to and preserve the tribe
We have all of these concerns, however your subtype is the way the fixation is primarily acted out. Subtype is the way that each type compensates for a weakness area, and so reveals where your attention is directed.
See Helen Palmer's work for names and descriptions of the subtypes.
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What is a wing?
The term "wing" refers to the type adjacent to your core type on the enneagram. It is the secondary set of type characteristics which you manifest, and it is theorized that it develops as a result of the relationship with a second parent or parent figure. Identifying your wing type might assist in identifying your core type. A convention used on the list to refer to wing writes, for example, a core eight with a nine wing, as 8w9.
The existence of wings is a debated topic, as is the issue of whether people access only one or both of their wings. What is your experience of wing type? Do you see a pattern to how you use your wing in particular situations?
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What are stress and security points?
These concepts refer to the lines within the circle of the enneagram. There are two distinct dynamics - going in both directions along the triangle, and going in both directions along the hexad. The "security" or "heart" point is the next type along the line from the core type, going "against the arrows" (1-7-5-8-2-4-1 and 9-3-6-9) . The "stress" point is the next type along the line from the core type, going "with the arrows" (1-4-2-8-5-7-1 and 9-6-3-9). We actually experience the mental, emotional, sensation, and feeling styles of the point we have "moved" to.
There is ongoing discussion on the list about what is meant by movement along the lines. A common understanding is, in times of security we will manifest the issues of our heart point, and in times of stress we will manifest issues of our stress point.
One description which appeared on the list noted, for example: When the principle concerns of the personality (Enneagram type) are satisfied or are not at risk, then there is little need or stimulus for the defensive and coping patterns of that personality type, and they can subside. When they subside, there can be a natural transition in the personality to take on some aspects of the "security" / "heart" / "integration" point.
Do we only manifest the unhealthy characteristics of our stress point and the healthy aspects of our security point? Do our "stress" and our "security" points have both "high" sides and "low" sides?
What has been you own experience of this? The list is a good place to share descriptions of how you have seen your stress and security points manifest. Have you noticed any patterns to this, such as your behavior in the workplace compared to at home?
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Can enneagram types be assigned to groups?
The application of the enneagram to group dynamics, seems to be a fertile if uncharted area for discussion. The list has seen discussion on the enneagram types of countries, companies, and family. A related question is the impact of cultural enneagram type on individual enneagram type.
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What are the three centres?
Fundamental to the enneagram of personality types is the concept that we human beings have three ways of expressing ourselves; through our actions, our emotions, and our intellect. These three faculties are known as the instinctual centers or centers of intelligence.
The three centers correspond with the three points of the equilateral triangle within the enneagram symbol. The hexed points lying on either side of the core points, are variations on the way that attention towards the triad's primary issues is directed. 9 is the core point of the 8-9-1 triad, variously known as gut/body/doing/relating/anger triad. 3 is the core point of the 2-3-4 triad, variously known as the heart/feeling/image triad. 6 is the core point of the 5-6-7 triad, variously known as the head/thinking/fear triad.
One of these centers is more dominant in each of us than the other two centers, and so our core type will belong in this triad. We filter the energy from the other two centres through the centre of our primary fixation.
An understanding of the three centres might be useful when looking at personal transformation. The Law of Three as expounded by Gurdjieff states that to accomplish anything three forces, i.e., positive, negative and neutral are required. At the human level, perhaps change can only happen when all three centres are involved (thought, feeling and action). In addition, it might be that type is determined not only by which of the head, heart and gut centres we use most, but by the ones we use least. Perhaps instead of working on the centre we over use, we could work on the suppressed one. The understanding of three basic visceral centers of intelligence in our bodies: our gut (lower chakras), heart (central chakras), and head (upper head chakras) links the Enneagram and body work.
The notion of the Three Centres goes beyond the enneagram movement of recent days, and versions can be found in many traditions.
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What are the polarities?
The polarities are 2-7, 4-8 and 1-5. Also known as the antipodes, this compares types that share similar themes in their behavior, yet are coming from almost opposite perspectives. This has linked into list discussion about how the two types in the polarity perceive and interact with each other.
Types 2 and 7 share the characteristic feature of wanting contact, a movement forward towards others. More than many people, with the 7's and 2's their eyes and faces and overall body language can communicate an interest or invitation for contact. The difference between them is that the 2 does this from the feeling center whereas the 7 does this from the head center. 7 is self referencing, tending to export their own reality, whereas 2 is referencing primarily to the experience of the selected other.
Types 4 and 8 both demand an intensity of experience. The difference between them is that 4 tends to internalize experience and 8 tends to externalize. 8's and 4's can be mistaken for one another just because of this association, even though they are opposites in many other ways. Other people might know both types through this quality, and might have strong reactions, both positive and negative. As a union, this has been called the sado-masochistic pair.
Types 1 and 5 both seek control. Point 1 is called overt control, and Point 5 is called remote control. Point 1 acts to create or impose control in a spoken, intentionally good way, referencing to higher authority. Point 5 exerts control through withholding or hoarding knowledge or other resources.
It can seem like 5's dole out this information or goods according to their own well planned strategy.
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What is the relation between the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Enneagram?
While both are models of the personality, MBTI and the enneagram measure different things. So in a way it is like comparing apples and oranges. While the enneagram describes the (neurotic) patterns in how our attention is directed, the MBTI describes what functions are used in that placing of attention. While the enneagram measures motivation, underlying beliefs and attitudes; the MBTI measures how we collect, process and apply data from our life experience, and the way we approach organizing our responses to this.
The MBTI is a classification system of 16 types (or projected sets of behaviors), using four scales which are essentially independent of one another, that is they lack any statistical correlation between them. The Enneagram is a dynamic model of 9 types, which are 9 ways in which the ego develops as a result of the (inevitable) psychic wounding in early childhood. A person's MBTI type might change in the course of a lifetime, but their Enneagram type will not.
The Enneagram asks, what is your life's goal (controlling, tranquility, perfecting, helping, achieving, self-expression, understanding, security, pleasure)? The Enneagram asks, what is your world view, what is your greatest desire, what is your greatest fear, what is your primary compulsion and to what higher virtue might this energy convert?
The MBTI asks: what data do you prefer to attend to (Sensory, or iNtuitive); on what basis do you prefer to make decisions, logic or values (Thinking, or Feeling); is your focus internal or external, how are you energized (Introvert, or Extrovert); do you prefer to make decisions, or do you prefer to keep your options open (Judgement, or Perception)?
Have there been attempts to correlate the MBTI and the Enneagram?
Yes. Research on this continues to be undertaken. See for example, the article, "Correlating the Ennneatypes With the Myers-Briggs Preferences," by John Richards (Enneagram Monthly; June, 1997. You also may want to visit the site, The Enneagram and the MBTI.
The expectation of some correlation, can be seen in list discussions on e.g., the existence of an extroverted 5, or an introverted 8.