The Essential Enneagram: Personality Test Guide

The book is much smaller than I expected but, because of this, it is easy to carry, put in a pocket, and take along to share with another. I have been taking 2 along with me, and meet with someone whose type is different from mine to help us both see where the differences are to develop some understanding and empathy as well as to appreciate and build on what we share. It’s not the easiest to read, but it is concise and, again, therefore, easier to work with in sharing.

I’ve been using the Enneagram as an essential part of my counseling work for over 20 years. When book like this comes out that makes my life easier I’m thrilled to post about it. Firstly, there is such a tendency among Enneagram devotees (deliberate use of the word) to make it sacrosanct and to project so much of their junk onto it. Like, “Oh you shouldn’t tell someone what you think their type is” or “it’s not that we “Test” we Explore”. Whatever! It’s a great tool to help us discover ourselves on a deeper level and, YES, when a person is correctly typed it serve them to a much greater degree than if they are “observing” themselves as the “wrong” number –BUT they are at least looking at their behavior that’s a big part of it.

So The Essential Ennegram lightens it all up for us. It’s a book I can give to a curiosity seeker and 9 out of 10 times they come back to me wanting to learn more. Mr Daniels gives us an invaluable and easy to understand tool that has one of the most accurate tests I’ve seen (I always advise people to NOT take the test alone. We tend to see ourselves so differently through the mind’s window, so invite a friend to help look at the questions with you).
Great work, David! Write more!

.
Reviewed by C J Singh (Berkeley, CA)
.

Positive-Psychology Paths to Happiness: The Enneagram Way

Initially known as “The Stanford Enneagram Discovery Inventory and Guide,” THE ESSENTIAL ENNEAGRAM, first edition, was published in 2000, the second in 2009. The jacket blurb claims it as “The First and Only Scientifically Determined Enneagram Personality Test and Guide.” Appendix B summarizes the “Validity of the Essential Enneagram Test.” I hastened to read it.

On page 116: “The overall Kappa for the entire test was 0.5254, p<0.0001, considered a significant degree of concordance." Yes. Rereading sections of the two textbooks of my Stanford graduate course "Research Methods in Psychology," I found the statistical analysis convincing.

THE ESSENTIAL ENNEAGRAM comes with an optional 2-hour DVD that features the author, David Daniels MD, Stanford Psychiatrist, and Courtney Behm, Harvard MBA, management consultant. More. The DVD presents nine narrators that personify one of the nine personality types. Watching it made studying the book even more engaging.

The Enneagram is a nine-pointed diagram that indicates nine types of personalities, each numbered 1 to 9. Only nine? Hang on, with the subtypes included there are many more. Your personality Type emerges from your genetic heritage and your early childhood coping responses. Each Type has its strengths and weaknesses. The Enneagram shows you the behavior changes you need to make to overcome the weaknesses of your type.

You discover your Type by taking the Essential Enneagram Test (pages 5-7). The Test comprises reading nine brief paragraphs and choosing the three that come closest to describing you. [I’m Type Four. Strengths of this type are: “Sensitivity, A creative orientation. Being attuned to feelings. A capacity to empathize with suffering. Intensity. Passion. Romantic idealism. Emotional depth. Authenticity. Introspection” (page 34). Limitations of this type are: “People and experiences not living up to my romantic ideals or desire for intensity. Wanting more than is available. Envying what others have that I do not have or what they are that I am not. Unmanageable feelings, especially in emotional crises” (page 35). Yes, the enneagram test is accurate.]

Type One: The Perfectionist
Type Two: The Giver
Type Three: The Performer
Type Four: The Romantic
Type Five: The Observer
Type Six: The Loyal Skeptic
Type Seven: The Epicure
Type Eight: The Protector
Type Nine: The Mediator

Of the nine, Types 3, 6, 9 represent different kinds of intelligence. Type 3 personality and its neighbors 2, 4 represent an intelligence of the Heart; they focus energy on feelings and emotions. Type 6 and its neighbors 5, 7 represent an intelligence of the Mind; they focus energy on thinking and imagination; Type 9 and its neighbors 8, 1 represent an intelligence of the body; they focus energy on sensing through the body. The Enneagram shows the linkages of these 9 types with each other, as well as stress and security linkage paths, creating 45 distinct types. This complexity is easier to understand from the diagram

The origins of the Enneagram’s personality typology and paths to happiness are derived from the ancient teachings of Hindu-Buddhist Psychology.In early 20th century, George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (of Greek-Armenian heritage) travelled to India, studied there for many years, and brought this knowledge to Russia and France in the 1920s. In the 1960s, Gurdjieff’s followers took his teachings to the Americas. The Enneagram design itself is of India-origin: the “Mandala” (circle) and “Sri Yantra” (triangles and lines) shown as enclosed in a mandala of nine pointed-leaves. Even the name Ennea- is derived from the Indo-European root for nine, the earlier Sanskrit “nava” and later the Greek “ennea.” If you have been told that numerals are of Arabic origin, please google the article by “Professor Ian Pearce, St. Andrews University, Indian Math History.”

Five-star Book and DVD.

The best book on the topic in my opinion. Recommend following the instructions in the book instead of jumping around. Quite thorough and makes a great gift!

Very interesting read, eerily accurate. Quite a bit more reading than a simple online quiz that produces the same answer.

A psychotherapist recommended this version to me. Great little book. Gives good overviews of each enneagram type and ways to better understand/ communicate with each type. And ways for each type to develop.