The Enneagram of Personality, or simply the Enneagram (from the Greek words
meaning "nine"and
meaning something "written" or "drawn", is a model of the
human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a
typology
Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...
of nine interconnected
personality type
In psychology, personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of individuals. Personality types are sometimes distinguished from personality traits, with the latter embodying a smaller grouping of behavioral tenden ...
s.
Although the origins and history of many of the ideas and theories associated with the Enneagram of Personality are a matter of dispute, contemporary Enneagram theories are principally derived from the teachings of the Bolivian psycho-spiritual teacher
Oscar Ichazo from the 1950s and the Chilean psychiatrist
Claudio Naranjo
Claudio Benjamín Naranjo Cohen (24 November 1932 – 12 July 2019) was a Chilean-born psychiatrist who is considered a pioneer in integrating psychotherapy and the spiritual traditions. He was one of the three successors named by Fritz Perls ( ...
from the 1970s. Naranjo's theories were also influenced by some earlier teachings about personality by
George Gurdjieff
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (; rus, Гео́ргий Ива́нович Гурджи́ев, r=Geórgy Ivánovich Gurdzhíev, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪd͡ʑ ɡʊrd͡ʐˈʐɨ(j)ɪf; hy, Գեորգի Իվանովիչ Գյուրջիև; c. 1 ...
and the
Fourth Way
The Fourth Way is an approach to self-development developed by George Gurdjieff over years of travel in the East (c. 1890 – 1912). It combines and harmonizes what he saw as three established traditional "ways" or "schools": those of the body, ...
tradition.
As a typology, the Enneagram defines nine personality types (sometimes called "enneatypes"), which are represented by the points of a geometric figure called an ''
enneagram'',
[ in ] which indicate connections between the types. There are some different schools of thought among Enneagram teachers and their understandings are not always in agreement.
The Enneagram of Personality has been widely promoted in both
business management
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of managemen ...
and spirituality contexts through seminars, conferences, books, magazines, and DVDs.
In business contexts it is generally used as a typology to gain insights into workplace interpersonal dynamics; in
spirituality it is more commonly presented as a path to higher states of being, essence, and
enlightenment. Both contexts say it can aid in self-awareness, self-understanding, and
self-development
Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...
.
There has been limited formal
psychometric
Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally refers to specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and ...
analysis of the Enneagram and the
peer-reviewed research that has been done has not been widely accepted within the
relevant academic communities. Though the Enneagram integrates concepts generally accepted in a theory of personality, it has been dismissed by some personality assessment experts as
pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable clai ...
.
History
The origins and historical development of the Enneagram of Personality are matters of dispute. Wiltse and Palmer
have suggested that similar ideas to the Enneagram of Personality are found in the work of
Evagrius Ponticus
Evagrius Ponticus ( grc-gre, Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Georgian: ევაგრე ქართველი), also called Evagrius the Solitary (345–399 AD), was a Christian monk and ascetic from Heraclea, a city on the coast ...
, a Christian mystic who lived in 4th-century
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
in Egypt. Evagrius identified eight ''logismoi'' ("deadly thoughts") plus an overarching thought he called "love of self". Evagrius wrote, "The first thought of all is that of love of self (''philautia''); after this,
ome
Ome may refer to:
Places
* Ome (Bora Bora), a public island in the lagoon of Bora Bora
* Ome, Lombardy, Italy, a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia
* Ōme, Tokyo, a city in the Prefecture of Tokyo
* Ome (crater), a crater on Mars
Tran ...
the eight."
In addition to identifying eight deadly thoughts, Evagrius also identified eight "remedies" to these thoughts.
G. I. Gurdjieff (died 1949) is credited with making the word ''enneagram'' and the
enneagram figure commonly known
(see
Fourth Way enneagram
The Fourth Way enneagram is a figure published in 1949 in ''In Search of the Miraculous'' by P.D. Ouspensky, and an integral part of the Fourth Way esoteric system associated with George Gurdjieff. The term " enneagram" derives from two Greek word ...
). He did not, however, develop the nine personality types associated with the Enneagram of Personality. Instead, Gurdjieff used the enneagram figure for various other purposes, including sacred dances that are known as the
Gurdjieff movements
The Gurdjieff movements are a series of sacred dances that were collected or authored by G. I. Gurdjieff and taught to his students as part of the work of ''self observation'' and ''self study''.
Significance
Gurdjieff taught that the movement ...
.
Oscar Ichazo (1931-2020) is generally recognized as the principal source
of the contemporary Enneagram of Personality which is largely derived from some of Ichazo's teachings, such as those on ego-fixations, holy ideas, passions, and virtues. The Bolivian-born Ichazo began teaching programs of self-development in the 1950s. His teaching, which he calls "
Protoanalysis", uses the enneagram figure among many other symbols and ideas. Ichazo founded the
Arica Institute which was originally based in Chile before moving to the United States
and coined the term "Enneagram of Personality".
