Introduction to the Enneagram Spectrum of Personality Styles

Style 1: Good Person | Style 2: Loving Person | Style 3: Effective Person | Style 4: Original Person
Style 5: Wise Person | Style 6: Loyal Person | Style 7: Joyful Person | Style 8: Powerful Person | Style 9:
Peaceful Person
The Enneagram (pronounced any-a-gram) is a circle inscribed by nine points. In Greek, ennea means nine
and gramma means point. Each point portrays a distinctive personality style that has its own way of
viewing, construing, and responding to people and events. Each style has both adaptive or resourceful and
non-adaptive or non-resourceful cognitive, emotional, and behavioral strategies for self-maintenance and
enhancement, for interpersonal relating, and for problem solving. In other words, each of these styles has
an upside and a downside.
Within all of us, there are certain universal qualities that express the essence of the human person. We
prize these essential characteristics as values and strive to realize them in ourselves and in the world.
These principles, such as goodness, truth, and compassion, have an adaptive function whereby if we follow
them, we will have an objective vision toward ourselves and others, using adaptive cognitive schemas, and
we will live in a virtuous state of being with adaptive emotional schemas.
If our values and visions are threatened or discounted, we experience vulnerability and may develop a
personality strategy to protect our sensibilities and to compensate for characteristics in our selves we fear
might be lacking. This personality is usually an overly exaggerated expression of some valued quality of
our true person. It attempts to defend and maintain our self in the face of our critics, to appease them, to
gain their attention and approval, to win them over to our side, or to defeat them. Personality relies on
repetitive thought, feeling, and behavioral patterns giving us a distorted subjective vision with maladaptive
cognitive schemas that are driven by maladaptive emotional schemas or vices.
When we are functioning from our natural person, our values and vision are clear and our problem-solving
capacities are optimal. When we operate from the strategies of our personality, our values are conflicted,
our vision is narrow and opaque, and our actions are impulsive, compulsive, scattered, and less effective.
Personality Style ONE: The Good Person
Core Value Tendency: ONES are attracted to and value goodness. They desire to be good persons,
seeking to make the world a better place to live in. They want to realize all of their potentials and help
others actualize theirs. They want to be all that they can be and help others do the same. Doing your best
and living up to your potentials is what life is all about.
Adaptive Cognitive Schema: The objective vision that keeps ONES aligned with their true nature and
with reality is the realization that becoming all that they can be, coming to completion, wholeness,
and perfection is a continually unfolding process vs a sooner- rather than later finished product. As
long as ONES are living in accordance with their true nature, allowing the process of organismic selfregulation to occur, they are perfect. They cannot be other than who they are at the moment.
Adaptive Emotional Schema: The state that accompanies ONES objective paradigm is serenity, a
sense of inner wholeness and self support. Those who are serene are at ease with themselves, are relaxed
with others, and are in touch with the present moment. Serenity responds where personal intervention is
required and acquiesces when letting go is appropriate.
Adaptive Behavioral Schemas: The actions that flow from an understanding of perfection as a process
and a state of serenity involve a passion and habit for excellence and a desire to do things well. ONES have
high principles, high moral standards, and high performance requirements. They are conscientious,
dedicated, persevering, reliable, hard working, and industrious. They have a highly developed and

practiced intuition for when someone or something is doing what it is supposed to do. A being is good
when it is fully itself and when it is fully doing what it is meant to do. ONES constantly compare a present
reality to its ideal state. They know what is missing and what should be there. This makes them natural
quality control experts.
Maladaptive Cognitive Schema: When ONES exaggerate their good qualities, they over-identify with the
idealized self image of I am good; I am right. To compensate for a maladaptive belief that they are not
good enough, and to keep themselves immune from criticism, they hold unrealistically high standards,
trying to be perfect and do most things perfectly in order to be acceptable to others and to themselves.
They habitually compare what is to what they think should be and reality falls short of their ideals and
absolutes.
Maladaptive Emotional Schema: As a consequence of never living up to their idealizations, ONES
experience the passion of anger andresentment since no one (especially themselves) ever comes up to
their expectations. They are angry because nothing is as right as it ought to be. And they are resentful
because they arent recognized or rewarded enough for their efforts nor are they accepted for who they
are. Life isnt fair.
Maladaptive Behavioral Schemas: Perennially perceiving the world as imperfect, and relentlessly
feeling resentment about the shoddy state of affairs, ONES are driven to make things better. They tense
their jaws, clench their teeth, bear down, and carry on. They interfere with the natural unfolding of life and
events in an effort to make things perfect NOW. The better becomes the enemy of the good. Its a
challenge for ONES to leave things alone and just let them be.
What is Avoided: Because they are trying hard to be good, ONES avoid experiencing or expressing
their anger. Good boys and good girls shouldnt be angry. They are either unaware of their anger or are
reluctant to express it directly. Since they want to be right, they avoid and protest being wrong. They dont
like to think of themselves as being lazy, irresponsible, sloppy, etc.
Defensive Maneuvers: ONES ward off unacceptable impulses and behaviors by doing the opposite of
what they are tempted to do. This is called reaction formation. If they are tempted to take it easy, they
work harder. If unwanted sexual desires arise, ONES become moralistic and Puritanical. If anger surfaces,
they may rely on righteous indignation; that is, they have a right to be angry. Or they may sublimate their
anger and wage the cosmic war against crud, crusading against injustice, inexactness, tardiness,
sloppiness, etc.
Childhood Development: ONES were rewarded for being good and excelling and punished for being bad
and performing poorly. They were often hero children who did everything right to help out their parents.
They hoped their being good would hold the family together. They started out with the sense that
everything, including themselves, was fine as it was. But then significant people came along and informed
them that their spontaneous responses werent O.K. This was the beginning of their judging mind. As
ONES began to do something spontaneously, the judgment arose: Is this good enough? Am I doing this
right? Eventually shoulds and abstract idealizations replaced wants and personal values. ONES came to
believe they would be somebody if their standards were higher than everyone elses. And they were
nobody or worth nothing if they werent perfect.
Non-Resourceful State: When ONES are under stress, they do more of the same, that is, they try harder,
put out more effort, get more serious, and become more frustrated and resentful. When all their efforts still
dont get them affirmed or dont satisfy their needs or fill their emptiness, they get discouraged, give up
trying to fix things, point their criticisms toward themselves, pull the trigger, get depressed, and lapse into

