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Enneagram/MBTI overlap

ragashree

Reason vs Being
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
1,770
MBTI Type
Mine
Enneagram
1w9
INFP, type 1. I'm not convinced the concept of wings is valid so I won't go into that. Normally the INxJs, often more than with my own Mbti type, but this is maybe not surprising when my real dominant function is almost certainly Ni ;)
 

StephMC

Controlled Mischief
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
1,044
MBTI Type
ISTP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
ISTP... relate most to INTP. Sometimes ISFP. And I can't tell if I'm a 5w6 or a 9w8 :(
 

Speed Gavroche

Whisky Old & Women Young
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
5,152
MBTI Type
EsTP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Ha, ha, 5w6 and 9w8 are the most current enneatype among ISTPs. Myself, a shitty test have mistyped me as a 5w6, even if it's one of the type that I relate the least. ISTPs are often mistyped as 5 because they are inteligent and like to spend time thinking alone. But there's important criteria wich allow us to distinguish 5 and 9.

Seen on the Enneagram Underground for example:
The mistype between Fives and Nines is a common mistype. In particular, it is
generally Nines who mistype, or are mistyped by others, as Fives. Both Nines and Fives are withdrawn types and many Nines are intellectual, so there are some real commonalities. But Nines are generally attracted to thought systems which offer some sense of comfort and harmony. Fives, on the other hand, are frequently attracted to what disturbs them. Nines are far less likely to display intellectual arrogance than are Fives who often think that most people are intellectually rather dim. More noticeably, Nines tend to relate to a wide variety of people easily and comfortably; this is hardly ever the case with Fives.

Nines and Fives are both withdrawn types and many Nines are systematic thinkers and intellectuals, therefore there are some commonalities which might generate a mistype. It is generally Nines who mistake themselves or are mistaken by others as Fives; Fives almost never mistype as Nines. One of the principle differences lies in their approach to thought. Nines tend to look for thought systems which offer some sense of harmony; Fives are attracted to what disturbs them and often embrace or struggle against nihilism. Nines relate well to a wide variety of people; Fives to only a few.

Or from another thread:
A detailed comparison and contrast between Fives and Nines is warranted because so many Nines mistakenly think that they are Fives; typically, the misidentification almost never happens the other way around. Particularly if they are well educated and intelligent, average male Nines tend to think that they are Fives. (As noted in the discussion of Twos, average female Nines tend to think that they are Twos.)

Of all the personality types, Nines have the most difficulty identifying which type they are because their sense of self is undefined. Average Nines have little sense of who they are apart from those they have identified with; hence, they are usually at a loss to know where to begin to find their type. (As we have seen, either they think they are Fives or Twos or they see a little of themselves in all the types and make no further effort at identifying themselves. If they have no guidance, Nines in this predicament usually shrug their shoulders and give up on the Enneagram and more important, on acquiring self-knowledge.)

Even relatively healthy Nines still have a somewhat diffused sense of self because it is based on their capacity to be receptive to others�and to be unself-conscious. Moreover, average Nines have problems identifying their type because doing so arouses anxiety, something completely anathema to them. Whatever disturbs their peace of mind is ignored or met with a blind eye. They avoid introspection in favor of entertaining comforting notions about themselves, whatever they may be. Maintaining an undefined understanding of themselves, and thus, maintaining their emotional comfort, is more important to average Nines than acquiring deeper insights.

None of this is true of Fives, and the two types are opposites in many ways. Nines are gentle, easygoing, patient, receptive, and accommodating, whereas Fives are intense, strong-minded, argumentative, contentious, and highly resistant to the influence of others. Nines like people and trust them; perhaps at times they are too trusting. By contrast, average Fives are suspicious of people and are anything but trusting, perhaps at times too cynical and resistant. Both types are among the three withdrawn types of the Enneagram, and (as we have seen with Fours and Nines), there are genuine similarities between them, although only superficial ones (PT, 433-36).

Despite their similarities, the main point of confusion for Nines arises around the notion of "thinking." Nines think they are Fives because they think they have profound ideas: therefore, they must be Fives.

Part of the problem stems from the fact that individuals of both types can be highly intelligent, although as a group Fives are probably the most intelligent of the nine personality types. (When Nines are highly intelligent, they can be as brilliant as Fives, although their intellectual prowess is compartmentalized. They are brilliant at work but unfocused and inattentive everywhere else, whereas Fives are focused and attentive everywhere all the time.) Although intelligence can be manifested in different ways, being intelligent does not make Nines intellectuals, just as thinking does not make them thinkers. As we have seen, the pattern as a whole (and the motivations) must be taken into consideration, not one or two traits in isolation. Since all the types think in one way or another, thinking alone, with no further distinction, is not a sufficient basis for a personality diagnosis.

