Serotonin
7 Apr 2005, 04:47 AM
Enneagram and MBTI are two personality typing systems that are both used by many people. We see that there is no perfect correlation between the two, yet some MBTI types are more likely to be an enneagram type than others, and vice versa.
This got my extraverted intuition pumping and so one day I ran smack into an idea, what if we could correlate the eight Jungian functions with the nine points of the enneagram?
My Ti then says, "whoa dude, 8 correlating with 9 will give you some nasty decimals". Not so if we have a little caveat. The enneagram point 9 is said to be an integration of all the enneagram points, such that a person who is a 9 can see the merits of everyone's point of view, and thus the 9 is commonly named "The Mediator", who makes everyone's opinion valid an give them equal time. The 9, which is at the pinnacle of the enneagram, I guess represents the synthesis of all the merits of each type.
Thus I will leave it out of this analysis, and lo and behold, we have 8 enneapoints left, and 8 Jungian functions. I will now attempt to demonstrate how each of these points represents one of the Jungian functions. I am not saying that this is the be-all and end-all of MBTI-e correlation, just to show some tendencies.
The One: Ni (Introverted Intuition)
The One is primarily concerned with being good and perfect. A model citizen, competent, successful, and righteous. So how does one become good and perfect? By considering all possibilities, having a little insight, or vision, into how the future will pan out, and then executing what they think is the best course of action. This is primarily how xNxJs also operate. Using their Ni, they consider the implications of their actions in a subjective way, and then use their extraverted judging function (either Te or Fe) to implement their vision.
Many an INTJ is a One. I have also seen ENTJs, ENFJs and INFJs as Ones.
The Two: Fe (Extraverted Feeling)
Twos are all about love, compassion and personal interaction. They love being in love, giving gifts, feeling wanted and needed and making other people feel the same way. This is also the essence of Extraverted Feeling. It is a concrete, interactive, expressive form of emotion. It is objective, and assumes everyone is entitled to love, regardless of background or personality.
The large majority of twos are either ESFJ or ENFJ.
The Three: Se (Extraverted Sensing)
The basic aim of the Three is to be successful and be appreciated by others for their success. Self-image is very important to threes. So how does a three make sure they are acknowledged and received positively in the world? Make an impression. Convey a sense of "style". Kiersey lists "making an impression" as a key component of the "Artisan" temperament (the SP). What Jungian Function characterises the SP? Extraverted Sensing. Many a ESTP and ESFP is a three.
The Four: Fi (Introverted Feeling)
The Four is often cited as the most mysterious and misunderstood of the enneatypes. No wonder, almost all are introverts and put a high importance on their internal emotions. Singers like Jeff Buckley, Morrissey, Kurt Cobain, Billy Corgan, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young have made careers out of writing music about their tortured souls. And yes, they are/were all fours. Introverted Feeling is about examining the worth of something, be it a person, an image or an emotion. This takes a lot of introspection and soul-searching. Hence the fourish nature of those with strong Fi.
INFPs and ISFPs are commonly fours. INFJs who are fours may have a strong integration to One, accessing their introverted intuition.
The Five: Ti (Introverted Thinking)
Introverted thinking is about examining the essence of something, usually an idea or a concept. People with strong Ti use it almost as a piledriver or a mortar and pestle, grinding an idea around in their heads until it reaches a versatile "powder" form. Ideas can have many components, and Ti deals with these by running them simultaneously, and then producing a pattern or essence of the idea. A very cerebral process, and one cannot help but make the link between this and the nature of an enneagram five. Fives have a desire for pure knowledge, and not just for itself, but to synthesise it into patterns as a way of understanding the world.
Almost all INTPs are fives. Quite a few ISTPs are as well.
