NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Enneagram of Personality

The Enneagram of Personality - usually known simply, but confusingly, as the Enneagram (and usually Enneagram rather than enneagram) - is a particular application of the Fourth Way enneagram figure in connection with personality and character issues. This is now the most well-known use of the figure. Image File history File links Enneagram. ... Image File history File links Enneagram. ... In his early lectures, as documented by P.D. Ouspensky, G.I. Gurdjieff described his approach to self-development as a Fourth Way [1][2], in contrast to teachings that emphasize the development of the body, mind, or the emotions separately, Gurdjieffs exercises worked on all three at the... Enneagram Figure The Enneagram is a nine-pointed geometric figure. ... Personality may refer to: // Personality psychology, a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual differences Personality development, the study of human personality development over time Personality disorders, a class of mental disorders that is characterized by long-lasting rigid patterns of thought and actions. ...

Although it is usually only understood and used as a typology (a model of personality types) the Enneagram of Personality is also taught in ways that focus on its potential in developing higher states of being, essence and enlightenment. The word typology literally means the study of types. ... Personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of people. ... In ontology, a being is anything that can be said to be, either transcendantly or immanently. ... For other uses, see Essence (disambiguation). ... Enlightenment broadly means the acquisition of new wisdom or understanding enabling clarity of perception. ...

Oscar Ichazo

As generally understood the Enneagram of Personality has principally developed from the teachings of Oscar Ichazo (born 1931), the Bolivian-born founder of the Arica School which he established in 1968. Ichazo's Enneagram of Personality theories are part of a larger body of teaching that he terms Protoanalysis. In Ichazo's teachings the Enneagram figure has usually been called an Enneagon. The Arica School (also known as the Arica Institute, which is its incorporated educational organization, or simply as Arica) is a human potential movement group founded in 1968 by Bolivian-born philosopher Oscar Ichazo (born in 1931). ... The Arica School (also known as the Arica Institute, which is its incorporated educational organization, or simply as Arica) is a human potential movement group founded in 1968 by Bolivian-born philosopher Oscar Ichazo (born in 1931). ... A regular enneagon. ...

Ichazo asserts that, in 1954, he received a clear and direct insight into how certain mechanistic and repetitive thought and behavior patterns can be understood in connection with the Enneagram figure, classical philosophy and with what he calls 'Trialectic' logic, a logic grounded in three laws of process. Icazo, Oscar. Between Metaphysics and Protoanalysis. New York: Arica Institute Press. ISBN 0-916554-03-1. This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, although for Western thinkers prior to Socrates, see Pre-Socratic philosophy. ... Illustration of a physical process: a geyser in action. Process (lat. ...

Ego fixations

Ichazo identified nine ways in which the ego becomes fixated within a person's psyche at an early stage of life. For each person one of these 'ego fixations' then becomes the core of a self-image around which their psychological personality develops. Each fixation is also supported at the emotional level by a particular 'passion' or 'vice'. The principal psychological connections between the nine ego fixations can be 'mapped' using the points, lines and circle of the Enneagram figure. eGO is a company that builds electric motor scooters which are becoming popular for urban transportation and vacation use. ... Look up Fixation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Self-concept. ... Psychology (ancient Greek: psyche = soul and logos = word) is the study of mind, thought, and behaviour. ... // [edit] Primary Passions The Stoics named four primary passions. ... Vice is a practice or habit that is considered immoral, depraved, and/or degrading in the associated society. ...

As the purpose of Ichazo's teachings is to help people transcend their identification with - and the suffering caused by - their own mechanistic thought and behaviour patterns, his theories about the fixations is founded on the premise that all life seeks to continue and perpetuate itself and the human psyche must follow the same common laws of reality as such. From this, using Trialectic logic, Ichazo defined the three basic human instincts for survival: Conservation (the digestive system), Relation (the circulatory system) and Adaptation (the central nervous system); and two poles of attraction to self-perpetuation: Sexual (the sexual organs) and Spiritual (the spinal column).