The fundamental difference between the thinking of Nines and that of Fives is that Nines are impressionistic, involved with generalities, imaginative ruminations, and fanciful situations. Nines typically do not concern themselves with details, nor are they usually good at following up once they have acted. By contrast, the thinking of Fives is highly focused, penetrating, and almost microscopic in the narrowness of its frame of reference. Fives love details, losing themselves in research, scholarship, and complex intellectual pursuits. They think in depth, concentrating so much that they block out other perceptions (eventually to their detriment). By contrast, even brilliant Nines tend to have problems concentrating; they also tend to lose interest quickly and to allow their attention to drift off when they become bored or anxious.

Nines tend to spin grand, sweeping, idealistic solutions to problems, while Fives tend to speculate on problems, then on the problems that their problems have raised, then on those problems, ad infinitum. Nines may be gifted storytellers, able to communicate simply and effectively to others, even to children. Fives usually communicate to only a few or keep their ideas entirely to themselves. (Moreover, their ideas may be so complicated that they are difficult to communicate to all but other specialists.) Nines usually do not consider the consequences of their actions; Fives are extremely interested in predicting the consequences of every action. Nines idealize the world and create imaginary worlds in which good always triumphs over evil; Fives analyze the real world and create horrifying scenarios in which evil usually triumphs over good or exists in tension with it. Nines simplify; Fives complexify. Nines look to the past; Fives to the future. Nines are fantasists; Fives are theorists. Nines are disengaged; Fives are detached. Nines are utopians; Fives are nihilists. Nines are optimists; Fives are pessimists. Nines are open; Fives are resistant. Nines are non-threatening and nonjudgmental; Fives are defensive and contentious. Nines are at peace; Fives are in tension. Nines end in dissociation; Fives in paranoia.

Comparisons and contrasts such as these could be multiplied almost indefinitely because, while these two types are such opposites, they are also paradoxically similar. What they have in common is the tendency to ask "What if?" questions. The difference is in their response: Nines tend to ruminate on their fantasies, while Fives attempt to see if their ideas could come true. The Nine's ideas usually involve a single insight that, while true enough, is often impractical and goes nowhere. For instance, a Nine may think that the way to world peace is "for everyone to love one another." While this is doubtlessly true, the problem not addressed is how to get everyone to love one another. A Five wondering about the same problem would write a treatise on world peace after doing exhaustive historical research, eventually erecting a grand theory of peace. (The Five's ideas may also come to nothing, but at least they are pursued, and practical results may eventually come of them.) To give another example, a Nine might wonder what it is like to fly and make up a story about it. A Five might wonder how to fly and invent an airplane or do research on birds or design a rocket.

In short, Nines have an active fantasy life and think that they have deep thoughts. Sometimes they do, of course, although the thinking of intelligent, well-educated Nines tends to be in the direction of simplifying reality and cutting through abstruse thickets to get at the kernel of truth beneath. Nines tend to see things the way they want them to be; they reinterpret reality to make it more comforting and less threatening, simpler and less daunting. By contrast, the thinking of Fives is complex. By attempting to arrive at a grand unifying theory that encompasses and explains everything, average Fives end up involved in increasing complications and abstractions. Their thought is focused on specifics, often highly technical and concerned with foresight and the consequences of acting one way rather than another. But at an extreme, Fives risk seeing reality not as it is but as a projection of their preoccupations and fears. They distort their perceptions of reality so that reality seems more negative and threatening than it actually is.

Nines feel at ease in the world, and their style of thinking reflects their unconscious desire to merge with the world. Fives are afraid of being overwhelmed by the world, and their intellectual efforts are an unconscious defense against the world, an attempt to master it intellectually. There is a world of difference between these two types since they see the world so differently. Compare Charles Darwin (a Five) and Walt Disney (a Nine), Albert Einstein (a Five) and Jim Henson (a Nine) to understand the similarities and differences between these two types more clearly.