melancholy. In this non-resourceful state they feel misunderstood, victimized, taken advantage of. The
world doesnt appreciate or reward their efforts to make things better.
Resourceful State: When ONES are in a resourceful relaxed state, they take themselves and the situation
less seriously. They lighten up instead of getting heavier. They get in touch with their spontaneous playful
side. They notice whats right and whats there instead of whats wrong or whats missing. They operate
from the adaptive belief that they are O.K., even though theyre not perfect. They trust that the universe is
unfolding as it should. Its O.K., too. Trust allows them to go with the flow and not push the river, since its
flowing by itself. They do what they find pleasurable and desirable, what they want to do instead of what
they should do. In a resourceful place, ONES are optimistic, accepting and present to whatever is. I am
therefore I am good replaces Im perfect therefore Im acceptable.
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Personality Style TWO: The Loving Person
Core Value Tendency: TWOS value and are attracted to love. They want to be generous persons,
seeking to make the world a more loving place to live in. Harmonious intimate mutual relationships are
what life is all about.
Adaptive Cognitive Schema: The proper understanding of freedom enables TWOS to live within the
natural laws and limits of reality.Interdependence, which lies between the extremes of
dependence/codependence and an exaggerated independence, is the mature stance of adults. Being free
means TWOS can give or not give, receive or not receive.
Adaptive Emotional Schema: The state that accompanies TWOS objective paradigm is humility, the
virtue which realistically estimates what kind and what amount of love another needs in contrast to giving
whatever is believed will bring approval to the giver. Acting as a reality principle, humility acknowledges
limits and sets boundaries, enabling TWOS to say no as well as yes.
Adaptive Behavioral Schemas: The actions that follow from an understanding that love involves an ebb
and flow of giving and receiving along with the habit of humility include an exquisite empathic attunement
not only to the needs of others but also to their own needs. TWOS have an intuitive sense for what others
need and are feeling. They are naturally giving, generous, and helpful. They feel fulfilled being able to give
to others and are supportive, nurturing, considerate, and appreciative. TWOS are sociable, friendly, and
approachable. They naturally move toward people with love and affection. They praise others and build
them up, giving compliments easily. TWOS are natural listeners and counselors. They also speak up for
others, especially the underprivileged and handicapped.
Maladaptive Cognitive Schema: When TWOS exaggerate their loving qualities, they over-identify with
the idealized self image of I am loving; I am helpful. To compensate for their maladaptive belief that
others will not meet their needs, they turn their attention toward meeting other peoples needs, hoping
that what they do unto others will be done unto them. They believe it is only after meeting others needs
that their own will be taken care of.
Maladaptive Emotional Schema: Perceiving themselves as helpers in a needy world, TWOS believe they
have unlimited resources for serving others that never need replenishing. They are not needy, but they are
needed. The resultant disposition is pride. TWOS are proud of their giving nature and seek to be important
is peoples lives in order to feel worthwhile.
Maladaptive Behavioral Schema: Perceiving the world as needy, and feeling proud of their self
sacrificing nature, TWOS become compulsive helpers, trying to please others to get them to like them and
meet their needs. TWOS give strokes to get strokes, doing for others what they hope others will do for

them. Habitually moving towards people, its hard for TWOS to move against people in anger or
confrontation. Its conflictual for them to give negative feedback because they dont want to hurt others.
Its also difficult for TWOS to move away from people, leaving them alone to stand on their own two feet,
or fall flat on their face. The TWOS task is to rescue.
What is Avoided: Because they strive to be loving, TWOS avoid their own needs. To think about
themselves or to express their needs would be selfish. They are reluctant to heed their own agendas,
feelings, and desires.
Defensive Maneuvers: TWOS avoid their needs by repressing them so that they are not even aware of
them. Or they may be aware of them, but choose to suppress them since their job is to lighten other
peoples burdens not encumber them with their own needs.
Childhood Development: TWOS got approval for helping and giving and not asking for much in return.
They learned how to be sweet, funny, cute, and charming to get attention and win affection. They became
the parent in the family to hold things together. They learned that being pleasing and altering themselves
to meet others needs was a good way to survive and get their needs met. Directly expressing their own
needs met with indifference, disapproval, or abandonment. TWOS came to believe that their own needs
wouldnt be met until they first met other peoples needs. They are very vulnerable to rejection and not
being appreciated for what they do for others. Youre nobody unless somebody loves you and youre
somebody when youre needed.
Non-Resourceful State: When TWOS are under stress, they do more of the same, that is, they become
more helpful and travel around the rescue triangle. On this non-resourceful journey, they first assume
the role of rescuer. When they dont get the affirmation they need and believe they deserve, they feel
victimized and play the martyr, reproaching others for not appreciating and caring enough for them. They
then lose touch with their gentleness and compassion and become hard and tough to protect their selfesteem. They become bitter, jaded and distrustful of others and become a persecutor, making others feel
guilty and desiring to get even with them.
Resourceful State: When TWOS are in a resourceful relaxed state, they get in touch with their own
needs, wants, and feelings. They put their needs on the table and negotiate getting them met. They allow
others to give to them freely without doing anything to earn their love. They can say no even though
they feel guilty. They allow others to be more autonomous and dont foster their dependence on them.
They find other ways of expressing themselves besides giving, such as developing their creative, artistic,
cultured self and capacities. Now able to say to themselves I am special, they believe they are lovable just
because they are. I am therefore I am loving replaces I give in order to be accepted.
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Personality Style Three: The Effective Person
Core Value Tendency: THREES are attracted to and value efficiency, industriousness, and
competence. They want to be productive persons, seeking to make the world a more efficient place to
live in. Bringing projects to completion, accomplishing goals, working effectively is what life is about.
The cosmos is an orderly harmonious system and THREES work to keep it running smoothly.
Adaptive Cognitive Schema: Hope is the principle and attitude THREES have to keep them living in the
real world. Hope believes the cosmos works effectively within and according to its own laws. It will
continue to run smoothly even when THREES are not working. Entropy wont occur the instant THREES
take time off. The most effective way to function is in harmony with these natural, personal, and social
norms and processes.

