Enneagram and MBTI Correlation

This study analyzed the relationship between Enneagram Type and MBTI Type using data from the TypologyCentral User Base. The purpose was to understand several things:

• Is there a correlation between MBTI Types or underlying Cognitive Functions and Enneagram Types
• What is the frequency of Enneagram types within each of the 16 MBTI types
• What is the frequency of MBTI types within each of the 9 Enneagram Types

Study Methodology

Two sets of data were analyzed. The initial analysis was conducted using data from the Typology Central User Base which consisted of 22,877 members collected November 30, 2015. 4,703 of those members had entered in both their MBTI and Enneagram Type. The second data set of 21,105 members was from Personality Cafe, collected August 20, 2014. Raw data was utilized to capture the % of Enneagram types with each of the 16 types. Because the distribution of both Forums is disproportionately weighted towards Introverted Intuitives, the data was normalized using the published CPP MBTI percentages as a base - creating a set of numbers as it were, that would represent what the forum numbers would look like if they consisted of types aligned with the CPP distribution. Illustrative data for Typology Central and the normalized totals for each MBTI type are shown below.

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Study Results

Using normalized data across the two forums, it can be seen that the % of Enneagram types in the population was relatively consistent, with the exception of many more 8s vs 6s on Typology Central. Having at one point been mistyped as an 8 myself (I am a 6), I found this point to be particularly interesting. One key point is that the Enneagram types are well represented across the population as a whole ranging from a low of about 6% to a high of 16%. This differs from the MBTI distribution which ranges from 1.5% INFJs to 13.8% ISFJs – making ISFJs nine times more common than INFJs. Enneagram doesn’t appear to have such wide variations in frequency across the various types.

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The charts below show the normalized data percentages for each of the Enneagram Types on each of the forums. It tells you the predicted number of MBTI types within each Enneagram Type.

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The chart below illustrates the percentage of each of the Enneagram Types within each MBTI Type. Similar data was analyzed for Personality Cafe but is not shown here.

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Key Insights and Observations – Which Enneagram Type is Correlated With Which MBTI Type

Looking at overall patterns from the data, a number of interesting themes emerged. The numbers quoted below are from the Typology Central data but similar themes and patterns were observed in the Personality Cafe Data

• Enneagram 1 - There is a strong correlation between Enneagram 1 and those that prefer Introverted Sensing in the dominant or auxiliary position. 82% of Enneagram ones are of three types: ISTJ, ESTJ, and ISFJ. Reflecting the the higher frequency of 1 among sensors and higher percentage of sensors in the population as a whole, it can be observed that 88% of Enneagram 1s are Sensors, with INTJs and ENTJs being the Intuitive types mostly likely to be a 1.
• Enneagram 2 - There is a strong correlation between Enneagram 2 and Extraverted Feeling. 78% of Enneagram 2s fall into three types: ISFJ, ESFJ, and ENFJ. Inconsistent with that observation, 7% of INFJs were Enneagram 2s, making it not uncommon but much less likely than other Enneagram types.
• Enneagram 3 - Enneagram 3 types are most often Extraverts and Sensors. 71% of 3s fell into three types: ESTJ, ESFJ, and ESTP. ENTJ, ENTP and ENFJ were the intuitive types most likely to be Enneagram 3.
• Enneagram 4 - 80% of Enneagram 4s fell into five types: INFJ, ISFJ, ISFP, INFP and ENFP indicating a correlation between the Enneagram 4, introversion and a feeling preference. The number of ENFP 4s is notable and is perhaps associated with a combination of a preference for intuition and introverted feeling.
• Enneagram 5 - Enneagram 5s are typically Introverted Thinkers with 75% falling into one of four types INTP, ISTJ, INTJ, and ISTP. It is by far the most common type for INTPs, INTJs and ISTPs.
• Enneagram 6 - Enneagram 6 is interesting in that it is present in significant numbers across all of the MBTI types. 13.7% of Sensing types and 5.5% of Intuitive types were Enneagram 6 making it more strongly correlated with Sensing than Intuition. ISTJs and ISFJs are the two types that are most likely to be Enneagram 6 and given how common those two types are, ISTJs and ISFJs comprise 57% of the Enneagram 6s in the overall population. Reflecting the the higher frequency of 6 among sensors and higher percentage of sensors in the population as a whole, it can be observed that 89% of Enneagram 6s are Sensors. There was an especially strong correlation specifically between Enneagram 6 and the SJ Temperament.
• Enneagram 7 - Enneagram 7 correlates strongly with EP - dominant Extraverted Intuition (ENFP, ENTP) and dominant Extraverted Sensing (ESFP, ESTP). 89% of Enneagram 7s were one of those four types.
• Enneagram 8 - 8 is by far the most common Enneagram type for ESTJs and ENTJs. 77% of Enneagram 8s fell into one of four types: ESTJ, ESTP, ENTP and ENTJ. 45% of the 8s are ESTJs, largely due to how common the ESTJ type is.
• Enneagram 9 - About 70% of Enneagram 9s are Introverts. Also, Enneagram 9 correlates strongly with a preference for Feeling and somewhat with a preference for Sensing

Now let us look at the percentages for each of the individual types. Unless otherwise specified, these results are from the Typology Central Data.