With a baseline of a psyche in a state of unity as a prototypical model, the fixations are defined as aberrations from this baseline, much as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is an observation-based method for diagnosing personality disorders. According to Ichazo the primary difference between modern psychology and his theories is that he has proposed a model of the components of the human psyche whilst modern psychology has instead preferred to focus on observed behavior instead of an essential model from which aberrations develop due to psychological trauma. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a handbook for mental health professionals that lists different categories of mental disorder and the criteria for diagnosing them, according to the publishing organization the American Psychiatric Association. ...

Ichazo has related the fixations to the major categories of the DSM to indicate that fixations are the precursor to mental illness. The fixations are diagnosed from the particular experience of psychological trauma a child suffers when expectations are not met in each respective Instinct. Since young children are considered to be highly self-centered in their expectations they will experience disappointment in their expectations due to one of the three fundamental attitudes (attracted, unattracted or disinterested are the only possible attitudes). From such early experiences mechanistic thought and behavior patterns begins to develop as attempted protection from experiencing a recurrence of trauma. By understanding the fixations and self-observation the hold on the mind and the suffering caused by the fixations can be reduced and even transcended.

Ichazo and other Enneagram traditions

There was never an intention or purpose in Ichazo's original work to use knowledge of the ego fixations and other aspects of the Enneagram of Personality to reinforce or manipulate what is essentially a source of human suffering^{[citation needed]}. Therefore almost all later interpretations are viewed by Ichazo as unfounded and therefore misguided and psychologically and spiritually harmful in light of his original intentions^{[citation needed]}. The modern Enneagram movement, therefore, is considered by Ichazo, in most cases, to actually promote the strengthening of the basis for personality disorders^{[citation needed]}.

Although some modern Enneagram of Personality writers have claimed that Ichazo's teaching are derived, in part, from those of Gurdjieff's Fourth Way work,^{[citation needed]} Ichazo has denied this claim in his Letter to the Transpersonal Community. In 1992 intellectual copyright for the Enneagram of Personality was denied to Ichazo on the basis that factual ideas cannot be copyrighted. [1] George Ivanovich Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (January 13 / January 14, 1866? - October 29, 1949), the Greek-Armenian mystic and teacher of dancing born in Alexandropol, Armenia (then of the Russian Empire, now Gumri, Armenia), traveled to many parts of the world (i. ...

Claudio Naranjo

From the 1970s Ichazo's original Enneagram teachings were adapted and developed by a number of others, first by the Chilean-born psychiatrist, Claudio Naranjo. Naranjo had been a member of a training program presented by Ichazo in Arica, Chile in 1971. Before completing the program Naranjo returned to the United States where he began teaching his own understanding of the Enneagram of Personality to a number of his students, including some Jesuit priests who also taught it to their seminarians and others. It is principally from Naranjo and his students, as well as the Jesuits, that the modern Enneagram of Personality movement has developed. Claudio Naranjo is a Chilean-born anthropologist and psychiatrist who is noted for his inter-disciplinary work with mind-altering substances, as well as the Enneagram and Gestalt psychotherapy. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ...

The nine types

According to Enneagram of Personality theory the points of the Enneagram figure indicate a number of ways in which nine principal ego-archetypal forms or types of human personality (also often called "Enneatypes") are psychologically connected.

People of each Enneatype are usually referred to after the number of the point on the Enneagram figure (Eights, Fours, Sixes etc.) that indicates their particular psychological space and 'place' of connection to the other types. They are also often given names that suggest some of their more distinctive archetypal characteristics. Archetype is defined as the first original model of which all other similar persons, objects, or concepts are merely derivative, copied, patterned, or emulated. ...

Ones: Reformers, Critics, Perfectionists Image File history File links PerfectionistENNEAGR.jpgâ€Ž Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Enneagram ... The Enneagram Ones, in Enneagram of Personality teaching, are people of the psychological type represented by point number one on the Enneagram figure. ...