Adaptive Emotional Schema: The state that accompanies THREES objective paradigm is truthfulness,
the acceptance and expression of their inner self as it actually is without covering, exaggerating, or
marketing it with external images, roles, and personas. THREES remain true to themselves and their
commitments vs assuming whatever appearance they believe will make them look successful in the eyes
of others.
Adaptive Behavioral Schemas: THREES have a natural organizational ability, easily assessing a
situation, setting goals, and working efficiently and single mindedly toward them. They know how to get
things done. They are optimistic, enthusiastic, and self confident. THREES are motivated and motivating.
Being good salespeople, they intuitively know how to present themselves and their product. They can
translate ideas into workable saleable systems. They are good team people and effective managers. They
are pragmatic and can compromise to get projects on line and accomplished. They have the ability to
sense what others want and expect from them and can adapt to fit that image thereby winning people
over to their side.
Maladaptive Cognitive Schema: When THREES exaggerate their efficient qualities, they over-identify
with the idealized self image of I am successful. To compensate for their maladaptive belief that they are
failures and will be rejected, they become over-programmed, overly efficient, and can become workaholics.
Maladaptive Emotional Schema: Perceiving themselves as successful entrepreneurs, THREES believe
they are above normal protocols and are not constrained by the laws and conventions that others live by.
They deceive themselves and others into believing how successful they are. Their energy goes into their
image, their public self, and the persona they think others want them to be. Over identifying with their
roles and projects, they convince themselves this is who they really are.
Maladaptive Behavioral Schemas: Perceiving the world as disorganized, and presenting themselves as
efficiency experts, THREES become workaholics, falling into Type A behavior, driven to succeed and climb
the ladder of status and prestige. Its hard for THREES to stay with their own feelings, desires, and
preferences. Its important to them to look good not to feel good. Work takes precedence over self. Its
conflictual for THREES to do something unpopular, to espouse values that get unfavorable audience
response. They are pragmatists. The end justifies the means. If it works, its good.
What is Avoided: Since they strive to be successful, THREES avoid failure. They dont undertake projects
unless they sense they can complete them. Their motto is: In life there are no failures, only learning
experiences.
Defensive Maneuvers: THREES avoid failure by identification with their successful image, role, and
projects. They change appearances, careers, interests in a chameleon-like manner to keep up with
whatever image is currently popular.
Childhood Development: THREES got approval for their achievements. Their worth derived from what
they did instead of from who they were. Performance and image were rewarded in place of personal
disclosure and emotional connections with others. Looking good, getting ahead, being successful were
emphasized in their family. Being adaptable helped them survive. Assuming the role and persona others
wanted them to be increased their recognition, status, and prestige.
Non-Resourceful State: When THREES are under stress, they do more of the same, that is, they become
more efficient and organized, work more frenetically, take on more projects, are on the go more, shake
more hands, and advertise themselves more. When this doesnt work, they turn off their smooth running
machine and stop. Doubting, numbing, neglecting themselves, avoiding responsibilities, and resigning

themselves to failure, they go from exertion to exhaustion. They drop out and turn off. In this depressed
state, their belief is their efforts dont matter, so whats the difference, why bother.
Resourceful State: When THREES are in a resourceful relaxed state, they get in touch with their inner
feelings, preferences, and desires. They are honest and resist changing themselves to manipulate others.
They show their true colors. They are loyal to themselves and to their values. They stay with what they
believe in vs switching to what is popular. They are also loyal to others. They are trustworthy as well as
competent. This combination makes them good leaders. They cooperate with others vs compete with
them. They trust that others will get things done in their own way and in their own time. They embrace
failure as a natural part of life. This loosens the hold of their image and helps them connect with their true
self and with others. Now able to say to themselves I am loyal, I do what I ought to do, they believe they
are acceptable as themselves. I am therefore I am active replaces I perform and produce therefore I am
O.K.
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Personality Style Five: The Wise Person
Core Value Tendency: FIVES are attracted to and value wisdom, knowledge, and learning. They want
to understand the world and make it a more reasonable place to live in. Having insights, learning about the
nature of things, and seeing how everything fits together is what life is all about.
Adaptive Cognitive Schema: The objective vision that keeps FIVES aligned with their true nature and
with reality is the realization that realunderstanding and wisdom come from experience, participation,
being involved with people and the world. And being known, seen, and revealed (transparent) is just as
vital as knowing, seeing, and revealing.
Adaptive Emotional Schema: The state that accompanies the FIVES objective paradigm is nonattachment, which is the experience of love as flowing in and out vs being withheld from outside and
bottled up inside. The energy of life flows freely into and out of the self. The detached person takes in just
what is needed and lets the rest go. The world is engaged and joined for the mutual enrichment of both
world and self.
Adaptive Behavioral Schemas: The combination of an appreciation of wisdom as involvement and
interaction along with the state of non-attachment lead to the ability to both detach and be observant and
synthetically get the whole picture as well as analytically getting to the heart or essence of the matter.
FIVES inner observer or fair witness is well developed allowing them dispassionately and objectively to
consider situations and events. They can put together disparate pieces of information into a unified system
and distill complex situations into concise insights and pithy statements. FIVES can move ideas and images
around in their head facilely. They can communicate clearly and succinctly. They are comfortable with
solitude.
Maladaptive Cognitive Schema: When FIVES exaggerate their intellectual qualities, they over-identify
with the idealized self image of I am wise and perceptive. To compensate for the maladaptive belief that
they dont know enough to act assuredly and assertively and so are inadequate, and to keep themselves
safe from criticism, they try to be wise and invisible. FIVES dont want to look foolish. They move away
from involvement and up into their heads. They believe if you dont know what theyre thinking, you cant
criticize them. And if you dont know their position, you cant shoot them down. FIVES are overly sensitive
and may exaggerate or misperceive intrusions, demands, being engulfed and taken over. They believe the
world is depriving and/or intrusive. FIVES dont want to look foolish.

Maladaptive Emotional Schema: As a consequence of moving away from the world and attempting to
live solely from their own resources, FIVES experience the passion of avarice. They are greedy for
knowledge and information to keep them safe and unassailable and are stingy with their ideas, feelings,
time energy, etc. Operating from a scarcity mentality, FIVES hold on to what they have and withhold from
others lest what they have be taken away from them.
Maladaptive Behavioral Schema: Perceiving the world as depriving and intrusive, and feeling greedy
and avaricious about this uncaring state of affairs, FIVES are inclined to move away from the world,
retreating into the sanctuary and privacy of their minds. They tend to be loners who view life from the
sidelines. They need to understand something completely before they make a decision and act. It is
difficult for FIVES to move against people and confront them to protect their space and ask for what they
want. Its also difficult to move toward people and express affection. FIVES are afraid of and avoid their
feelings and go instead to their ideas. Its hard for FIVES to stay connected or be too exposed.
What is Avoided: Because they want to appear wise and guard their privacy, FIVES avoid feeling empty
or being emptied. FIVES avoid situations where they dont know what they are supposed to do. Knowing
the guidelines, the rules of the game, what is expected and allowed helps them enter the game. When
they are afraid theyll be taken advantage of, they stay out of the game.
Defensive Maneuvers: FIVES ward off uncomfortable feelings and situations
through isolation and compartmentalization. To avoid feeling empty or drained, FIVES isolate
themselves in their heads away from the intrusions of their feelings and other people. They separate or
compartmentalize their thoughts from their feelings. Thats why when you ask FIVES what theyre feeling,
they tell you what theyre thinking. They also separate one time or period of their life from another. With
FIVES, out of sight tends to be out of mind vs making the heart grow fonder.
Childhood Development: FIVES may have experienced their parenting figures as being either too
intrusive or too aloof and depriving. They didnt experience their environment as empathic, as coming to
them when they needed something and leaving them alone when they were playing contentedly. As a
result they withdrew and began to do everything alone. By distancing and dissociating themselves from
what was going on around them, they felt safer. To survive, FIVES learned to keep their feelings and
thoughts to themselves. The intellectual world became more controllable and secure than the world of
feelings and the interpersonal world.
Non-Resourceful State: When FIVES are under stress and do more of the same, they remove themselves
and retreat further into their heads. They feel inadequate and unable to influence the situation and so
withdraw. They become contemptuous of others instead of reaching out to them. They fear pain and avoid
it. They rationalize or trivialize to avoid being assertive. They get into planning instead of doing. They
distract themselves or space out instead of focusing, deciding and acting.
Resourceful State: When FIVES are in a resourceful relaxed state, they get in touch with their personal
power and energy. They say to themselves: I am powerful; I can do. They move down into their body and
feelings instead of up into their head and thoughts. They insert themselves in the situation, believing they
can change it. They move towards and against others as well as away from them. They make contact and
get engaged and learn through experience vs vicariously. They set boundaries for themselves directly
rather than by withdrawing. They ask for what they need and let go of what they dont need. I am
therefore I think and I am connected replaces I think therefore I am and I think in order to figure out how
Im supposed to be and how Im supposed to get connected.

