[Traditional Enneagram] I'm at odds with my Ennegram and Tritype

[Taibreah]

I'm at odds with my Enneagram types and I've been at this for a few hours now. I've taken the test again and gotten the same result as I did when I first took it. The highest score was a Type 5, but that's only within .03 points difference of being a Type 4, and a .06 points difference of being a Type 6. The scores are so close together I can imagine that maybe there were some questions that I answered with uncertainty.

I have read through the descriptions of each of those types a feel I can identify and relate the most with Type 4. One of the few things I disagree with on Type 5 is being apathetic and antagonistic. I don't think I fit either of those descriptions. I'm just going to go ahead and say I'm not a Type 6, but there are aspects of it that I can related to; self-protective and defensive.

I also took the tritype test and got two different results. First a 479 and second time 649. I don't recall which questions I answered differently. I suppose I could take it a third time, but, I ended up just looking for a list that I could relate to and felt I could identify more with 469. But, I think maybe I'm reading into this too much and should just take a break, or forget about the tritype altogether.

I'm just going to remove my Enneagram information for now.

In the spoiler is a screenshot of my Enneagram results:

 

[ElleG]

Maybe read the descriptions of 4, 5 and 6 here, paying close attention to their basic fear and their basic desire--might help and you can also look in the "misidentification" section to get really good comparisons between these types.

Type Descriptions — The Enneagram Institute
36 Type Misidentifications — The Enneagram Institute

Looking at levels of each type (healthy, average and unhealthy) can also be helpful: you might see a pattern you relate to. Types look very different depending on what level you're operating at.

If you are torn between single types 4 or 5 or 6, diving into tritype might help clarify things for you. It certainly did for me. Looking at your tritype result: getting 469 (The Seeker) and 479 (The Gentle Spirit), means the only thing in question would be your head type (your orientation toward thinking and ideas). You are consistently testing with a heart type 4 and a gut type 9.

Difference between 6 and 7:
• 6 thinks more for the responsibility of assessing and defending current beliefs/people to figure out what/who is reliable and what they can be certain about
• 7 thinks more for the delight of staying on the move (mentally or physically) in search of new ideas to stimulate their minds with

You can read in depth descriptions of the tritypes here: Tritype archetypes and variant descriptions


Good luck with your exploration!

 

[GavinElster]

Well first of all, there's no reason one *shouldn't* expect to score equally on several things in a test which is basically a trait theory. You're just measuring how much perfectionism, how much security-orientation, etc you have. THere's no reason you can't have similar levels of each.

I think at some level, you have to get away from the tests and go more organically into the core philosophies of the types, and make an assessment. You'll find, for instance, that maybe you do a lot of a bunch of things, but one of them is more telling of your core philosophy.

 

[Taibreah]

Thanks for the information and the links. I've read through them, specifically the differences between 459, 469, and 479 and also consulted a book that I have on the subject, but only on the traditional Enneagram. And, as I originally thought, I still feel that I can relate more the Tritype 469. So, I'm going to go with that.

Upon reading up on the Misidentifying Fours and Fives, it mentions that "Fives are more intellectual, and seeing that they have deep feelings presume that they must be Fours. (This is especially true with female Fives.)" So, with all my overthinking and second guessing, it must mean that I am a Type 5, instead of Type 4. Hmm?

But, okay, I've read through this book called "Discovering Your Personality Type" by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson. It's a book I've had since college. I read more in depth information about 4, 5, 6, and 9. And, I find myself relating to nearly every aspect of Type 6: The Loyalist, in that I'm reliable, organized, cautious, anxious, believing and doubting, worrying, suspicious, defensive. I would hardly call myself a healthy 6 since the only healthy thing about it is being reliable and organized. An excerpt from the book says: "One sign that Sixes have issues with trust is that they approach others with a sincere but cautious friendliness." I can totally relate to that, but still don't feel like Type 6 would my first type.

As for Type 9 which I hadn't really considered, but upon further reading on the subject in the book, I have only negative traits of this type. Emotionally unavailable, complacent, unaware of my own anger, passive aggressive, unrealistic, resigned, and stubborn. What I wouldn't give to be the opposite of this!

I will say that I feel like I know a lot more today about Enneagram types and Tritypes than I did yesterday. So, I will continue to learn more about it through more than just taking tests. Thanks to you both for your information, and feel free to add any other suggestions.

 

[ElleG]

My guess is that you have really strong wings making it more difficult to figure out your primary numbers.

If you relate to 4, 5 and 6...maybe 5 is really active for you and then you have strong 4 AND 6 wings. I'm an 8 with a very strong 9 wing, which makes me way less "8-ish" I also have quite a bit of 7 attributes, but not nearly as strong. When I read 8w9 and 8w7 descriptions, they both resonate with me in different ways. My full tritype is 8w9-5w4-4w5, that's 4 types that resonate with me, but really, you could have 6 different types total.

Also, we use all the types in the Enneagram, but just have preferences. When I test, my results come our pretty equal, so you could also be a person that has already integrated a lot of different attributes of types into who you are.

So much to think about!

 

[Taibreah]

Heh, today I've gone back to the book to read over again each type that I relate to! I've come back again with the same thought I had about being a Type 5 with so much relation to the wings that it's hard to decide which one I want to be my primary. So, if my 4 and 6 wings are so strong that leaves me identifying with both 5w4/5w6. Would it be totally okay if I claimed both 549: 5w4|4w5|9w1 and 469: 4w5|6w5|9w1, too?

There are types that I know I definitely don't fit into, at least not in this point of my life, such as 3, 7, and 8.

Yeah, it is a lot to think about.