People of this personality type are focused on personal integrity. Ones can be wise, discerning and inspiring in their quest for the truth. They also tend to dissociate themselves from their flaws or what they believe are flaws (such as negative emotions) and can become hypocritical and hyper-critical of others, seeking the illusion of virtue to hide their own vices. The greatest fear of Ones is to be flawed and their ultimate goal is perfection.

Ego fixation: resentment
Holy idea: perfection
Passion: anger
Virtue: serenity
Stress point: Four
Security point: Seven

Twos: Helpers, Givers, Caretakers Image File history File links Giver. ... The Enneagram Twos, in Enneagram of Personality teaching, are people of the psychological type represented by point two on the Enneagram figure. ...

Twos, at their best, are compassionate, thoughtful and astonishingly generous but they can also be particularly prone to clinginess and manipulation. Twos want, above all, to be loved and needed and fear being unworthy of love.

Ego fixation: flattery
Holy idea: freedom
Passion: pride
Virtue: humility
Stress point: Eight
Security point: Four

Threes: Achievers, Performers, Succeeders Image File history File links Performer. ... The Enneagram Threes are a personality type of the Enneagram of Personality. ...

Highly adaptable and changeable. Some Threes walk the world with confidence and unstinting authenticity; others wear a series of public masks, acting the way they think will bring them approval and losing track of their true self. Threes are motivated by the need to succeed and to be seen as successful.

Ego fixation: vanity
Holy idea: hope
Passion: deceit
Virtue: truthfulness
Stress point: Nine
Security point: Six

Fours: Romantics, Individualists, Artists Image File history File links Tragic_Romantic. ... The Enneagram Fours are a psychological type of the Enneagram of Personality. ...

Fours are driven by the desire to understand themselves and find a place in the world. They often fear that they have no identity or personal significance. Fours embrace individualism and are often profoundly creative and intuitive. However, they have a habit of withdrawing to internalize, searching desperately inside themselves for something they never find and creating a spiral of depression.

Ego fixation: melancholy
Holy idea: originality
Passion: envy
Virtue: equanimity
Stress point: Two
Security point: One

Fives: Observers, Thinkers, Investigators Image File history File links ObserverENNEAGR.jpgâ€Ž Summary {{Information |Description= Symbol for Enneagramic type Observer. Remark - the same figure was inserted formerly under the name Observer, but it occures that there are another pictures entitiled by the same word. ... The Enneagram Fives is the term most commonly used in Enneagram of Personality teaching for people of the psychological type indicated by point five on the Enneagram figure. ...

Fives are motivated by the desire to understand the world around them, specifically in terms of facts. Believing they are only worth what they contribute, Fives have learned to withdraw, to watch with keen eyes and speak only when they can shake the world with their observations. Sometimes they do just that. However, some Fives are known to withdraw from the world, becoming reclusive hermits and fending off social contact with abrasive cynicism. Fives fear incompetency or uselessness and want to be capable and knowledgeable above all else.

Ego fixation: stinginess
Holy idea: omniscience
Passion: avarice
Virtue: detachment
Stress point: Seven
Security point: Eight

Sixes: Loyalists, Devil's Advocates, Defenders Image File history File links Devil's_Advocate. ... The Enneagram This is an article describing personality type Six according to the Enneagram of Personality. ...

Sixes long for stability above all else. They exhibit unwavering loyalty and responsibility, but once betrayed, they are slow to trust again. They are particularly prone to fearful thinking and emotional anxiety as well as reactionary and paranoid behavior. Sixes tend to react to their fears either in a phobic manner by avoiding fearful situations or by confronting them in a counterphobic manner. Look up paranoia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Ego fixation: cowardice
Holy idea: faith
Passion: fear
Virtue: courage
Stress point: Three
Security point: Nine

Sevens: Enthusiasts, Adventurers, Sensationalists Image File history File links EpicureENNEAGR.jpgâ€Ž Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Enneagram ... The Enneagram Sevens are a personality type of the Enneagram of Personality. ...