Personality Style Eight: The Powerful Person

Core Value Tendency: EIGHTS are attracted to and appreciate power. They desire to be strong,
independent, straightforward, assertive persons, who use their strength and influence to make the world a
more just place to live in. They value equity, the equal distribution of power, and show a concern for the
underprivileged and disenfranchised. Being your own person, doing your own thing, protecting your own is
what life is all about.
Adaptive Cognitive Schema: The objective principle that keeps EIGHTS aligned with their real self and
with reality is the realization that the laws of the universe are inherently just and that what goes around,
comes around. Justice means EIGHTS dont have to enforce or vindicate the laws of the universe. Justice
will out and the universe will ultimately be fair. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord vs saith the EIGHT.
Adaptive Emotional Schema: Innocence is the attitude that flows from the EIGHTS objective paradigm
and keeps EIGHTS connected to their better self, to others, and to reality. Innocence is the disposition of
not harming, expressed by the attitude of why would you want to harm anyone and why would anyone
want to harm you. Innocence experiences each moment freshly, approaching life and expressing love as a
childlike response to the current situation without cynical judgments or jaded expectations.
Adaptive Behavioral Schemas: Forceful actions that follow from a proper understanding of justice and
from an attitude of innocence are tempered by a compassionate concern for oneself and others. EIGHTS
can tell the truth, tell it like it is, in a way that is challenging and up-building while not being punitive or
tearing down. They are self confident, self-assured, magnanimous, good leaders, energized by a challenge
and appreciating a good contest. EIGHTS can move against others to get what they need and to protect
their territory. They can take charge, act on their own, and get things done. They enjoy exerting energy,
protecting the weak, and empowering the disenfranchised.
Maladaptive Cognitive Schema: When EIGHTS exaggerate their powerful qualities, they over-identify
with the idealized self image of I am powerful; I can do. To compensate for the maladaptive beliefs that
they are going to be neglected, not listened to, and not have their needs met, and that they are going to
be affronted and taken advantage of, they become overly offensive. On the lookout for challenges and
injustices, they survive by being strong, tough, and fierce.
Maladaptive Emotional Schema: As a consequence of perceiving the world as hard, hostile, and
uncaring, EIGHTS experience the passion oflust. For fear they are not going to get what is their due, they
grab as much as they can. You only go around once in life, so live it with all the gusto you can. EIGHTS do
everything with intensity. They work hard, play hard, love hard, etc.
Maladaptive Behavioral Schema: Perceiving the world as hostile, and feeling lustful and intense much
of the time, EIGHTS develop a forceful, grabbing, take charge attitude toward the world. They use their
power to protect and aggrandize themselves vs building up their community. Going beyond assertion, they
move against others in aggressive intimidating behaviors. Becoming overbearing and intimidating to get
heard and get their way, they can become bullies.
What is Avoided: Since they need to feel and appear strong, EIGHTS avoid any kind of weakness. To
show weakness or inadequacy would give others power over them. They are slow to show their feminine,
compassionate, kindly, gentle side. While it is easy for EIGHTS to express their anger, they find it difficult
to express their tender warm emotions or their fragile feelings like fear, sadness, and embarrassment.
Being comfortable with moving against others, they find it difficult to move towards or away from others.

Defensive Maneuvers: EIGHTS ward off any tender feelings or manifestations of weakness by denial.
They simply deny any presence of what they consider to be weakness, such as kindness, considerateness,
sensitivity, etc. They debunk and put down any show of sentimentality, suffering, error, etc.
Childhood Development: Some EIGHTS may have had caretakers who were aggressive or abusive, and
so they learned how to fight by imitating them. They learned that the world was a hostile or unjust place
and the way to survive was to be tough and make sure you were treated fairly. If they had to seek
vengeance or get even to maintain the balance of power, then so be it. Mistrusting incompetent
authorities, EIGHTS felt secure when they were in control. They understood they had to stand up for their
own rights and not count on others to do so for them. They learned they had to stand up to people.
Non-Resourceful State: When EIGHTS are under stress, they try to be tougher, more aggressive, more in
control. If their influence doesnt work on others, they may turn their power against themselves, beat up
on themselves, get depressed, and withdraw. Instead of exploding, they implode their energy and isolate
themselves. They may feel inadequate and unable to influence the situation. They may intellectualize
instead of sympathize. They may exaggerate their independence even more and not let others support or
comfort them.
Resourceful State: When EIGHTS are in a resourceful relaxed state, they believe that the world is just
and that justice will come about without their having to seek vengeance. They trust others and respect
their rights as much as they demand respect for their own rights. Assuming an attitude of innocence, they
use their power to build others up and help them vs intimidating or debunking them. In touch with their
tender gentle side, they are compassionate toward themselves and others. They personify the saying:
There is nothing stronger than true gentleness and nothing gentler than true strength. I am therefore I am
powerfully present replaces Yeah, though I walk through the Valley of Darkness, I shall fear no evil, for I am
the meanest SOB in the valley.
http://www.enneagramspectrum.com/enneagram-styles/

Structure
The Enneagrams structure may look complicated, although it is actually simple. It will help you understand
the Enneagram if you sketch it yourself.
Draw a circle and mark nine equidistant points on its circumference. Designate each point by a number
from one to nine, with nine at the top, for symmetry and by convention. Each point represents one of the
nine basic personality types.
The nine points on the circumference are also connected with each other by the inner lines of the
Enneagram. Note that points Three, Six, and Nine form an equilateral triangle. The remaining six points are
connected in the following order: One connects with Four, Four with Two, Two with Eight, Eight with Five,
Five with Seven, and Seven with One. These six points form an irregular hexagram. The meaning of these
inner lines will be discussed shortly.
The Enneagram

Your Basic Personality Type

From one point of view, the Enneagram can be seen as a set of nine distinct personality types, with each
number on the Enneagram denoting one type. It is common to find a little of yourself in all nine of the
types, although one of them should stand out as being closest to yourself. This is your basic personality
type.
Everyone emerges from childhood with one of the nine types dominating their personality, with inborn
temperament and other pre-natal factors being the main determinants of our type. This is one area where
most all of the major Enneagram authors agreewe are born with a dominant type. Subsequently, this
inborn orientation largely determines the ways in which we learn to adapt to our early childhood
environment. It also seems to lead to certain unconscious orientations toward our parental figures, but why
this is so, we still do not know. In any case, by the time children are four or five years old, their
consciousness has developed sufficiently to have a separate sense of self. Although their identity is still
very fluid, at this age children begin to establish themselves and find ways of fitting into the world on their
own.
Thus, the overall orientation of our personality reflects the totality of all childhood factors (including
genetics) that influenced its development. (For more about the developmental patterns of each personality
type, see the related section in the type descriptions inPersonality Types and in The Wisdom of the
Enneagram. There is a discussion of the overall theory in Understanding The Enneagram (67-70).
Several more points can be made about the basic type itself.
1.