The Six: Si (Introverted Sensing)
The Six is often called the "Loyalist". Trustworthy, dependable, and not prone to venture outside their comfort zone unless forced to. Sixes are by nature often conservative in their approach to life, and are driven by a need for safety and security. Thus they would be comfortable with things that are familiar: the family home, the smell of home-cooking, the sight of a loved one or the sound of his/her voice. Familiar senses describe the essence of Si. Si has strong connections with the past, it is about conjuring up the senses that you have stored away in your mind, experienced in the past. Si is the function that describes Kiersey's Guardian temperament, the SJ. Not surprisingly, SJ sixes are in abundance.
The Seven: Ne (Extraverted Intuition)
The Seven takes the expansive approach to life. There is so much out there, waiting to be explored, experienced and revelled in. Revelry is the key to understand a Seven. They want to have fun. Similarly, extraverted intuition is about pushing the envelope, exploring new territory, being fearless and shameless. Many a stand-up comedian is a Seven. Sometimes you wonder after seeing a stand-up show, "How could they have come up with all that original material so quickly and delivered it so well?". The answer is strong extraverted intuition. I know quite a few Sevens IRL, and they tend to be either ENFP or ENTP.
The Eight: Te (Extraverted Thinking)
Power and control are central to the Eight. It is important for the Eight to have things settled, and in their place. They hate ambiguity and indecisiveness. They have an irresistible urge to categorise. Hence most Eights are either ESTJs or ENTJs, since extraverted thinking is about categorising, finalising, and putting a workable structure in place. Any impediments or weaknesses in this structure must be dealt with or eliminated, for extraverted thinking types hate chaos, weakness or flimsiness.
_______________________________________________________________
Now things start to get interesting.
Take each Jungian function, and then disregard whether it is introverted or extraverted. So we would have:
Thinking: 5 and 8
Feeling: 2 and 4
Sensing: 3 and 6
Intuition: 1 and 7
Each of these pairs has a stress/security connection in the enneagram!
5 (Ti) integrates to 8 (Te)
2 (Fe) integrates to 4 (Fi)
3 (Se) integrates to 6 (Si)
1 (Ni) integrates to 7 (Ne)
There is no bias for introversion/extraversion i.e. two introverted functions integrate to an extraverted function and vice-versa. This is similar to how a normal MB type function would operate: two extraverted and two introverted functions.
So I now leave it to you dear reader. Coincidence, or something more.....
This got my extraverted intuition pumping and so one day I ran smack into an idea, what if we could correlate the eight Jungian functions with the nine points of the enneagram?
My Ti then says, "whoa dude, 8 correlating with 9 will give you some nasty decimals". Not so if we have a little caveat. The enneagram point 9 is said to be an integration of all the enneagram points, such that a person who is a 9 can see the merits of everyone's point of view, and thus the 9 is commonly named "The Mediator", who makes everyone's opinion valid an give them equal time. The 9, which is at the pinnacle of the enneagram, I guess represents the synthesis of all the merits of each type.
Thus I will leave it out of this analysis, and lo and behold, we have 8 enneapoints left, and 8 Jungian functions. I will now attempt to demonstrate how each of these points represents one of the Jungian functions. I am not saying that this is the be-all and end-all of MBTI-e correlation, just to show some tendencies.
The One: Ni (Introverted Intuition)
The One is primarily concerned with being good and perfect. A model citizen, competent, successful, and righteous. So how does one become good and perfect? By considering all possibilities, having a little insight, or vision, into how the future will pan out, and then executing what they think is the best course of action. This is primarily how xNxJs also operate. Using their Ni, they consider the implications of their actions in a subjective way, and then use their extraverted judging function (either Te or Fe) to implement their vision.
Many an INTJ is a One. I have also seen ENTJs, ENFJs and INFJs as Ones.
The Two: Fe (Extraverted Feeling)
Twos are all about love, compassion and personal interaction. They love being in love, giving gifts, feeling wanted and needed and making other people feel the same way. This is also the essence of Extraverted Feeling. It is a concrete, interactive, expressive form of emotion. It is objective, and assumes everyone is entitled to love, regardless of background or personality.
The large majority of twos are either ESFJ or ENFJ.
