The Enneagram:

Assessing Personality
one number at a time

Patricia Fearing
June 19, 2016

The Enneagram is an ancient personality

typology that based on patterns of
perception, emotion and behavior. (Bland, 16)

What is the
Enneagram

According to Riso and Hudson (1996), "The

Enneagram is a universal psychological
symbol, one which can accommodate many
different interpretations while retaining its
unique character" (p. 445).
Each of the nine ego fixations has: A
characteristic idealized self-image; an
attitudinal-emotional response set (a passion)
that accompanies this image; an area of
avoidance antithetical to the self-concept; an
appropriate mechanism of defense to isolate
the ego from the avoided area (Wagner,
1983).

Assessment by Numbers
For those unfamiliar with the system, the Enneagram is based on three triads: the Feeling Triad,
the Thinking Triad, and the Instinctive Triad. Each triad contains three Enneagram types, resulting
in a total of nine personality or character types. (We will refer to the types by their numbers to
avoid confusion over the various names that have been assigned in some Enneagram systems.)
These triads describe psychological orientations and discuss whether a person's main orientation
relates to feelings and self-image (Personality Types Two, Three, and Four), thought processes and
finding security (Types Five, Six, and Seven), or gut instincts and how they relate to the world
(Types Eight, Nine, and One). (Engebretson and Tapp, 65)
An individual, after the assessment, is given a number, which is their primary personality type, and
two wings. The two wings, when leaned into, either bring greater health or greater dysfunction.

Definition of Numbers

Typology

1: The Paragon - Principled, idealistic, conscientious,

ethical organized, orderly and fastidious.
2: The Helper - Caring, empathetic, sincere, warmhearted, friendly, generous and self-sacrificing.
3: The Achiever - Self-assured, competent, determined,
energetic, charming, diplomatic, poised, optimistic,
industrious, ambitious and adaptable.
4: The Individualist - Introspective, romantic, self-aware,
sensitive and authentic.
5: The Investigator - Independent, inventive, perceptive,
alert, insightful and curious.

6: The Guardian - Committed, hard

working, loyal, reliable,
responsible and trustworthy.
7: The Enthusiast - Busy, extroverted,
optimistic, high-spirited and
spontaneous.
8: The Challenger - Self-confident,
assertive, decisive, resourceful,
straight-talking and powerful.
9: The Peace Maker - Unassuming,
easygoing, accepting, trusting and
stable.
(Bland, 2010)

The DSM and the Enneagram

Higher functioning patients seeking psychotherapy can be
more mysterious to understand, to appreciate in depth, and
often to assist. The Enneagram gives touchpoints to all the
activities of brief and in-depth therapies, whether cognitively,
emotionally or somatically focused (Cohen, 2007)

Strength
The
test is multi-theoretical, encompassing the
s
typologies of Karen Horney, Sigmund Freud and Carl

Limitatio
The majority
of support for the Enneagram as
ns
an assessment tool has been perceived as

The Enneagram helps people constructively manage

their own thinking and behavior, understand how
others perceive them when misunderstanding occurs,
and better understand how to more effectively work
with others in a conflictual situation (Engebretson
and Tapp, 66)

The Enneagram continues to go under intense

rigor in regards to assessing the psychometric
properties of this assessment. Newgent, Parr,
and Newman describe the psychometric
assessment as in its infancy and should be
used in concordance with other personality
assessments with great records of reliability
and validity. Counselors need to be well
versed in the system, as well as the updates.
(2002)

Jung. This approach gives the assessment greater

theoretical foundation. (Newgent Parr, and Newman,
2002)

anecdotal.

Psychometric Properties
Reliability:
Wagner: 79% across all nine types were consistent. Given the positive results in
both areas, the enneagram also offers heuristic value for the study of personality structure
and dynamics (p.716).
Newgent, Parr, Newman, Higgins: This study found the results of some types (Loyalist, Achiever and Investigator)
to be far less reliable than others (Peacemaker, Reformer, Individualist, Helper, Challenger, and Enthusiast), which
fell in the acceptable, .70 range. (2004)
Validity:
Wagner: Age more than sex contributed to many of the differences found. Social Desirability had an impact on the
tests validity. Wagner makes the recommendation that future tests should do better to accentuate the positive and
soften or mask the negative (716).
Newgent, Parr, Newman, Higgins: Using the Pearson product-moment coefficient and CVA, all of the nine RHETI
types were significantly correlated with at least one of the factors on the NEO PI-R and four of the RHETI types
were significantly correlated with three of the five factors on the NEO PI-R. (Table of canonical correlations from
this study on next slide).

(Newgent, Parr, Newman and Higgins, 2004)

Multicultural/
Ethical Factors

given that mental health

practitioners are often ethically
bound to take into account the
worldview of the client during the
therapeutic process, the Enneagram
supports this ethical requirement by
processing the client's perspective
from their own self-reported view of
their personality, thereby making
the Enneagram popular for diverse
clients across cultures (Tapp and
Engebretson, 72).

Population
Specific
Considerations

According to Tapp and Engebretson, the Enneagram is a tool

that can be used in both group and individual counseling. The
only exception they suggestion considering are the
circumstances of the client. (Tapp and Engebretson, 72).
Situations such as domestic violence, child abuse, crisis,
suicidal ideation, and other such circumstances call for
immediate, targeted professional intervention (Tapp and
Engebretson, 72).

Where to take the

assessment
The assessment can be accessed officially on The Enneagram
Institutes website:
https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/

Resources
Bland, A. M. (2010). The enneagram: A review of the empirical and transformational literature. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education
and Development, 49(1), 16-31. Retrieved from http://go.libproxy.wakehealth.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/212447212?
accountid=14868
Cohen, M. C., PhD. (2007). Applications of the Enneagram to Psychological Assessment. Retrieved from
www.enneagram.com/PDF_EnneagraminPsychologicalAssessment.pdf
Newgent, R. A., Parr, P. E., Newman, I., & Higgins, K. K. (2004). The riso-hudson enneagram type indicator: Estimates of reliability and
validity. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 36(4), 226-237.
Newgent, R. A., Parr, P. E., & Newman, I. (2002). The Enneagram: Trends in Validation. U.S. Department of Education, 1-23.
Riso, D. R., & Hudson, R. (1996). Personality types: using the enneagram for self-discovery.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Tapp, K., & Engebretson, K. (2010). Using the Enneagram for Client Insight and Transformation: A Type Eight Illustration. Journal of
Creativity in Mental Health, 5(1), 65-72.
Wagner, J. P., & Walker, R. E. (1983). RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY STUDY OF A SUFI PERSONALITY TYPOLOGY: THE
ENNEAGRAM. Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 39(5), 712-717.