People do not change from one basic personality type to another.

2.

The descriptions of the personality types are universal and apply equally to males and females,
since no type is inherently masculine or feminine.

3.

Not everything in the description of your basic type will apply to you all the time because you
fluctuate constantly among the healthy, average, and unhealthy traits that make up your personality type.

4.

The Enneagram uses numbers to designate each of the types because numbers are value neutral
they imply the whole range of attitudes and behaviors of each type without specifying anything either
positive or negative. Unlike the labels used in psychiatry, numbers provide an unbiased, shorthand way of
indicating a lot about a person without being pejorative.

5.

The numerical ranking of the types is not significant. A larger number is no better than a smaller
number; it is not better to be a Nine than a Two because nine is a bigger number.

6.

No type is inherently better or worse than any other. While all the personality types have unique
assets and liabilities, some types are often more desirable than others in any given culture or group.
Furthermore, for one reason or another, you may not be happy being a particular type. You may feel that
your type is handicapped in some way. As you learn more about all the types, you will see that just as
each has unique capacities, each has different limitations. If some types are more esteemed in Western

society than others, it is because of the qualities that society rewards, not because of any superior value of
those types. The ideal is to become your best self, not to imitate the assets of another type.
Identifying Your Basic Personality Type
If taken properly, our questionnaire, the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI), will identify
your basic personality type for you. This short section is included so that we can have a basic
understanding of the types in our discussion without having to go to the longer descriptions in the next
section.
As you think about your personality, which of the following nine roles fits you best most of the time? Or, to
put it differently, if you were to describe yourself in a few words, which of the following word clusters would
come closest?

The Enneagram with Riso-Hudson Type Names

These one-word descriptors can be expanded into four-word sets of traits. Keep in mind that these are
merely highlights and do not represent the full spectrum of each type.
Type One is principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionistic.
Type Two is generous, demonstrative, people-pleasing, and possessive.
Type Three is adaptable, excelling, driven, and image-conscious.
Type Four is expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental.
Type Five is perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated.
Type Six is engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious.
Type Seven is spontaneous, versatile, acquisitive, and scattered.
Type Eight is self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational.

Type Nine is receptive, reassuring, complacent, and resigned.

The Centers
The Enneagram is a 3 x 3 arrangement of nine personality types in three Centers. There are three types in
the Instinctive Center, three in the Feeling Center, and three in theThinking Center, as shown below. Each
Center consists of three personality types that have in common the assets and liabilities of that Center. For
example, personality type Four has unique strengths and liabilities involving its feelings, which is why it is
in the Feeling Center. Likewise, the Eights assets and liabilities involve its relationship to its instinctual
drives, which is why it is in the Instinctive Center, and so forth for all nine personality types.

The Centers of the Enneagram

The inclusion of each type in its Center is not arbitrary. Each type results from a particular relationship with
a cluster of issues that characterize that Center. Most simply, these issues revolve around a powerful,
largely unconscious emotional response to the loss of contact with the core of the self. In the Instinctive
Center, the emotion is Anger or Rage. In the Feeling Center, the emotion is Shame, and in the Thinking
Center, it is Fear. Of course, all nine types contain all three of these emotions, but in each Center, the
personalities of the types are particularly affected by that Centers emotional theme.

The Dominant Emotion of each Center

Thus, each type has a particular way of coping with the dominant emotion of its Center. We can briefly see
what this means by examining each type, Center by Center. In the Instinctive Center, Eights act out their
anger and instinctual energies. In other words, when Eights feel anger building in them, they immediately
respond to it in some physical way, raising their voices, moving more forcefully. Others can clearly see that
Eights are angry because they give themselves permission to express their anger physically.
Nines deny their anger and instinctual energies as if to say, What anger? I am not a person who gets
angry. Nines are the type most out of touch with their anger and instinctual energies, often feeling
threatened by them. Of course, Nines get angry like everyone else, but try to stay out of their darker
feelings by focusing on idealizations of their relationships and their world.
Ones attempt to control or repress their anger and instinctual energy. They feel that they must stay in
control of themselves, especially of their instinctual impulses and angry feelings at all times. They would
like to direct these energies according to the dictates of their highly developed inner critic (superego), the
source of their strictures on themselves and others.
In the Feeling Center, Twos attempt to control their shame by getting other people to like them and to
think of them as good people. They also want to convince themselves that they are good, loving people by
focusing on their positive feelings for others while repressing their negative feelings (such as anger and
resentment at not being appreciated enough). As long as Twos can get positive emotional responses from
others, they feel wanted and are able to control feelings of shame.
Threes try to deny their shame, and are potentially the most out of touch with underlying feelings of
inadequacy. Threes learn to cope with shame by trying to become what they believe a valuable, successful
person is like. Thus, Threes learn to perform well, to be acceptable, even outstanding and are often driven
relentlessly in their pursuit of success as a way of staving off feelings of shame and fears of failure.
Fours attempt to control their shame by focusing on how unique and special their particular talents,
feelings, and personal characteristics are. Fours highlight their individuality and creativity as a way of
dealing with their shameful feelings, although Fours are the type most likely to succumb to feelings of
inadequacy. Fours also manage their shame by cultivating a rich, romantic fantasy life in which they do not
have to deal with whatever in their life seems drab or uninteresting to them.
In the Thinking Center, Fives have fear about the outer world and about their capacity to cope with it.
Thus, they cope with their fear by withdrawing from the world. Fives become secretive, isolated loners who
use their minds to penetrate into the nature of the world. Fives hope that eventually, as they understand
reality on their own terms, they will be able to rejoin the world and participate in it, but they never feel
they know enough to participate with total confidence. Instead, they involve themselves with increasingly
complex inner worlds.