Claudio Naranjo
Claudio Benjamín Naranjo Cohen (24 November 1932 – 12 July 2019) was a Chilean-born psychiatrist who is considered a pioneer in integrating psychotherapy and the spiritual traditions. He was one of the three successors named by Fritz Perls ( ...
(1932-2019) was a Chilean-born psychiatrist who first learned about the Enneagram of Personality from Ichazo at a course in Arica, Chile. He then began developing and teaching his own understanding of the Enneagram in the United States, principally at the
Esalen Institute
The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanistic alternative education. The institute played a key role in the Human Poten ...
and to his students in Berkeley, California, including two Jesuit priests who adapted the Enneagram for use in Christian spirituality. Ichazo disowned Naranjo and the other Enneagram teachers due to what he considered misinterpretations and misuses of the Enneagram.
Largely due to Naranjo's teachings and those he first taught the Enneagram to, Enneagram teachings became increasingly popularized in the United States and elsewhere from the 1970s. Numerous other authors also began publishing widely read books on the Enneagram of Personality in the 1980s and 1990s, including
Don Richard Riso
Don Richard Riso (17 January 1946 – August 30, 2012) was an American teacher of the Enneagram of Personality who wrote and co-wrote a number of books on the subject.
Early life and education
Riso grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He studied En ...
(1987), (1988),
Eli Jaxon-Bear
Eli Jaxon-Bear (born Elliot Jay Zeldow, 1947) is an American spiritual teacher and author. He lives in Ashland, Oregon, with his wife and spiritual teacher Gangaji. Before he met his teacher, Sri H.W.L. Poonja, in 1990, Jaxon-Bear was best know ...
(1989),
Elizabeth Wagele
Elizabeth Wagele (1939–2017) was an American artist, musician, and writer of books on the Enneagram of Personality and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
Life
Wagele was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, until she was 10 when her family m ...
(1994), and
Richard Rohr
Richard Rohr, (born 1943) is an American Franciscan priest and writer on spirituality based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church in 1970. In 2011, PBS called him "one of the most popular s ...
(1995). In 1994, the First International Enneagram Conference, attended by over 1,000 participants, was held at
Stanford University and co-sponsored by the
university's psychiatry department where psychiatrist, Enneagram author and conference co-director was teaching.
Analysis of Google search results over 16 years shows an increase in searches for the word "enneagram" from 2017.
Additionally, social media accounts and
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
s about the Enneagram have increased, indicating a growing popularity among
millennials.
It has been suggested that the rise in popularity of the Enneagram is similar to renewed interest in
astrology
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
.
Figure
![Enneagram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Enneagram.svg)
The
enneagram figure is usually composed of three parts; a circle, an inner triangle (connecting 3-6-9), and an irregular hexagonal "periodic figure" (connecting 1-4-2-8-5-7). According to esoteric spiritual traditions, the circle symbolizes unity, the inner triangle symbolizes the "law of three" and the hexagon represents the "law of seven" (because
1-4-2-8-5-7-1 is the repeating decimal created by dividing one by seven in base 10 arithmetic). These three elements constitute the usual enneagram figure.
Nine types
The table below offers some of the principal characteristics of the nine types along with their basic relationships. This table expands upon Oscar Ichazo's ego fixations, holy ideas, passions, and virtues
primarily using material from ''Understanding the Enneagram: The Practical Guide to Personality Types'' (revised edition) by
Don Richard Riso
Don Richard Riso (17 January 1946 – August 30, 2012) was an American teacher of the Enneagram of Personality who wrote and co-wrote a number of books on the subject.
Early life and education
Riso grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He studied En ...
and Russ Hudson as well as
Charles Tart
Charles T. Tart (born 1937) is an American psychologist and parapsychologist known for his psychological work on the nature of consciousness (particularly altered states of consciousness), as one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psyc ...
's ''Transpersonal Psychologies''.
Other theorists may disagree on some aspects. The types are normally referred to by their numbers, but sometimes their "characteristic roles" (which refers to distinctive
archetypal
The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that o ...
characteristics) are used instead. Various labels for each type are commonly used by different authors and teachers. The "stress" and "security" points (sometimes referred to as the "disintegration" and "integration" points) are the types connected by the lines of the enneagram figure and are believed by some to influence a person in more adverse or relaxed circumstances. According to this theory, someone with a primary One type, for example, may begin to think, feel, and act more like someone with a Four type when stressed or a Seven type when relaxed.
Three triads of type patterns
The nine Enneagram personality type patterns can be grouped into various triads of three types in which each of the types have some 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 particular 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. This center is also associated with the nine ego-fixations and holy ideas as taught by Oscar Ichazo.
*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. This center is also associated with the nine passions and virtues as taught by Oscar Ichazo.
