[Tritype] Does tritype order matter?

[Hawthorne]

I know some people don’t agree with tritype theory but for those who do, what impact, if any, does the order of the tritype have on personality?

I’m constantly rotating between the three in my signature because, when I actually take the time to introspect, all three of their influences seem strong.

This isn’t necessarily a type me thread (though I’m open to it). I’m more interested in how tritype theory is structured. Is there even a singular standard for tritypes or is it more of an interweaving of various schools of thought (some with contradicting stances)?

 

[senza tema]

I don't think order really matters, no. The core type matters most, IMO, and the other two types are subsidiary defense mechanisms that give a particular flavor to the core.

 

[Evee]

Choose your favorite types and put them in order from favorite to least favorite.

 

[Virtual ghost]

I know some people don’t agree with tritype theory but for those who do, what impact, if any, does the order of the tritype have on personality?

I’m constantly rotating between the three in my signature because, when I actually take the time to introspect, all three of their influences seem strong.

This isn’t necessarily a type me thread (though I’m open to it). I’m more interested in how tritype theory is structured. Is there even a singular standard for tritypes or is it more of an interweaving of various schools of thought (some with contradicting stances)?

I think tritype matters.

Your core type is the most important part of your Enneagram type however the other two numbers known as fixes give a person more complex definition of self. This is because tritype describes your subtle tendencies what allow much more individual approach to Enneagram.


Take my example I am 513 and therefore I am made of types that are pretty different from each other, what means that the changes in order change quite many things. For example 351 may look pretty differently from 513 since the priorities are radically different. One person is core 5 and other is a 3 (huge difference). Also one person is more in touch with its 1 values while the other one is not, especially since this person has e1 in last position and that means that this persons e1 side is stronger than their e8 or e9 side but overall their e1 side may still be fairly undeveloped overall. Just as the e3 in the 513 person.

 

[Hawthorne]

[MENTION=23222]senza tema[/MENTION] [MENTION=22109]Evee[/MENTION] [MENTION=4347]Virtual ghost[/MENTION]

How would someone differentiate their core from the rest then? Are there any reliable "markers" to look for?

 

[HongDou]

I don't think order really matters, no. The core type matters most, IMO, and the other two types are subsidiary defense mechanisms that give a particular flavor to the core.

I agree with this for the most part. Core type is most important and you have to find what really hits close to home out of all 9 first and foremost. But I think for me the order actually did matter.

[MENTION=10082]Starry[/MENTION]'s touched on this before but I have a lot more 2/3 influence than 8/9 to the point where others have typed me both as 2w3/3w2 over 6w7/7w6. 7 definitely is my life focus and one of the biggest challenges that consistently appears throughout the day, month, year, etc but I also heavily relate to how 2w3 coats my self-image and such. Maybe it's because I have strong sx and so influence, but there's a strong desire to have an attractive and appealing appearance to others. I notice this in my actions much more than anything 8 or 9ish. So order for me does matter because 2 is much more apparent than my baby 8-fix.

But also it's all in a very 7ish way; I enjoy the image and have fun with it. I do have a need to feel appreciated and loved, but I enjoy entertaining myself with images and personas above all else. I think this what throws people in the ESFP/2/3 direction for me, I know who I am but I like exploring different aspects of my personality and the fluidity of my demeanor. I can have a lot of extravagant expressions and bravado in how I express myself but only because I'm being playful about my expressions - senza once said I'm an ENFP playing the role of an ESFP for enjoyment and abdication of responsibility. The need behind it is less 2/3ish to get appreciation or admiration and more 7ish to entertain possibilities and pursue the novelty of it all. So overall your core type may influence how your other fixes manifest themselves.

Sorry if this isn't that helpful, but hopefully you might get something from my personal experience.

 

[Hawthorne]

I agree with this for the most part. Core type is most important and you have to find what really hits close to home out of all 9 first and foremost. But I think for me the order actually did matter.

[MENTION=10082]Starry[/MENTION]'s touched on this before but I have a lot more 2/3 influence than 8/9 to the point where others have typed me both as 2w3/3w2 over 6w7/7w6. 7 definitely is my life focus and one of the biggest challenges that consistently appears throughout the day, month, year, etc but I also heavily relate to how 2w3 coats my self-image and such. Maybe it's because I have strong sx and so influence, but there's a strong desire to have an attractive and appealing appearance to others. I notice this in my actions much more than anything 8 or 9ish. So order for me does matter because 2 is much more apparent than my baby 8-fix.

