Opinion: The Enneagram fad is a threat to the search for identity
If anyone has stepped out from under their rock for a few hours, they have heard of the Enneagram test. While it has its benefits, oversimplification and reliance may be threatening to the gravity of life’s mysterious existential question: who am I?
While it is a widely popular topic in certain sects of society, the Enneagram wave is not the first personality test to blow people’s minds with its accuracy in telling them exactly who they are.
Remember the true colors test in high school that said someone was a green, gold, blue or orange type in the workplace?
*cue that track “True Colors” from the Trolls album*
Or the classic Myers-Briggs test with a magic combination of four letters?
The Enneagram is simply the most popular personality test now. Is it another fad that people use in their search for their identity?
According to the Enneagram Institute, “the Enneagram can be seen as a set of nine distinct personality types, with each number on the Enneagram denoting one type.” The basic personality type of each person has a name that coincides with each number.
In addition to the basic personality type, there are 27 subtypes and three basic centers, which amounts to a depth of understanding most people will not seek out.
Alongside many tools and methods intended for user benefit, the Enneagram can be underutilized or misunderstood. With this complex information comes a new faction that has risen in the Instagram world: Enneagram accounts. They may include relatable memes, artistic hand letterings or even advice for each of the nine types and their respective wings.
These accounts are relatable and widely accepted — @enneagramandmemes has 141K followers — but they are simplifying an intricate psychological theory. The above meme generalizes the six type, saying “at all times.” This can confuse and provides a proposed “six” with justification for how their life is currently going, that is “too well.”
The Enneagram Institute states that “people do not change from one basic personality type to another.” This revelation of someone’s basic personality is beneficial for one’s self-awareness, causing them to notice when they act a certain way. However, it can also be used as an excuse.
Anna Sutton, senior lecturer in organizational behavior at Manchester Metropolitan University, published an article that aimed to answer if the Enneagram is real. She notes the reasons why people should be aware of the scientific evidence for personality tests.
“One of the things we know from the Enneagram — and in fact from a lot of psychological research — is that we all view the world in a slightly different way and that we tend to make what we see ‘fit’ with what we expect or want,” Sutton wrote. “We may find a particular story about a type really strikes home for us but how do we know it is actually typical of that type and not just an individual quirk? Without good research to identify and define the types, we are open to making assumptions about types based on our own unique perceptions.”
This pick-and-choose mentality can also be bolstered by the lack of a sole, reliable Enneagram test. While there are resources, such as books, available for people to study the Enneagram and take a reliable test, there are also free questionnaires to take online. Someone may take an online test three times and get three different results, leaving them to still question their identity.
“We do not yet have clear research on the centres, wings or subtypes, or evidence around personality development,” Sutton wrote. “We have reason to be cautious in our claims for the Enneagram, but I also believe we are on to something good and have a solid basis for confidence in using the Enneagram in our own lives and introducing it to others.”
Despite criticism, the Enneagram has some basis of validity.
There are well-researched books “The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery” by Ian Morgan Cron, an Enneagram counselor and priest, and Suzanne Stabile, an Enneagram teacher and speaker. Cron also has a podcast called “Typology” where he discusses personality and the Enneagram in two episodes with musical duo Johnnyswim.
Sleeping at Last wrote an album dedicated to the nine personality types and also supplemented the music with a podcast to discuss the background of each song.
An article from Bustle stated, “The Enneagram Institute's Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI) is 72 percent accurate, which is a pretty high score for this type of test.”
The Enneagram is a good way for people to work on renewing their minds. Sutton writes “there is good evidence that learning about the Enneagram has a positive impact on self-acceptance, self-development and understanding of others.” It’s a human concept to seek out self-motivation. No one can blame people for grasping onto a test that provides some sort of explanation.
Dr. Caroline Leaf, a communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist, wrote a book entitled “Switch On Your Brain,” which reveals her research on how thoughts impact the spirit, soul and body. She revealed that while biology plays a major part in how people act, people’s intentionality can alter their brain. People are not doomed and predestined to always act in a certain way.
“Our choices—the natural consequences of our thoughts and imagination—get ‘under the skin’ of our DNA and can turn certain genes on and off, changing the structure of the neurons in our brains. So our thoughts, imagination, and choices can change the structure and function of our brains on every level,” Leaf wrote.
If anyone is familiar with the Divergent young-adult dystopian trilogy, they know that people live in factions according to a test that determines if they are intelligent, peaceful, honest, selfless or brave. However, there is a group of people that are Divergent, or possess more than one of these attributes.
If the Enneagram says someone is a nine, it may attribute them to being afraid of conflict. However, this should not stop someone from believing they have the capability of handling conflict well. Also, a seven on the Enneagram should not feel hopeless that they will never be as selfless and caring as a two, even if a test says they are not inclined to those actions.
While the Enneagram is a good start to self-awareness, it should not be the basis of one’s identity. Everyone is intricate and complex. People are divergent.
