is the enneagram real or is it just bullcrap?

Question

what's your opinion- of this and other "personality" tests?

Answer 1

I think it is in the middle of real and bull.

My sister is really in to that. She feels that by using it correctly she can help people understand who they are and why they do (or react in certain way).

But to think that human psychology can be generalized into few hundred question and that ALL human beings can be categorized into 9 different sub groups, it is just too simplistic. Why don't we just get rid of all the expensive PhD schools and just teach 5 day course on enneagrams.

My wife (who has a Master in Psychology from Columbia U) thinks enneagram is insulting to her profession. Just imagine if somebody said that by answer about a hundred question, everybody's MEDICAL problems can be diagnosed and we don't need doctors any more. We'll to tell you the complete truth we can probably diagnose about 95% of the problem this way. But medical doctors are needed to solve that last difficult 5% that can kill people. Human psychology is way more complex than just biology.

But that is not to say that it is complete BS. I think it should be used by trains behavioral psychologist as ONE of the many tools to help identify personal character traits and flaws.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

I have found the Enneagram to be extremely helpful as a personal growth tool for me and for my husband. (I do not have first-hand knowledge of anyone else who has tried to use it for personal growth, although I am convinced that is its most important use.) Catholic priest Richard Rohr says it is one of the most useful tools he has found for helping people understand themselves and what leads to growth.

I have observed that a lot of people like to dabble in the enneagram, and many (including some who purport to teach it) don't seem to understand it all that well. If you really want to give it a fair shake, start by reading The Wisdom of the Enneagram (by Russ Hudson and Don Richard Riso) *in its entirety* and spend at least 6-12 months making an earnest effort at using its growth/development suggestions for your type. Then see what you think about it.

Regarding "pigeonholing"... within each type there are two subtypes (wings); within that there are 3 instinctual variants; within that there are 9 levels of health. So actually if it pigeonholes people, it pigeonholes them into 9 x 2 x 3 x 9 = 486 categories. Besides, anyone who knows the enneagram will tell you there is considerable variation within each of those 486. Your "type" is dominant, but every person has elements of all 9 types, to varying degrees. So the system acknowledges limitless variation within each type.

Finally, regarding the test. My personal opinion is that you should skip the test entirely. By the time you finish reading The Wisdom of the Enneagram, you will have figured out your type. When I have taken tests, I come out with about a 3-way tie. My husband also did not test as his real type. Over 6-7 years of both of us working with the material, our experience continues to confirm our own evaluation of our types. Besides, reading about all the types will help you see bits of all of them in yourself, which will give you a richer understanding than only reading about "your" type.

Answer 3

There's a lot of info about the enneagram at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram

I'm not at all convinced that personality tests are in any way accurate; but you have to judge that for yourself.