I guess that can help you.;) I personaly feel you more as a 9, and not a 5 at all. Just seeing your signature, for example:
I have an inner monologue that sounds strikingly similar to something off Animal Planet.
:D
 

StephMC

Controlled Mischief
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
1,044
MBTI Type
ISTP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
:laugh: Thanks! I suppose you're right. I relate to maybe 80% of what 9 profiles say and like 60% of what 5s say. I'm pretty low-key, so I think the 9w8 is the best fit :yes:
 

Super Nova

New member
Joined
Apr 25, 2010
Messages
48
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
4w5
Which other MBTI type do you feel more closely pulled to in terms of similarity to yourself? Please list your MBTI type and Enneagram type!

I'm curious if there will be an overlap of Enneagrams even though the MBTI types will differ.


For instance, I am ISTP 7w8. The one type I feel is most similar to me is ESTP.

My enneagram type is 5w4. Although I don't feel the description is particularly accurate in my case, numerous MBTI quizzes have typed me as INFP. I don't feel as though INFP accurately describes me, however. After having read the various type descriptions, I think the type that describes me best is ESTP.
 

Super Nova

New member
Joined
Apr 25, 2010
Messages
48
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
4w5
I read a post in another forum that makes me think I might be an ISFP so, for the moment at least, I am "trying on" that type.
 

Rebe

New member
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
1,431
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
4sop
I feel closest to ISFJs (so far)...is that odd? They are laid-back and gentle, but also judgmental, and so am I.
 

surgery

New member
Joined
Sep 28, 2007
Messages
257
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
Four
INFP Four So/Sp. Otherwise, most relatable to ENFP, then ISFP.
 

Aleksei

Yeah, I can fly.
Joined
Mar 10, 2010
Messages
3,626
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Enneagram
7w6
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
ENTP, 7w8 sx. Closest to INTP and ESTP (In addition to my own type).
 

Elemental Chaos

New member
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
50
MBTI Type
eNXP
Enneagram
7+4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Pretty emotionally fucked up. Still, ENFP relating a lot to all XNXPs and somewhat to SPs. Unsure about my enneagram but scoring 7w8sx/sp or 3w2sx/sp.

According to the Big Five and it's interactions with MBTI I apparently wish I were an ENFJ (more conscientious that is, plus just generally less neurotic).
 

Invisiblemonkey

New member
Joined
Mar 20, 2010
Messages
117
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w4
INTP, 5w6. I feel closest to an INFP. Simply put, I'd like to think that altruism is one of my greater motivators (In a screw reason kind of way, hence F.)
 

Hunter

New member
Joined
Nov 18, 2008
Messages
28
MBTI Type
ISTP
Enneagram
8w7
I'm an ISTP but beyond that, I'm closest to ISTJ and then next probably INTP. My Enneagram is 8w7, although I did once take the test and get 7w8.
 

CuriousFeeling

From the Undertow
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Messages
2,937
MBTI Type
INfJ
Enneagram
4w5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
INFJ, 4w5. Closest to INTJ, but can be a bit like an INFP too.
 

jixmixfix

Permabanned
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
Messages
4,278
5w6 ISTP...I would say I feel closest to INTP for sure...defiantly more on the logical side. It seems that not many here feel closer to their "S" or "N" variant. People tend to choose their T or F side. In third I would say either ENTP or ISFP.
 

Yloh

New member
Joined
Jul 31, 2009
Messages
183
MBTI Type
ENFJ
MBTI type: ENFJ

Enneagram type: 2w3

I feel closest to the INFP
 
Joined
Sep 21, 2009
Messages
257
MBTI Type
INFJ
Sorry if I should have posted here already...

INFJ, 4 wing unknown, definitively feel closest to INTJ... possibly followed by INFP, ENFJ and ENFP and ISFP....
 

Prime of Perfection

New member
Joined
May 7, 2010
Messages
2
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
3
I'm an ENFP, 3w4 wing.

I'm generally well with most types, so I'm not sure for now. If I had to guess based off of my girlfriend, INFP. To note, if it does help, she's a 4w3 wing if that assists as well.
 

You

New member
Joined
Jun 8, 2010
Messages
2,124
MBTI Type
entp
Enneagram
7w8
I am WORD
  • 7w8
  • Closest: xSTP, INTP

/ENTP
 

Such Irony

Honor Thy Inferior
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
5,059
MBTI Type
INtp
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
5w6. I'm no longer totally sure of this and hope to soon post a thread about my enneatype.

Other than INTP, I relate next closest to ISFJ, INFP, INFJ, and INTJ
 

Noon

New member
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
790
Eh, I'm either a 3 with a very strong 4 wing, 9w1, or 6.
I feel closest to INFJ and INTP/ISTP.
 
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