The Three: Se (Extraverted Sensing)
The basic aim of the Three is to be successful and be appreciated by others for their success. Self-image is very important to threes. So how does a three make sure they are acknowledged and received positively in the world? Make an impression. Convey a sense of "style". Kiersey lists "making an impression" as a key component of the "Artisan" temperament (the SP). What Jungian Function characterises the SP? Extraverted Sensing. Many a ESTP and ESFP is a three.
The Four: Fi (Introverted Feeling)
The Four is often cited as the most mysterious and misunderstood of the enneatypes. No wonder, almost all are introverts and put a high importance on their internal emotions. Singers like Jeff Buckley, Morrissey, Kurt Cobain, Billy Corgan, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young have made careers out of writing music about their tortured souls. And yes, they are/were all fours. Introverted Feeling is about examining the worth of something, be it a person, an image or an emotion. This takes a lot of introspection and soul-searching. Hence the fourish nature of those with strong Fi.
INFPs and ISFPs are commonly fours. INFJs who are fours may have a strong integration to One, accessing their introverted intuition.
The Five: Ti (Introverted Thinking)
Introverted thinking is about examining the essence of something, usually an idea or a concept. People with strong Ti use it almost as a piledriver or a mortar and pestle, grinding an idea around in their heads until it reaches a versatile "powder" form. Ideas can have many components, and Ti deals with these by running them simultaneously, and then producing a pattern or essence of the idea. A very cerebral process, and one cannot help but make the link between this and the nature of an enneagram five. Fives have a desire for pure knowledge, and not just for itself, but to synthesise it into patterns as a way of understanding the world.
Almost all INTPs are fives. Quite a few ISTPs are as well.
The Six: Si (Introverted Sensing)
The Six is often called the "Loyalist". Trustworthy, dependable, and not prone to venture outside their comfort zone unless forced to. Sixes are by nature often conservative in their approach to life, and are driven by a need for safety and security. Thus they would be comfortable with things that are familiar: the family home, the smell of home-cooking, the sight of a loved one or the sound of his/her voice. Familiar senses describe the essence of Si. Si has strong connections with the past, it is about conjuring up the senses that you have stored away in your mind, experienced in the past. Si is the function that describes Kiersey's Guardian temperament, the SJ. Not surprisingly, SJ sixes are in abundance.
The Seven: Ne (Extraverted Intuition)
The Seven takes the expansive approach to life. There is so much out there, waiting to be explored, experienced and revelled in. Revelry is the key to understand a Seven. They want to have fun. Similarly, extraverted intuition is about pushing the envelope, exploring new territory, being fearless and shameless. Many a stand-up comedian is a Seven. Sometimes you wonder after seeing a stand-up show, "How could they have come up with all that original material so quickly and delivered it so well?". The answer is strong extraverted intuition. I know quite a few Sevens IRL, and they tend to be either ENFP or ENTP.
The Eight: Te (Extraverted Thinking)
Power and control are central to the Eight. It is important for the Eight to have things settled, and in their place. They hate ambiguity and indecisiveness. They have an irresistible urge to categorise. Hence most Eights are either ESTJs or ENTJs, since extraverted thinking is about categorising, finalising, and putting a workable structure in place. Any impediments or weaknesses in this structure must be dealt with or eliminated, for extraverted thinking types hate chaos, weakness or flimsiness.
_______________________________________________________________
Now things start to get interesting.
Take each Jungian function, and then disregard whether it is introverted or extraverted. So we would have:
Thinking: 5 and 8
Feeling: 2 and 4
Sensing: 3 and 6
Intuition: 1 and 7
Each of these pairs has a stress/security connection in the enneagram!
5 (Ti) integrates to 8 (Te)
2 (Fe) integrates to 4 (Fi)
3 (Se) integrates to 6 (Si)
1 (Ni) integrates to 7 (Ne)
There is no bias for introversion/extraversion i.e. two introverted functions integrate to an extraverted function and vice-versa. This is similar to how a normal MB type function would operate: two extraverted and two introverted functions.
So I now leave it to you dear reader. Coincidence, or something more.....