Social instinct: Enneagram definition
Short answer
The social instinct, abbreviated so, is the Enneagram drive focused on belonging and position within groups: community, reputation, roles, alliances and the unwritten rules of a room. People who lead with it track how they fit into the larger whole. It is not the same as being extroverted. Like the other instincts, it is untested tradition.
Belonging as a survival need
For most of human history, being cut off from the group was dangerous. The social instinct is the Enneagram's name for the part of us that keeps track of that: who is in, who is out, what the group values and where we stand. People who lead with so often know the politics of an office without being told, notice who was not invited, and feel responsible for causes or institutions larger than themselves.
- Abbreviation
- so
- Attends to
- Groups, status, roles, community, shared purpose
- Typical strength
- Reading social systems and contributing to them
- Typical worry
- Exclusion, irrelevance, losing standing
- Common misread
- Assuming social means outgoing or popular
Origins of the term
How it is used
"So" appears in type notation such as so 2 or 6 so. In subtype teaching, the social version of a type is said to aim the type's motive at the group. Social Ones are described as models of correct behavior for others; social Sevens are often named the countertype of Seven because they hold back their own appetite for the sake of the group. Teachers stress that a quiet, reserved person can be strongly social if their attention keeps returning to community and roles.
An example
A new hire spends her first month not on the work itself but on figuring out how the place runs: which manager actually makes decisions, which Slack channel matters, who eats lunch together. By the second month she has joined the culture committee. That orientation is what tradition means by a social-dominant instinct.
Her teammate, who leads with a different instinct, may find all this puzzling or even a little political. To her it is simply how you make sure you have a place. That gap in what feels obvious is a common source of friction between people with different dominant instincts.
Research status
Related terms: instinct, self-preservation instinct, sexual instinct, instinctual stacking and countertype.
Frequently asked questions
Does social instinct mean extroverted?
No. The social instinct is about where attention goes, toward groups and roles. Many socially dominant people are introverted and prefer to contribute behind the scenes.
Is the social instinct about popularity?
Not in itself. It can show up as wanting recognition, but it can just as easily show up as service, loyalty to a cause or careful attention to fairness within a group.
Which subtype is the social countertype?
Tradition most often names the social Seven as the countertype of Type 7. The subtype pages describe each social subtype in turn.
Sources
- Naranjo, C. (1994). Character and neurosis: An integrative view. Gateways/IDHHB.
- Hook, J. N., Hall, T. W., Davis, D. E., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Conner, M. (2021). The Enneagram: A systematic review of the literature and directions for future research. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 77(4), 865-883. doi:10.1002/jclp.23097