But also it's all in a very 7ish way; I enjoy the image and have fun with it. I do have a need to feel appreciated and loved, but I enjoy entertaining myself with images and personas above all else. I think this what throws people in the ESFP/2/3 direction for me, I know who I am but I like exploring different aspects of my personality and the fluidity of my demeanor. I can have a lot of extravagant expressions and bravado in how I express myself but only because I'm being playful about my expressions - senza once said I'm an ENFP playing the role of an ESFP for enjoyment and abdication of responsibility. The need behind it is less 2/3ish to get appreciation or admiration and more 7ish to entertain possibilities and pursue the novelty of it all. So overall your core type may influence how your other fixes manifest themselves.

Sorry if this isn't that helpful, but hopefully you might get something from my personal experience.

That's extremely interesting to me because it's almost opposite to what I experience. I don't really notice a strong preference for any one of my types but I'm also not as in touch with my motivations as I could be.

How much difficulty did you have in figuring out your core type? Did 7w6 just "click" for you immediately or did you have to work through certain impressions to feel comfortable with it?

 

[Mane]

I suspect that it does, much like instinctual variants - an sx/sp and sx/so can be quite different.

The difference here is not in the impact but in the difficulty of inquiry - the theory is still in diapers and it's going to take it longer to get to the point where it can explore those differences because it has a lot more ground to cover.

Interestingly... I think I have a near perfect case study for this: [MENTION=13377]pinkgraffiti[/MENTION] - if I remember right your a 784 while I am a 748. Is there anyone here who knows us both well enough to note critical differences that could be related to tritype fixes?

 

[five sounds]

I feel like yes.

Also instinctual variants are huge.

I'm gonna say order doesn't matter as much as tritype and maybe care type with wing.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

My stack might be wrong, but I strongly identify with my tritype. When I first accepted it, I cried for an hour because it was too true for me.

I don't like the 9w8 side much, but I know it is there. 4w5 is where I spent a lot of time when I was unhealthy. 6w5 feels like my default, but I might be wrong. Maybe I sit at 9w8 more than I care to admit.

 

[Mane]

My stack might be wrong, but I strongly identify with my tritype. When I first accepted it, I cried for an hour because it was too true for me.

It really is one of the most revealing description systems out there. I felt completely naked reading mine (I probably was but that's beside the point... I think).

 

[HongDou]

I forgot to point out that one of the more important parts of tritype is just how the whole profile fits, like how 278 fits for me regardless of my core.

How much difficulty did you have in figuring out your core type? Did 7w6 just "click" for you immediately or did you have to work through certain impressions to feel comfortable with it?

I got 7w6 on the first Enneagram test I ever took. Actually all of my types I initially scored on a test so it's just been building on the knowledge of how everything works together afterwards. The only type I stuck with for a truly long period of time was so/sx, but after thinking about how I truly operate and also reading Naranjo's take on sexual 7 I realized sx/so was the right choice after all.

That's extremely interesting to me because it's almost opposite to what I experience. I don't really notice a strong preference for any one of my types but I'm also not as in touch with my motivations as I could be.

Well, if there's any type out of touch with their fears/motivations it'd be a type on the 369 spectrum.

My stack might be wrong, but I strongly identify with my tritype. When I first accepted it, I cried for an hour because it was too true for me.

Haha, such an INFx response.

 

[fetus]

It confuses me a lot. I know I'm definitely a 4, and I have a strong 9 influence in there as well. Choosing head type is more difficult, though I know I'm either a 6 or a 7.

I thought I was 479 for a long time, but I think I'm 497, because I'm very 9-ish. Can't decide between 9w1 or 9w8, but probably the former.

I've considered:
4w3 - 7w6 - 9w1
4w3 - 9w1 - 7w6
4w3 - 6w7 - 9w1
4w3 - 9w1 - 6w7
4w3 - 9w1 - 6w5

Replace all 9w1 with 9w8 for more I've considered.

 

[Virtual ghost]

[MENTION=23222]senza tema[/MENTION] [MENTION=22109]Evee[/MENTION] [MENTION=4347]Virtual ghost[/MENTION]

How would someone differentiate their core from the rest then? Are there any reliable "markers" to look for?