ESTP Personality Enneagram Type

ESTPs generally fall into one of four Enneagram types. 39% of ESTPs are Type 7 and 29% are Type 8s. In other words, if you are an ESTP, you are almost 70% likely to be a 7 or an 8. Note also that there are a lot of 3s (17%) and 6s (12%). It’s probably no accident that 7s, 8s, and 3s tend to be very engaged with the external world.

ISTP Personality Enneagram Type

If you are an ISTP, you could be almost any Enneagram type but it’s Enneagram 5 that is the most common, representing 41% of the population. Other common types include Enneagram 9 (16%), 6 (12%), 7 (12%), and 8 (9%).

ISFP Personality Enneagram Type

The odds are if you are an ISFP, your Enneagram type is 4 or 9. 35% of ISFPs in the population were 4s and 34% were 9s, making up almost 70% of the ISFPs. Other likely possibilities include 6 (9%) and 2 (6%).

ESFP Personality Enneagram Type

The odds are that if you are an ESFP, your Enneagram type is 7 or 9. 44% of ESFPs in the population were 7s and 21% were 9s, making in total up two thirds of the ESFPs. 2 (13%) and 6 (8%) is also relatively common.

ISFJ Personality Enneagram Type

Three quarters of ISFJs fall into three Enneagram types - 6 (27%), 2 (26%) and 9 (22%). There are also a reasonable number of 4s (13%) and 1s (12%).

ESFJ Personality Enneagram Type

If you’re an ESFJ, you are probably an Enneagram 2. 61% of the ESFJs fell into this category. 19% were 3s and 9% were 6s.

ISTJ Personality Enneagram Type

ISTJs are pretty much evenly split between 1 (30%), 5 (29%) and 6 (29%). This doesn’t seem unusual. The ISTJ “inspector” type is likely to be a 1. ISTJs are known for their loyalty that is common to Enneagram Type 6.

ESTJ Personality Enneagram Type

If you are wondering where all the 3s are in the population, they are very likely going to be an ESTJ or an ESFJ. Those two types account for over 60% of the 3s in the population as a whole. 32% of ESTJs are 3s and 40% are 8s. 1s are also relatively common, representing 16% of the ESTJs.

INTJ Personality Enneagram Type

62% of INTJs are Enneagram 5s so when we are thinking of the common analytical INTJ stereotype, it is likely the INTJ Enneagram 5 which comes to mind. 1s are also fairly common, representing 14% of the INTJs. 4 and 8 both come in at 6% each, making them less common but still frequently occurring. Mind you, I am an Enneagram 6. 6s represented only 5% of the 575 INTJs in the overall population.

ENTJ Personality Enneagram Type

ENTJs can be almost any type except for a 2 and were well represented across many Enneagram Types. There were a few that stood out. 46% of ENTJs are 8s and 19% are 3s. Both fit well with the ENTJ stereotype of the in charge over-achiever. 1 was also fairly common, representing 11% of the population of ENTJs.

INTP Personality Enneagram Type

A whopping 74% of INTPs are Enneagram 5s. 8% are 4s, 6% are 9s and the rest fall in the 2 – 3% range across the rest of the types except for the Enneagram 2 which stands out at 0%.

ENTP Personality Enneagram Type

ENTPs are represented across all of the different Enneagram types but there are a few that stand out as more common. The most common type by far for ENTPs is Enneagram 7 at 47% the ENTP members. Other common types included 8 (15%), 3 (12%), 5 (9%).

INFJ Personality Enneagram Type

INFJs are also well represented across all of the Enneagram Types. By far the most common was the 4 at 44%. 14% were 5s, 11% were 9s, and 10% were 6s. 1s (6%) and 2s (7%) are not quite as common but there are plenty of them out there.

ENFJ Personality Enneagram Type

42% of ENFJs are 2s. If we recall that 61% of ESFJs are 2s, it becomes clear that there is a definite correlation between Extraverted Feeling as a dominant function and the Enneagram Type 2. Enneagram type 3 (18%) and 4 (16%) are also very common for the ENFJ. Note that 1, 6 and 7 are not uncommon as they are all in the 6 – 7% range.

INFP Personality Enneagram Type

57% of INFPs are Enneagram type 4, which likely aligns with our most common stereotype for the INFP as someone who prides themselves in being different. 16% are 9s and 13% are 5s. 2s and 6s both come in at 5% and while not as common, there are a lot of them in the forum population.

ENFP Personality Enneagram Type

It’s not common for an ENFP to be an Enneagram 1 or 5 but other than that, they are well represented across all of the Enneagram types. A large number are 7s (39%), 4s (25%) and 2s (14%). 9s (7%) and 3s (5%) are not entirely uncommon either. Again, when we recall that 47% of ENTPs are Enneagram 7, it appears there is a strong correlation between Extraverted Intuition as a dominant function and Enneagram 7.