STATEMENT 1 / 270 of 27 answered
How true is this of you, most of your life?
"I notice mistakes that other people overlook."
What the Enneagram is, in short
The Enneagram is a model of nine personality types, each defined by a core desire and a core fear. It's drawn as a circle with nine points, and its lines show how each type tends to change under stress and in growth.
It grew out of spiritual teaching rather than academic psychology, and research support is thinner than for trait models like the Big Five. Many people still find it a useful way to talk about motives. This test uses our own statements and is not an official instrument.
By What's Your IQ · Reviewed 4 Oct 2026- Format
- 27 statements, 3 per type, rated 1–5
- Result
- Scores on all nine types, closest type and wing
- Origin
- Oscar Ichazo (1960s), developed by Claudio Naranjo (1970s)
- Evidence
- Mixed; best used for reflection, not selection
READING THE SYMBOL
Each type has a stress line and a growth line
Under pressure, the theory says a type takes on the less healthy side of the type its stress arrow points to. When secure, it picks up the healthier side of its growth type. Pick a type to trace its lines.
StressGrowthWings
1PerfectionistBody (gut) centre
POSSIBLE WINGSA wing adds a neighbour's flavour without changing the core type.
Mixedis the honest summary of the evidenceA 2021 systematic review found reasonable reliability for some Enneagram questionnaires and clear overlap with the Big Five, but limited support for the stress and growth lines.3
1960sIchazo. Oscar Ichazo taught a nine-point system of "ego fixations" in Chile, combining the old nine-pointed symbol with ideas from several spiritual traditions.1
1970sNaranjo. Psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo linked the nine points to psychological character types, the version most modern books build on.1
1990sPopular books. Riso and Hudson, among others, wrote type descriptions and questionnaires that brought the Enneagram into coaching and business.2
2021 · reviewTaking stock. Hook and colleagues reviewed the published studies and called for better-designed research before the model is used for high-stakes decisions.3
- Naranjo, C. (1994). Character and neurosis: An integrative view. Gateways/IDHHB.
- Riso, D. R., & Hudson, R. (1999). The wisdom of the Enneagram. Bantam.
- Hook, J. N., Hall, T. W., Davis, D. E., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Conner, M. (2021). The Enneagram: A systematic review of the literature and directions for future research. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 77(4), 865–883.