Sevens are adventurous and busy with many activities with all the energy and enthusiasm of the Puer Aeternus. At their best they embrace life for its varied joys and wonders and truly live in the moment but, at their worst, they dash frantically from one new experience to another, too scared of disappointment to actually enjoy themselves. Sevens fear being unable to provide for themselves or to experience life in all of its richness. Puer Aeternus is Latin for Eternal Boy. ...

Ego fixation: planning
Holy idea: work
Passion: gluttony
Virtue: sobriety
Stress point: One
Security point: Five

Eights: Leaders, Protectors, Challengers Image File history File links Boss. ... The Enneagram Eights are one of the nine personality types of the Enneagram of Personality. ...

Eights value their own strength and desire to be powerful and in control. They concern themselves with self-preservation. They are natural leaders, who can be either friendly and charitable or dictatorially manipulative, ruthless and willing to destroy anything in their way. Eights seek control over their own lives and destinies and fear being harmed or controlled by others.

Ego fixation: vengeance
Holy idea: truth
Passion: excess (lust)
Virtue: innocence
Stress point: Five
Security point: Two

Nines: Mediators, Peacemakers, Preservationists Image File history File links Mediator. ... The Enneagram Nines are a psychological type of the Enneagram of Personality. ...

Nines are ruled by their empathy. At their best they are perceptive, receptive, gentle, calming and at peace with the world. They also, however, tend to dissociate from conflicts and to indifferently go along with others people's wishes. They may also simply withdraw and act via inaction. They fear the conflict caused by their ability to simultaneously understand opposing points of view and seek peace of mind above all else. Nines are especially prone to dissociation and passive-aggressive behaviour. Passive-aggressive personality disorder is a personality disorder whereby someone displays a pattern of negative attitudes and passive resistance in interpersonal or occupational situations. ...

Ego fixation: indolence
Holy idea: love
Passion: laziness (sloth)
Virtue: action
Stress point: Six
Security point: Three

Wings

Whilst a person's Enneatype is determined by only one of the ego-fixations, their personality characteristics are also influenced and modified in different ways by all of the other eight fixations as well.

Most Enneagram teachers and theorists believe that one of the principal kinds of influence and modification come from the two points on either side of their Enneatype. These two points are usually known as the 'wings'.

Observation seems to indicate, for example, that Ones will tend to manifest some characteristics of both Nines and Twos. Some Enneagram theorists believe that one of the wings will always have a more dominant influence on an individual's personality, while others believe that either wing can be dominant at any particular time depending on the person's circumstances and development.

This aspect of Enneagram theory was originally suggested by Claudio Naranjo and then further developed by some of the Jesuit teachers.

Stress and security points

The lines connecting the points of the Enneagram figure (the triangle and hexagon) are believed to indicate psychological connections between the Enneatypes. The points connected by the lines are usually called the 'stress points' and 'security points'.

The more traditional understanding of the stress and security points is that when people are in a more secure or relaxed state they will tend to also express the more positive personality characteristics of the security point type and, when stressed or insecure, the more negative characteristics of the stress point type. Relaxed or secure Ones, for instance, may tend to manifest some more positive personality aspects of the Seven type since Ones tend to be highly self-inhibitory whilst Sevens give themselves permission to enjoy the moment. Stressed Ones, however, may express some more negative aspects of the Four personality, particularly the obsessive introspection; they also share a certain amount of self-loathing and self-inhibition.

Don Richard Riso believes that the security points also indicate a movement towards psychological wellbeing (the 'direction of integration') and the stress points indicate the movement towards breakdown (the 'direction of disintegration').

Another emerging belief about the connections between points is that people may access and express the positive and negative aspects of both points depending on their particular circumstances.

The lines connecting the points are often indicated on Enneagram figures by the use of arrows and are sometimes also called 'arrow points'.

