Enneagram type: what the term means

Nine numbered patterns

The nine types are usually identified by number, with descriptive names added for convenience: 1 the Reformer, 2 the Helper, 3 the Achiever, 4 the Individualist, 5 the Investigator, 6 the Loyalist, 7 the Enthusiast, 8 the Challenger and 9 the Peacemaker. The numbers are positions on the circle, not grades. A 9 is not a more advanced 1. Names vary from teacher to teacher, so the number is the most reliable way to refer to a type.

Number of types

Nine, numbered 1 to 9

Defined by

A core motivation and core fear, not a list of behaviors

Also called

Enneatype, point, number, core type

Stable?

In tradition, yes; expression varies with health and stress

Evidence status

Nine discrete types not established by research

Where the idea of a type comes from

How the word is used

People use "type" in three slightly different senses. There is the type itself, a description in a book. There is "my type," a personal best guess, ideally reached through reflection. And there is a test result, which is one questionnaire's estimate. Mixing these up causes confusion. A result that says 3 is evidence about your type, not a ruling on it.

Tradition also holds that everyone has a little of all nine. Having a type does not mean the other eight are absent; it means one pattern sits at the center and the rest orbit it.

An example

Two friends both hate being late. For one, lateness feels like a moral lapse: you said 7:00, so 7:00 is the right time. For the other, it feels like a risk: arriving late might sour a relationship she depends on. On a behavior checklist they look the same. In Enneagram terms the first sounds like a 1 and the second like a 6, because the type is read from the reason rather than the habit.

Has research tested types?

Related terms include core motivation, core fear, wing and typing, the process of finding your own type.

• Core motivation: Enneagram glossary definitionEnneagram core motivation, defined: the underlying drive that tradition says defines each type, why it matters more than behavior, and the evidence.
• Core fear: Enneagram glossary definitionEnneagram core fear, defined: the deep worry each type is said to organize itself around, the nine core fears, how they show up, and the research status.
• Wing: Enneagram glossary definitionEnneagram wing definition: one of the two types next to yours on the circle, how 4w5 notation works, how teachers use wings, and what one study found.
• Typing: Enneagram glossary definitionEnneagram typing, defined: the process of finding a best-fit type through reflection, tests, interviews and reading, its pitfalls, and what research says.