What is Enneagram? 9 Personality Types

Hello friends!

The personality enneagram is a model that describes individual differences based on nine types of people. The word enneagram comes from the Greek ἐννέα and γράμμα. In general, people speak in the enneagram rather than the personality enneagram.

Thus, the enneagram describes 9 personality types that are interconnected and easily observable in our day-to-day lives. It is a model that is used in the office and companies for the selection of personnel. Although it is not taught or researched at most psychology universities, it is a relatively popular model in business and some spiritualist circles.

In this text, we are going to talk about the 9 personality types or enneatypes. But first, let’s learn a little more about the history of the enneagram.

Although some theorists have found similar models of the Enneagram as early as the fourth century in Alexandria, the modern Enneagram was made by researcher Oscar Ichazo in his work “Enneagon of Ego Fixations” (literally Eneagon of Ego Fixations) in the 1950s, when he started teaching the Enagram in personal development workshops. His personal development program included the Enneagram and the use of other symbols and symbolism and was started in Chile and later in the United States, already under the name of Enneagram of Personality.

Claudio Naranjo, a Chilean psychiatrist, learned the Enneagram in Ichazo’s courses and also took it to the United States, but with some modifications based on his own style. Naranjo began teaching the Enneagram to very diverse audiences, including Jesuit priests who began to use this knowledge in seminars and spiritual courses.

The 9 Personality Types on the Enneagram

There are 9 Personality Types in the Enneagram:

1) Perfectionist, Reformist (in English Reformer);

2) Helpful, Manipulator (in English Helper);

3) Successful, Competitive (in English Achiever);

4) Individualist;

5) Observer, Thinker (in English Investigator);

6) Questioner (in English Loaylist);

7) Dreamy, Impulsive (in English Enthusiast);

8) Confrontador, Leader (in English Challenger);

9) Pacifist, Preservationist (in English Peacemaker).

Next, let’s see some characteristics of each of the 9 Types.

Type 1) Perfectionist, Reformer (Reformer)

The central idea for the first type is perfection. Therefore, he focuses all his attention on the error, on what must be corrected and, in this sense, he is also a reformist, that is, he comes to correct existing faults. His ego fixation is resentment.

Phrase: “I do it my way”

2) Helpful, Manipulator (Helper);

The central point for the second type is to be loved by others, for this reason this type is called helpful and will help in every situation he can. This is their negative side, via negativa their fear of not receiving love makes them manipulative.

Phrase: “I must help others”

3) Successful, Competitive (in English Achiever);

Competitiveness is the central idea for the third type, that is, they seek success at all costs, they seek to be successful and this is their most important objective. With that, they can struggle a lot in the professional area, but this exaggerated competitiveness can also be noticed in other areas of their lives. Their desire to be admired for their achievements motivates them to succeed. In the via negativa, they fear failure and rejection.

Phrase: “I need to be successful”

4) Individualist;

The individualist seeks self-knowledge, self-understanding and, with that, they often develop original things. On the negative side, they can be overly melancholic and introspective.

Phrase: “I am unique”.

5) Observer, Thinker (in English Investigator);

The central idea for type 5 is total knowledge. With their accurate and constant observation, they always seek to know more about the world and people, in an eternal cycle of knowing to use the acquired knowledge to know more. Therefore, they observe and analyze all the time.

Phrase: “I need to understand the world”.

6) Questioner (in Skeptic English);

In English, the word that defines type 6 can be Skeptic (skeptic) or Loyalist (Loyalist), which is quite curious because the difference between being loyal (to something, someone, or some idea) is quite different from being skeptic. However, we can notice in these two tendencies, practically opposed, the representation of a single type, in the via negativa and the via positive.

Phrase: “I am skeptical”.

7) Dreamy, Impulsive (in English Enthusiast);

The dreamy type is one of the most easily recognizable. The central idea is the search for happiness, the search for joy. They are usually very fun and optimistic and are always ready to hear a new idea, to dream up a new project. In the negative form, they can be impulsive and fickle, going hourly in the direction of a new dream.

Phrase: “I am happy and open to new ideas).

8) Confrontador, Leader (in English Challenger);

Type 8, also called a Leader, is that person who is always confronted with others and, due to this single characteristic, has a great tendency to lead groups and people. They are motivated to action and, positively, can motivate people to achieve their goals and the goals of the group.

Phrase: “I must be strong”

9) Pacifist, Preservationist (in English Peacemaker)

As the word itself says, type 9 is a guy who seeks peace, seeks to resolve conflicts, disagreements and disagreements. In English, we literally have – what makes peace. Its great tendency is to seek and create unity among people.

Phrase: “I am at peace”

Conclusion

In this brief text about the Enneagram, it was possible to learn a little more about its definition of a 9-type personality theory, its current history and a brief description of each of the studied personalities.

In conclusion, I would like to mention that the Enneagram is generally not studied in psychology majors. Some graduations, of course, address the subject because the professors have taken courses taught separately. However, from what I could see, the normal thing is that the student who is interested in this theory has to look for extracurricular courses to expand their knowledge.

In general, the Enneagram is not considered a personality theory recognized by psychology, although it is used in different contexts such as offices and clinics and especially in companies and environments linked to spirituality.

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