Sixes exhibit the most fear of all three types, largely experienced as anxiety, which causes them to be the
most out of touch with their own sense of inner knowing and confidence. Unlike Fives, Sixes have trouble
trusting their own minds, so they are constantly looking outside themselves for something to make them
feel sure of themselves. They might turn to philosophies, beliefs, relationships, jobs, savings, authorities,
or any combination of the above. But no matter how many security structures they create, Sixes still feel
doubtful and anxious. They may even begin to doubt the very people and beliefs that they have turned to
for reassurance. Sixes may also respond to their fear and anxiety by impulsively confronting it defying
their fear in the effort to be free of it.
Sevens have fear about their inner world. There are feelings of pain, loss, deprivation, and general anxiety
that Sevens would like to stay clear of as much as possible. To cope with these feelings, Sevens keep their
minds occupied with exciting possibilities and options as long as they have something stimulating to
anticipate, Sevens feel that they can distract themselves from their fears. Sevens, in most cases, do not
stop merely at thinking about these options, however. As much as possible they attempt to actually do as
many of their options as they can. Thus, Sevens can be found staying on the go, pursuing one experience
after another, and keeping themselves entertained and engaged with their many ideas and activities.
The Wing
No one is a pure personality type: everyone is a unique mixture of his or her basic type and usually one of
the two types adjacent to it on the circumference of the Enneagram. One of the two types adjacent to your
basic type is called your wing.
Your basic type dominates your overall personality, while the wing complements it and adds important,
sometimes contradictory, elements to your total personality. Your wing is the second side of your
personality, and it must be taken into consideration to better understand yourself or someone else. For
example, if you are a personality type Nine, you will have likely have either a One-wing or an Eight-wing,
and your personality as a whole can best be understood by considering the traits of the Nine as they
uniquely blend with the traits of either the One or the Eight. In our teaching experience over the years, we
have also encountered some individuals who seem to have both wings, while others are strongly
influenced by their basic type and show little of either wing.
There is disagreement among the various traditions of the Enneagram about whether individuals have one
or two wings. Strictly speaking, everyone has two wingsin the restricted sense that both of the types
adjacent to your basic type are operative in your personality since each person possesses the potentials of
all nine types. However, this is not what is usually meant by having two wings, and proponents of the socalled two-wing theory believe that both wings operate more or less equally in everyones personality. (For
example, they believe that a Nine would have roughly equal amounts of his or her Eight and One wings.)
Observation of people leads us to conclude that while the two-wing theory applies to some individuals,
most people have a dominant wing. In the vast majority of people, while the so-called second wing always

remains operative to some degree, the dominant wing is far more important. (For example, Twos with
Three-wings are noticeably different from Twos with One-wings, and while Twos with Three-wings have a
One-wing, it is not nearly as important as the Three-wing.) It is therefore clearer to refer simply to a types
wing as opposed to its dominant wing, since the two terms represent the same concept.
One other observation about wings is worth mentioning. In the course of teaching the Enneagram in
workshops and Trainings, many people in the latter half of their lives have reported the development of
their so-called second wing. And in individuals who have been pursuing psychological and/or spiritual
work, we have seen evidence that this is true. We do not know, however, whether these students were
merely seeing all of the positive potentials of the nine types unfolding in them as they maturedtheir
second wing being one of the other seven typesor whether this was a specific development of the
second wing type. We will continue to investigate this idea in our work with our students and colleagues.
It is, of course, necessary to identify your basic type before you can assess which wing you have. Besides
indicating your basic type, the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator may also indicate your wing.
Even so, the best way to understand the influence of your wing is to read the full descriptions of your type
and its wings in Personality Types. You can also read the descriptions of the two types adjacent to your
basic type and decide which best applies to you.

The Levels of Development

There is an internal structure within each personality type. That structure is the continuum of behaviors,
attitudes, defenses, and motivations formed by the nine Levels of Development which makes up the
personality type itself. This discovery (and the working out of all the traits that comprise each type) was
made by Don Riso in 1977, and has been subsequently developed with Russ Hudson in the last ten
years. They are the only Enneagram teachers to include this important factor in their treatment of the
Enneagram. The Levels are an important contribution not only to the Enneagram but to ego psychology
and the personality types of the Enneagram cannot be adequately explained without them. The Levels
account for differences between people of the same type as well as how people change both for better or
worse. Thus, they can also help therapists and counselors pinpoint what is actually going on with clients
and suggest solutions to the problems they are having.
The Levels of Development provide a framework for seeing how all of the different traits that comprise
each type fit into a large whole; they are a way of conceptualizing the underlying skeletal structure of
each type. Without the Levels, the types can seem to be an arbitrary collection of unrelated traits, with
contradictory behaviors and attitudes often part of the picture. But by understanding the Levels for each
type, one can see how all of the traits are interrelatedand how healthy traits can deteriorate into average
traits and possibly into unhealthy ones. As pioneering consciousness philosopher Ken Wilber has noted,
without the Levels, the Enneagram is reduced to a horizontal set of nine discrete categories. By including

the Levels, however, a vertical dimension is added that not only reflects the complexity of human nature,
but goes far in explaining many different, important elements within personality.
Further, with the Levels, a dynamic element is introduced that reflects the changing nature of the
personality patterns themselves. You have probably noticed that people change constantlysometimes
they are clearer, more free, grounded, and emotionally available, while at other times they are more
anxious, resistant, reactive, emotionally volatile and less free. Understanding the Levels makes it clear that
when people change states within their personality, they are shifting within the spectrum of motivations,
traits, and defenses that make up their personality type.
To understand an individual accurately, it is necessary to perceive where the person lies along the
continuum of Levels of his or her type at a given time. In other words, one must assess whether a person is
in their healthy, average, or unhealthy range of functioning. This is important because, for example, two
people of the same personality type and wing will differ significantly if one is healthy and the other
unhealthy. (In relationships and in the business world, understanding this distinction is crucial.)
The continuum is comprised of nine internal Levels of Developmentbriefly, there are three Levels in the
healthy section, three Levels in the average section, and three Levels in the unhealthy section. It may help
you to think of the continuum of Levels as a photographers gray scale which has gradations from pure
white to pure black with many shades of gray in between. On the continuum, the healthiest traits appear
first, at the top, so to speak. As we move down the continuum in a spiral pattern, we progressively pass
through each Level of Development marking a distinct shift in the personalitys deterioration to the pure
black of psychological breakdown at the bottom. The continuum for each of the personality types can be
seen in the following diagram.
Healthy

Level 1: The Level of Liberation

Level 2: The Level of Psychological Capacity
Level 3: The Level of Social Value
Average