The sequence of stress points is 1-4-2-8-5-7-1 for the hexagon and 9-6-3-9 for the triangle. The security points sequence is in the opposite direction (1-7-5-8-2-4-1 and 9-3-6-9). These sequences are found in the repeating decimals resulting from division by 7 and 3, respectively, both of those numbers being important to Gurdjieff's system. (1/7 = 0.1428571...; 1/3 = 0.3333..., 2/3 = 0.6666..., 3/3 = 0.9999...). George Ivanovich Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (January 13 / January 14, 1866? - October 29, 1949), the Greek-Armenian mystic and teacher of dancing born in Alexandropol, Armenia (then of the Russian Empire, now Gumri, Armenia), traveled to many parts of the world (i. ...

Instinctual subtypes

Each Enneatype has three instinctual subtypes - the 'self-preservation', 'sexual' and 'social' subtypes:

The instinstual subtypes may be very similar to the "need areas" of the FIRO-B instrument, called "Inclusion", "Control" and "Affection", except that the score in each area carries equal weight in the person's overal personality and there is no "tendency" towards one or another. Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO) is a theory of interpersonal relations, introduced by William Schutz in 1958. ...

Directional scales

The Enneagram types have also been mapped to Karen Horney's "Three Trends" (Moving Towards, Against, Away from), in two dimensions of "Surface Direction" and "Deep Direction"[2] [3] (which also are roughly similar to FIRO and other Two-factor models of personality). Each type on the surface moves one way, but underneath can move a different way. This determines both behavior and motivations. Karen Horney Karen Horney (horn-eye), born Danielsen (September 16, 1885 â€“ December 4, 1952) was a German Freudian psychoanalyst of Norwegian and Dutch descent. ... The Two-Factor Model of Personality is the most widely used psychometric factor analysis measurement of personality, behavior and temperament. ...

Deadly sins

Seven of the characteristic emotional 'passions' or 'vices' of the Enneatypes correspond with the traditional Seven Deadly Sins. Two additional 'sins', 'deceit' and 'fear', are also included. For other uses, see Cardinal sin (disambiguation). ...

This article is about the emotion. ... Pride is the name of an emotion which refers to a strong sense of self-respect, a refusal to be humiliated as well as joy in the accomplishments of oneself or a person, group, nation or object that one identifies with. ... This article is about the telling of falsehoods. ... For other uses, see Envy (disambiguation). ... Greed is often associated with death and disease. ... For other uses, see Fear (disambiguation). ... Gluttony can also refer to a character named Gluttony - a homonculus from the anime series Full Metal Alchemist Gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste. ... Lust is any intense desire or craving for self gratification. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Research issues

Because of theoretical differences about the personality characteristics of the nine types and aspects of Enneagram of Personality dynamics some critics^{[citation needed]} argue that more research needs to be done to test the Enneagram typology as empirically valid.

While some believe that current research does not support the Enneagram typology's validity (especially regarding the concepts of wings and the stress and security points), others believe that because of the typology's complex and 'spiritual' nature it cannot be accurately evaluated by conventional empirical methods.

Published research (2005) based on a type indicator questionnaire developed by Don Riso and Russ Hudson [4] claims to have demonstrated that the nine Enneagram types are "real and objective". Katherine Chernick Fauvre also claims to have statistically validated research that indicates that the three instinctual subtypes are real and objective.^{[citation needed]}

Concerning the brain, at least three different models have been proposed for identifying a basis for the Enneagram types in neuroscience:

Concerning the first brain model, a partially finished book entitled "Personality and the Brain" was posted for free download in December 2005. This book, written by a self-described "hacker", presents a model for linking the Enneagram types to the current findings of neuroscience regarding prefrontal cortex (PFC) and amygdala asymmetry. Look up Amygdala in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Triune Brain is a hypothesis proposed by Paul MacLean about the traces of evolution existing in the structure of the human brain. ... â€œPrefrontalâ€ redirects here. ... Look up Amygdala in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Concerning the second brain model, The Enneagram and the Triune Brain offers a different theory on the neuroscience of Enneagram. This article was originally published in the October 2000 issue of the Enneagram Monthly and links the Enneagram types with Paul MacLean's triune brain theory. The Triune Brain is a hypothesis proposed by Paul MacLean about the traces of evolution existing in the structure of the human brain. ...

