The Enneagram of Personality is a map of nine types arranged on a nine-point figure. Wikipedia describes it as a pseudoscientific model. It is taught in several schools (Ichazo, Naranjo, Riso and Hudson, Palmer, and others) that do not always agree. This site’s quiz is original and unofficial. It is not the Riso–Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI). Take the Enneagram test first.
How the figure is taught
Each type is a point on a circle. Lines connect 1–4–2–8–5–7–1 and 3–6–9–3. Many teachers say a person has one basic type for life, plus a “wing” (a neighboring number that flavors it), plus movement toward another type in stress and another in security. Riso and Hudson popularized English names and, in the 1970s–90s, nine “levels of development” from healthier to more constricted expressions of the same type. Other teachers do not use those levels.
Riso and Hudson’s short trait lists, used widely as a first look:
- 1 Reformer — principled, purposeful, self-controlled, perfectionistic. Basic fear often taught as being corrupt or bad; basic desire as integrity.
- 2 Helper — caring, generous, people-pleasing, possessive. Fear of being unlovable; desire to be wanted.
- 3 Achiever — adaptive, excelling, driven, image-conscious. Fear of worthlessness; desire to be valuable.
- 4 Individualist — expressive, withdrawn, identity-focused. Fear of having no significance; desire to be themselves.
- 5 Investigator — perceptive, cerebral, private. Fear of incompetence; desire to understand and master.
- 6 Loyalist — committed, security-oriented, anxious or suspicious. Fear of being without support; desire for security.
- 7 Enthusiast — spontaneous, versatile, scattered. Fear of being trapped in pain; desire to stay free and satisfied.
- 8 Challenger — self-confident, decisive, confrontational. Fear of being controlled; desire to protect themselves.
- 9 Peacemaker — receptive, reassuring, complacent. Fear of conflict and loss of connection; desire for peace.
Those one-line fears and desires are teaching devices from that school. They are not diagnostic criteria.
Centers, wings, arrows
A common extra layer groups types into three “centers”: body/gut (8, 9, 1), heart (2, 3, 4), head (5, 6, 7). Wings are the numbers on either side (a 5 may be described as 5w4 or 5w6). Stress and security lines differ by school; one common teaching is that 1 moves toward 4 in stress and 7 in security. Treat arrows as optional vocabulary. A 24-question web quiz cannot measure them.
Evidence
The RHETI is a long forced-choice instrument from the Enneagram Institute. Independent reviews have not established the Enneagram as a validated personality taxonomy on the level of the Big Five. Types are not used in standard clinical diagnosis. People often recognize more than one number; that is expected. Read the lead result and the second-highest bar on our quiz. If they are close, read both pages.
Enneagram is about motive and habit under stress. It is not the same as 16 types (information style) or DISC (workplace pace). Use 16 types, DISC, and the Big Five as separate sittings. Do not hire with any of them.