Level 4: The Level of Imbalance/ Social Role

Level 5: The Level of Interpersonal Control

Level 6: The Level of Overcompensation

Unhealthy

Level 7: The Level of Violation

Level 8: The Level of Obsession and Compulsion

Level 9: The Level of Pathological Destructiveness

The Continuum of the Levels of Development

At each Level, significant psychological shifts occur as is indicated by the title we have given to it. For
example, at Level 5, the Level of Interpersonal Control, the person is trying to manipulate himself and
others to get his or her psychological needs met. This invariably creates interpersonal conflicts. By this
Level, the person has also fully identified with the ego and does not see himself as anything more than
that: the ego must therefore be increasingly defended and inflated for the person to feel safe and to keep
their identity in tact. If this activity does not satisfy the person, and anxiety increases, he or she may
deteriorate to the next state, Level 6, the Level of Overcompensation, where their behavior will become
more intrusive and aggressive as they continue to purse their ego-agenda. Anxiety is increasing, and the
person is increasingly disruptive, and focused on getting his needs met, regardless of the impact on people
around them.
One of the most profound ways of understanding the Levels is as a measure of our capacity to be present.
The more we move down the Levels, the more identified we are with our ego and its increasingly negative
and restrictive patterns. Our personality becomes more defensive, reactive, and automatic and we
consequently have less and less real freedom and less real consciousness. As we move down the Levels,
we become caught in more compulsive, destructive actions which are ultimately self-defeating.
By contrast, the movement toward health, up the Levels, is simultaneous with being more present and
awake in our minds, hearts, and bodies. As we become more present, we become less fixated in the
defensive structures of our personality and are more attuned and open to ourselves and our environment.
We see our personality objectively in action rather than falling asleep to our automatic personality
patterns. There is therefore the possibility of not doing our personality and of gaining some real distance
the negative consequences of getting caught in it.
As we become more present, we see our personality traits more objectively and the Levels become a
continuous guide to self-observation, a map that we can use to chart where we are in our psycho-spiritual
development at any given time. As we move up the Levels, we discover that we are freer and less driven
by compulsive, unconscious drives and therefore able to act more effectively in all areas of our lives,
including in our relationships. When we are less identified with our personality, we find that we respond as
needed to whatever life presents, actualizing the positive potentials in all nine types, bringing real peace,
creativity, strength, joy, compassion, and other positive qualities to whatever we are doing. (For more,
see Personality Types, 45-51, 421-6; 465-93; Understanding the Enneagram, 136-66, andThe
Wisdom of the Enneagram.)
For an expanded example of the Levels for Type 8, click here.

Directions of Integration (Growth) and Disintegration (Stress)

As we have seen with the Levels of Development, the nine personality types of the Enneagram are not
static categories: they reflect our change over time. Further, the sequence of the types and the
arrangement of the inner lines of the symbol are not arbitrary. The inner lines of the Enneagram connect
the types in a sequence that denotes what each type will do under different conditions. There are two lines
connected to each type, and they connect with two other types. One line connects with a type that
represents how a person of the first type behaves when they are moving toward health and growth. This is
called the Direction of Integration or Growth. The other line goes to another type that represents how the
person is likely to act out if they are under increased stress and pressurewhen they feel they are not in
control of the situation. This second line is called the Direction of Stress or Disintegration. In other words,
different situations will evoke different kinds of responses from your personality. You will respond or adapt
in different directions, as indicated by the lines of the Enneagram from your basic type. Again, we see the
flexibility and dynamism of the Enneagram.
The Direction of Stress or Disintegration for each type is indicated by the sequence of numbers 1-4-28-5-7-1. This means that an average to unhealthy One under stress will eventually behave like an average
to unhealthy Four; an average to unhealthy Four will act out their stress like an average to unhealthy Two;
an average to unhealthy Two will act out under stress like an Eight, an Eight will act out under stress like a
Five, a Five will act out like a Seven, and a Seven will act out like a One. (An easy way to remember the
sequence is to realize that 1-4 or 14 doubles to 28, and that doubles to 57or almost so. Thus, 1-4-2-8-5-7
and the sequence returns to 1 and begins again.) Likewise, on the equilateral triangle, the sequence is 96-3-9: a stressed out Nine will act out like a Six, a stressed out Six will act out like a Three, and a stressed
out Three will act out like a Nine. (You can remember this sequence if you think of the numerical values
diminishing as the types become more stressed and reactive. For a longer explanation and examples,
see Personality Types, 47-52, 413-8.) You can see how this works by following the direction of the arrows
on the following Enneagram.

The Direction of Disintegration

1-4-2-8-5-7-1
9-6-3-9

The Direction of Integration or Growth is indicated for each type by the reverse of the sequences for
disintegration. Each type moves toward integration in a direction that is the opposite of its unhealthy
direction. Thus, the sequence for the Direction of Integration is 1-7-5-8-2-4-1: an integrating One goes to
Seven, an integrating Seven goes to Five, an integrating Five goes to Eight, an integrating Eight goes to
Two, an integrating Two goes to Four, and an integrating Four goes to One. On the equilateral triangle, the
sequence is 9-3-6-9: an integrating Nine will go to Three, an integrating Three will go to Six, and an
integrating Six will go to Nine. You can see how this works by following the direction of the arrows on the
following Enneagram.

The Direction of Integration

1-7-5-8-2-4-1
9-3-6-9
It is not necessary to have separate Enneagrams for the Direction of Integration and the Direction of
Disintegration. Both directions can be shown on one Enneagram by eliminating the arrows and connecting
the proper points with plain lines.

The Direction of Integration

1-7-5-8-2-4-1
9-3-6-9

The Direction of Stress

1-4-2-8-5-7-1
9-6-3-9
No matter which personality type you are, the types in both your Direction of Integration and your
Direction of Stress or Disintegration are important influences. To obtain a complete picture of yourself (or
of someone else), you must take into consideration the basic type and wing as well as the two types in the
Directions of Integration and Disintegration. The factors represented by those four types blend into your
total personality and provide the framework for understanding the influences operating in you. For
example, no one is simply a personality type Two. A Two has either a One-wing or a Three-wing, and the
Twos Direction of Disintegration (Eight) and its Direction of Integration (Four) also play important parts in
his or her overall personality.
Ultimately, the goal is for each of us to move around the Enneagram, integrating what each type
symbolizes and acquiring the healthy potentials of all the types. The ideal is to become a balanced, fully
functioning person who can draw on the power (or from the Latin, virtue) of each as needed. Each of the
types of the Enneagram symbolizes different important aspects of what we need to achieve this end. The
personality type we begin life with is therefore less important ultimately than how well (or badly) we use
our type as the beginning point for our self-development and self-realization.
The Three Instincts
The three Instincts (often erroneously called the subtypes) are a third set of distinctions that are
extremely important for understanding personality. A major aspect of human nature lies in our instinctual
hard wiring as biological beings. We each are endowed with specific instinctual intelligences that are
necessary for our survival as individuals and as a species. We each have a self-preservation instinct (for
preserving the body and its life and functioning), a sexual instinct (for extending ourselves in the
environment and through the generations), and a social instinct (for getting along with others and forming
secure social bonds).
While we have all three Instincts in us, one of them is the dominant focus of our attention and behavior
the set of attitudes and values that we are most attracted to and comfortable with. We each also have a
second Instinct that is used to support the dominant Instinct, as well as a third Instinct that is the least
developeda real blind spot in our personality and our values. Which Instinct is in each of these three
placesmost, middle, and least developedproduces what we call our Instinctual Stack (like a threelayer cake) with your dominant Instinct on top, the next most developed Instinct in the middle, and the
least developed on the bottom).
These instinctual drives profoundly influence our personalities, and at the same time, our personalities
largely determine how each person prioritizes these instinctual needs. Thus, while every human being has
all three of these instincts operating in him or her, our personality causes us to be more concerned with

