Nearly a month back, I received a link on WhatsApp from a friend to determine what Enneagram Number I was. And I took the bait. Turns out I’m Enneagram 5. The more I read about the personality description of Enneagram 5, the more I wanted to throw my laptop away in disbelief. Every word describing Enneagram 5 was also describing me! I felt unsettled and euphoric at the same time. And, I guess this is how these personality quizzes are supposed to make you feel. ‘I finally feel understood!!’. Which was eerily true for me.
In this blog, I intend to delve into how this personality quiz was created and how it was able to identify me to the tee.
Origin
Greek word Ennea (nine) and grammos (a written or drawn symbol) combine to form Enneagram. George Gurdjieff, a Russian philosopher and teacher, introduced the word, ‘Enneagram’ to the world. However, he did not develop the nine personality types of Enneagram. Oscar Ichzao, a Bolivian philosopher has been credited with the development of Ennegram of Personality. Later, a Chilean psychiatrist, Claudio Narajo learned about the Ennegram of Personality from Ichzao and popularised it in the United States in the 1970s.
Structure
The structure of the Enneagram is made by placing nine equidistant points on the circumference of a circle and designating each point by a number from one to nine. Nine is always at the top. And each of the nine points represents the nine personality types. Inner lines of the Enneagram connect each of the nine points on the circumference. 3, 6 and 9 form a triangle. The remaining layout is as follows: 1 connects with 4 and 7, 2 connects with 4 and 8, 4 connects with 1 and 2, 5 connects with 7 and 8, 7 connects with 5 and 1, and 8 connects with 2 and 5.
The Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI)
The RHETI test is the most popular Enneagram based test. “The Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI) is a forced-choice personality test that has been scientifically validated and is comprised of 144 paired statements.” This test was created by Don Riso and Russ Hudson, Ennegram experts, in 1999. The test provides information about the test-taker’s main personality type and major personality structures.
The Basic Nine Personality Types
The RHETI determines which of the nine Ennegram personality types apply to the test-taker. It is believed that one of the nine personality types is dominat during childhood. And this dominance is either diluted or becomes more concentrated over time.
The nine personalities are as follows:
1 – THE REFORMER (The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic)
2 – THE HELPER (The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive)
3 – THE ACHIEVER (The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious)
4 – THE INDIVIDUALIST (The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental)
5 – THE INVESTIGATOR (The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated)
6 – THE LOYALIST (The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious)
7 – THE ENTHUSIAST (The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered)
8 – THE CHALLENGER (The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational)
9 – THE PEACEMAKER (The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent)
These nine personality types are closely tied with the 144 questions asked on the RHETI and this leads to identifying our either diluted or contentrated dominant personality!
I’m Ennegram personality type 5, The Investigator. The interesting aspect here is that this resonates with my personality as an adult. I remember being very chatty and social as a child. I did lose my chattyness when I moved from Saudi to India. It’ll be interesting to know if there has been a drastic change in personality type from childood to adulthood for other test-takers.
If you’ve made it this far, I will highly recommed trying this test out. It’s give a good insight into your personality!