In his 1996 book, The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life (pages 92-103 of the paperback version), neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux rejected McLean's triune brain model to the extent that this model limits emotional functions to what McLean called the "limbic system". LeDoux explains that emotional functions are not limited to the limbic system (e.g. areas of the neocortex also play various roles); conversely, the limbic system is not limited to emotional functions (e.g. that area also processes certain cognitive functions). If LeDoux's criticisms of the triune brain theory are correct this would obviate this second model as a useful basis for the Enneagram types in neuroscience. However, Jaak Panksepp in his 1998 book "Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions (Series in Affective Science)" was less dismissive, saying that "Although the triune brain concept is largely a didactic simplification from a neuroanatomical point of view, it is an informative perspective" and "to understand the fundamental nature of emotionality we must decipher the natural order of emotional circuits within the lower reaches of the mammalian brain". Joseph LeDoux is a professor of neuroscience and psychology and the director of the Center for Neuroscience at New York University. ... The limbic system is a historically defined set of brain structures that support a variety of functions including emotion and memory. ... The neocortex (Latin for new bark or new rind) is a part of the brain of mammals. ... Cognitive The scientific study of how people obtain, retrieve, store and manipulate information. ...

Concerning the third brain model, the paper The Enneagram and Brain Chemistry offers a theory that the different Enneagram types derive from different activity levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Serotonin (pronounced ) (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT) is a monoamine neurotransmitter synthesized in serotonergic neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) and enterochromaffin cells in the gastrointestinal tract of animals including humans. ... Norepinephrine (INN)(abbr. ... For other uses, see Dopamine (disambiguation). ...

Criticism

Some psychologists and researchers^{[citation needed]} regard the Enneagram typology as a pseudoscience that uses an essentially arbitrary set of personality dimensions to make its characterizations. Such critics^{[citation needed]} assert that claims for the Enneagram of Personality's validity cannot be verified using the empirical scientific method as they lack falsifiability and cannot be disproven. In this respect the Enneagram typology is not considered^{[citation needed]} to be any different from many other typological models, such as that developed by C.G. Jung on which the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) questionnaire is based. A typical 18th century phrenology chart. ... Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. ... Falsifiability (or refutability or testability) is the logical possibility that an assertion can be shown false by an observation or a physical experiment. ... The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality questionnaire designed to identify certain psychological differences according to the typological theories of Carl Gustav Jung as published in his 1921 book Psychological Types (English edition, 1923). ...

The Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue of the Roman Catholic Church have also expressed concerns about the Enneagram typology when it is used in a religious context, because it is claimed that it "introduces an ambiguity in the doctrine and the life of the Christian faith". [5] Catholic Church redirects here. ...

Some critics^{[citation needed]} suspect that the claims for the Enneagram typology's validity may be attributed to the Forer effect; the tendency for people to believe a supposedly tailored description of themselves even when the description has been worded in very broad terms. Many skeptics believe the popularity of horoscopes (and astrology in general) is due to the Forer Effect. ...

External links

Literature

Categories: Articles needing additional references from September 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since September 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since November 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since October 2007 | Enneagram | Personality | Personality typologies Elizabeth Wagele (born 1939) is an American artist, musician, best-selling writer, and expert on personality types: the Enneagram and the MBTI. // Wagele was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, until she was ten, when her family moved to Berkeley, California. ... A. H. Almaas is the pen name of A. Hameed Ali, an author who writes about a mystical approach to psychology and therapy which he calls the Diamond Approach. ...

Contents

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