one of these instincts than the other two. We call this instinct our dominant instinct. This tends to be our
first prioritythe area of life we attend to first. But when we are more caught up in the defenses of our
personalityfurther down the Levels of Development our personality most interferes with our dominant
instinct.
Further, our Enneagram type flavors the way in which we approach our dominant instinctual need.
Combining our Enneagram type with our dominant instinct yields a much more specific portrait of the
workings of our personality. When we apply the distinctions of these three instincts to the nine Enneagram
types they create 27 unique combinations of type and dominant instinct that account for differences and
variability within the types. We call these combinations the Instinctual Variants.
The Enneagram Institute offers an online test, the Instinctual Variants Questionnaire (IVQ), for helping
people determine not only their dominant instinct, but also their Instinctual Stack. The IVQ also provides a
detailed personality profile derived from the combination of the test takers Enneagram type, wing, and
Instinctual Stack.
The following are brief descriptions of the three instincts:
Self Preservation Instinct
People who have this as their dominant instinct are preoccupied with the safety, comfort, health, energy,
and well-being of the physical body. In a word, they are concerned with having enough resources to meet
lifes demands. Identification with the body is a fundamental focus for all humans, and we need our body
to function well in order to be alive and active in the world. Most people in contemporary cultures are not
faced life or death survival in the strictest sense; thus, Self-Preservation types tend to be concerned with
food, money, housing, medical matters, and physical comfort. Moreover, those primarily focused on selfpreservation, by extension, are usually interested in maintaining these resources for others as well. Their
focus of attention naturally goes towards things related to these areas such as clothes, temperature,
shopping, decorating, and the like, particularly if they are not satisfied in these areas or have a feeling of
deficiency due to their childhoods. Self-Pres types tend to be more grounded, practical, serious, and
introverted than the other two instinctual types. They might have active social lives and a satisfying
intimate relationship, but if they feel that their self-preservation needs are not being met, still tend not to
be happy or at ease. In their primary relationships, these people are nestersthey seek domestic
tranquility and security with a stable, reliable partner.
Sexual (aka Attraction) Instinct
Many people originally identify themselves as this type because they have learned that the Sexual types
are interested in one-on-one relationships. But all three instinctual types are interested in one-on-one
relationships for different reasons, so this does not distinguish them. The key element in Sexual types is an
intense drive for stimulation and a constant awareness of the chemistry between themselves and others.

Sexual types are immediately aware of the attraction, or lack thereof, between themselves and other
people. Further, while the basis of this instinct is related to sexuality, it is not necessarily about people
engaging in the sexual act. There are many people that we are excited to be around for reasons of
personal chemistry that we have no intention of getting involved with. Nonetheless, we might be aware
that we feel stimulated in certain peoples company and less so in others. The sexual type is constantly
moving toward that sense of intense stimulation and juicy energy in their relationships and in their
activities. They are the most energized of the three instinctual types, and tend to be more aggressive,
competitive, charged, and emotionally intense than the Self-Pres or Social types. Sexual types need to
have intense energetic charge in their primary relationships or else they remain unsatisfied. They enjoy
being intensely involvedeven mergedwith others, and can become disenchanted with partners who are
unable to meet their need for intense energetic union. Losing yourself in a fusion of being is the ideal
here, and Sexual types are always looking for this state with others and with stimulating objects in their
world.
Social (aka Adaptive) Instinct
Just as many people tend to misidentify themselves as Sexual types because they want one-on-one
relationships, many people fail to recognize themselves as Social types because they get the (false) idea
that this means always being involved in groups, meetings, and parties. If Self-Preservation types are
interested in adjusting the environment to make themselves more secure and comfortable, Social
types adapt themselves to serve the needs of the social situation they find themselves in. Thus, Social
types are highly aware of other people, whether they are in intimate situations or in groups. They are also
aware of how their actions and attitudes are affecting those around them. Moreover, Sexual types seek
intimacy, Social types seek personal connection: they want to stay in long-term contact with people and to
be involved in their world. Social types are the most concerned with doing things that will have some
impact on their community, or even broader domains. They tend to be warmer, more open, engaging, and
socially responsible than the other two types. In their primary relationships, they seek partners with whom
they can share social activities, wanting their intimates to get involved in projects and events with them.
Paradoxically, they actually tend to avoid long periods of exclusive intimacy and quiet solitude, seeing both
as potentially limiting. Social types lose their sense of identity and meaning when they are not involved
with others in activities that transcend their individual interests.
Typing Yourself and Others
Once you have taken the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator to discover your dominant type, and
perhaps also the Instinctual Variants Questionnaire to further refine your understanding of the
Enneagram types, you may be curious about the personality types of others. Since you will usually not be
able to administer the RHETI or IVQ to business associates or to strangers, you might wonder how you
can become more skilled at discovering which type someone else is. By studying the descriptions
in Personality Types, Understanding the Enneagram, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram, you will,

in time, become more adept at typing people. As you do so, however, you might keep several points in
mind.
You may be able to figure out the types of a few close friends rather quickly, or you may find it difficult to
categorize people and not know where to begin. Either state is normal. It is not always apparent which
type someone is, and it takes time and study to sharpen your skills. Remember that you are like a
beginning medical student who is learning to diagnose a wide variety of conditions, some healthy and
some unhealthy. It takes practice to learn to identify the various symptoms of each type and to see
larger syndromes.
Despite the subtleties and complexities involved, there is really no secret about typing people. You must
learn which traits go with each type and observe how people manifest those traits. This is a subtle
undertaking because there are many subtypes and quirks to each personality type. Different types can
sometimes seem similar, particularly if their motivations are not taken into account. This is why it is not
sufficient to focus on a single trait in isolation and make a diagnosis based on it alone. It is necessary to
see each type as a whole its overall style, approach to life, and especially its underlying motivations
before you can determine someones type reliably. Many elements must come together before you can be
sure that you have typed someone accurately.
Moreover, when we diagnose others, we are always on thinner ice than when we use the Enneagram to
deepen our own self-knowledge. It is, of course, more appropriate to apply this material to ourselves than
to type others while we avoid looking at our own lives. Nevertheless, it is unrealistic to think that anything
as interesting (or as insightful) as the Enneagram will not be used for better understanding others. In fact,
we categorize people all the time. No one approaches others without some sort of mental categories. We
automatically perceive people either as male or female, black or white, attractive or unattractive, good or
bad, friend or enemy, and so forth. It is not only honest to be aware of this, it is useful to have more
accurate and appropriate categories for everyone, including ourselves.
Although the Enneagram is probably the most open-ended and dynamic of typologies, this does not imply
that the Enneagram can say all there is to say about human beings. Individuals are understandable only up
to a certain point beyond which they remain mysterious and unpredictable. Thus, while there can be no
simple explanations for persons, it is still possible to say something true about them. In the last analysis,
the Enneagram helps us to do thatand only that. The Enneagram is useful because it indicates with
startling clarity certain constellations of meaning about something that is essentially beyond definition: the
mystery that we are.
- See more at: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/how-the-enneagram-systemworks/#sthash.BQMSSl11.dpuf