*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.
Wings
Most, but not all, Enneagram of Personality theorists 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 often 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.
[Riso, ''Wisdom of the Enneagram'', p. 19.] Empirical research into wing theory by Anthony Edwards did not support the theory. Related to, but not the same, as the wing theory is Ichazo's theory 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 many Enneagram teachers, including Claudio Naranjo who developed them.
Instinctual subtypes
Each of the personality types is usually 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 usually 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 twenty-seven 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 looks at them as three domains or clusters of instincts that 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 people function in all three forms of instinctual energies but one may dominate. According to some theorists, another instinct may also be well-developed and the third often less developed.
Type indicator tests
Enneagram type indicator tests have been developed by some of the more prominent teachers. One of these, the Riso–Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI), was developed by
Don Richard Riso
Don Richard Riso (17 January 1946 – August 30, 2012) was an American teacher of the Enneagram of Personality who wrote and co-wrote a number of books on the subject.
Early life and education
Riso grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He studied En ...
and Russ Hudson in 1993. Their research focused on constructing it as a personality measurement instrument. The RHETI has been found to be of
heuristic
A heuristic (; ), or heuristic technique, is any approach to problem solving or self-discovery that employs a practical method that is not guaranteed to be optimal, perfect, or rational, but is nevertheless sufficient for reaching an immediate ...
value but minimal scientific research has been conducted.
The Stanford Enneagram Discovery Inventory was developed by late
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psych ...
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.
Research and criticism
While Enneagram teachings have attained some degree of popularity, they have also received criticism including accusations of being
pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable clai ...
, subject to interpretation and difficult to test or validate scientifically, "an assessment method of no demonstrated reliability or validity".
[ in ] In 2011 the
scientific skeptic
Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refe ...
Robert Todd Carroll
Robert Todd Carroll (May 18, 1945 – August 25, 2016) was an American author, philosopher and academic, best known for The Skeptic's Dictionary. He described himself as a naturalist, an atheist, a materialist, a metaphysical libertarian, and a ...
included the Enneagram in a list of pseudoscientific theories that "can't be tested because they are so vague and malleable that anything relevant can be shoehorned to fit the theory".
A 2020 review of Enneagram empirical work found mixed results for the model's reliability and validity.
The study noted that the
ipsative In psychology, ipsative questionnaires (; from Latin: ''ipse'', 'of the self') are those where the sum of scale scores from each respondent adds to a constant value. Sometimes called a forced-choice scale, this measure contrasts Likert-type scales ...
version of the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (scores on one dimension decrease scores on another dimension) had troubles with validity, whereas the non-ipsative version of the test has been found to have better internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Furthermore, it was found that 87% of individuals were able to accurately predict their Enneagram type (before taking the test) by being read descriptions of each type.
In a
Delphi poll of 101 doctoral-level members of psychological organizations such as the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
, the Enneagram was among five psychological treatments and tests which were rated by at least 25% of them as being discredited for personality assessment. Experts familiar with the Enneagram rated it with a mean score of 4.14 (3.37 in the first round of the study) which is approximately an equivalent to the option "probably discredited" (3 = possibly discredited, 4 = probably discredited, 5 = certainly discredited).
The Enneagram has also received criticism from some religious perspectives. In 2000, the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...
' Committee on Doctrine produced a draft report on the origins of the Enneagram to aid bishops in their evaluation of its use in their dioceses. The report identified aspects of the intersection between the Enneagram and Roman Catholicism which, in their opinion, warranted scrutiny with potential areas of concern, stating, "While the enneagram system shares little with traditional Christian doctrine or spirituality, it also shares little with the methods and criteria of modern science... The burden of proof is on proponents of the enneagram to furnish scientific evidence for their claims". Partly in response to some
Jesuits and members of other religious orders teaching a Christian understanding of the Enneagram of Personality, a 2003 Vatican document called ''
Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life. A Christian Reflection on the 'New Age''' said that the Enneagram "when used as a means of spiritual growth introduces an ambiguity in the doctrine and the life of the Christian faith".
"Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life. A Christian Reflection on the 'New Age'"
, Pontifical Council for Culture, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
See also
* Big Five personality traits
The Big Five personality traits is a suggested taxonomy, or grouping, for personality traits, developed from the 1980s onward in psychological trait theory.
Starting in the 1990s, the theory identified five factors by labels, for the US English ...
* Diamond Approach
* Myers–Briggs Type Indicator
In personality typology, the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an introspective self-report questionnaire indicating differing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The test attempts to assign ...
* Personality psychology
Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that examines personality and its variation among individuals. It aims to show how people are individually different due to psychological forces. Its areas of focus include:
* construction of a c ...
References
Further reading
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External links
International Enneagram Association website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enneagram of Personality
Fourth Way enneagram
Personality typologies