This is somewhat hard because you have to know all types in more depth and understand their motivations for behavior. (but you can find this online)
Also you have to know yourself pretty well.

After you know all of this you arrange the types by how much do you relate towards them, strongest from each triad.
That is it.


In general your core should be much more visible than everyhing else. While first and second fix are more like spices that will push you me in this or that direction.

 

[Hawthorne]

Well damn. I've yet to have any abnormal occurrences of nudity or emotionalism while studying enneatypes. I feel like I'm missing out.

I forgot to point out that one of the more important parts of tritype is just how the whole profile fits, like how 278 fits for me regardless of my core.

I got 7w6 on the first Enneagram test I ever took. Actually all of my types I initially scored on a test so it's just been building on the knowledge of how everything works together afterwards. The only type I stuck with for a truly long period of time was so/sx, but after thinking about how I truly operate and also reading Naranjo's take on sexual 7 I realized sx/so was the right choice after all.

Well, if there's any type out of touch with their fears/motivations it'd be a type on the 369 spectrum.

Even though I've already done a near criminal amount of reading and lurking about the types, I probably need to do more to really get a fix on my core since the consensus so far is that tritype order can suggest different flavors within a personality cluster.

Good point on the 369 part. I'll take it as confirmation that I'm not too far off course then.

This is somewhat hard because you have to know all types in more depth and understand their motivations for behavior. (but you can find this online)
Also you have to know yourself pretty well.

After you know all of this you arrange the types by how much do you relate towards them, strongest from each triad.
That is it.

In general your core should be much more visible than everyhing else. While first and second fix are more like spices that will push you me in this or that direction.

Is there a specific source you (or anyone else) would recommend for more reading? I've "toured" Naranjo, Maitri, and Riso & co but there are always issues. Naranjo got me to the 359 cluster but I don't recall a lot of wing discussion which I imagine plays a significant role and would like to understand better. Admittedly, I was using the excerpts off of Personality Cafe so there may be more in the books that I've missed.

 

[Mane]

[MENTION=23915]Sinclair[/MENTION] - this is far from a perfect methodology, but it can give some direction so I am just going to throw it out here... If you are an ENTP and identify with the 3, 5 & 9 fixes, 3 is the most likely to be your core. There are very few ENTPs with a 9 core, and I only ever heard of one ENTP with a 5 core.

 

[Hawthorne]

[MENTION=23915]Sinclair[/MENTION] - this is far from a perfect methodology, but it can give some direction so I am just going to throw it out here... If you are an ENTP and identify with the 3, 5 & 9 fixes, 3 is the most likely to be your core. There are very few ENTPs with a 9 core, and I only ever heard of one ENTP with a 5 core.

That line to 9 is a tricky one and I've never related much to the underlying masochistic character. Being in a disintegrated state wouldn't surprise me. Favorite enneagram sources?

 

[wolfy]

Matter to what?

 

[Hawthorne]

Matter to what?

Lazy question form of "Is there a significant difference in preference between the types in a tritype where placing them in one order can mean something different than placing them in another?" but that was somehow too vague AND specific so I got rid of it.

Motivation was out of not feeling any specific draw to one of my own and wondering about the importance of a core type.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Is there a specific source you (or anyone else) would recommend for more reading? I've "toured" Naranjo, Maitri, and Riso & co but there are always issues. Naranjo got me to the 359 cluster but I don't recall a lot of wing discussion which I imagine plays a significant role and would like to understand better. Admittedly, I was using the excerpts off of Personality Cafe so there may be more in the books that I've missed.

I think you saw everything you needed to see.
My advice is that that you do not overthink this because there is trully too much possibilities and you can doubt your type until the day you die. Especially since every type is not defined to the last detail and all people are just individuals. In other words since you are ENTP I have a feeing that you will overthink this and search for more and more information.



I would do it like this if I were you.

If you are sure that you are ENTP and that you are some combination of 9w8 5w6 3w4 and that you are generally emotioanally healthy I would just sit down and define how much I relate to each type out of 9w8 5w6 3w4 and sort them by order. I would do this by taking my behaviour from the last couple of years so that I have more data and I would then simply order them by how much I relate to type motivations.