English Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Dutch French German Italian Japanese Russian Spanish

Typing

  • Enneagram Typing - Can It Slide Into Stereotyping?

    A blog post by Lynette Sheppard.

  • Is Simon Cowell An Eight? Typing Famous People

    A blog post by Lynette Sheppard.

  • Beyond the Enneagram Stereotypes

    Stereotypes of the Enneagram types come about when only a narrow set of characteristics are taken as a representative generalization. This can easily happen to someone new to the system.  Here are some typical type stereotypes:

  • Misdentification of Enneagram Personality Types

    Detailed reasons that people misidentify their own Enneagram type and the types of others. This material comes from the work of Don Riso and Russ Hudson.

  • The Trouble with Typing

    An insightful article by Tom Condon on typing yourself and others using the Enneagram.

  • Interpretations of the Enneagram Types

    When I first started studying the Enneagram personality type system, what I noticed most was that authors couldn't agree on the Enneagram types of famous people. I remember reading one book that claimed Marilyn Monroe was a type 6 (seeking a father-figure), another said she was a type 2 (seductive), another claimed type 4 (depressive - committed suicide) and yet another had her as a type 3 (presenting a public image).

  • Inductive and Deductive Approaches to Understanding Enneatypes

    Stereotyping the Enneagram types can be understood in terms of inductive and deductive reasoning. The inductive approach goes from details to generalizations while the deductive approach starts with generalizations and moves to details. Although using one or the other approach exclusively can easily lead to stereotyping, it seems to me that the deductive approach to typing leads to stereotyping more often (especially with people just learning the Enneatypes).

  • Stereotyping with the Enneagram

    The obvious dangers of stereotyping with the enneatypes comes about when someone studying or using the system attributes characteristics to a person just because they are a certain enneatype. Here are some of the assumptions that could be a problem:

  • Discovering Your Subtype or Instinctual Type

    A blog post adapted from “The Everyday Enneagram, A Personality Map for Enhancing Your Work, Love, and Life...Everyday”. by Lynette Sheppard.