The Enneagram 1

Olivia Long

Appalachian State University

RC 1000 Expository Writing

Professor Madeline Scott

March 22, 2023

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PART I: We should pay more attention to the Enneagram.

I started my general journey into the Enneagram when I was an early teen. During that

time my mom started working with big corporations such as Burt's Bees to help their employees

work in a more harmonious environment. She offers one-on-one consultations sessions with

clients to help with their communication barriers, understanding their fears, realizing what they

struggle most in, and learning some uncovered strengths. When I came home from school my

mom would be making dinner and listening to her Enneagram podcasts. We'd talk about the

different personality types we thought we encountered during that day and discuss certain

barriers we had with those people. Knowing where a person is coming from helps you not take

everything they do or not do so personally. I started implementing the Enneagram more and more

into my relationships with others and I myself found that those relationships grew healthier due

to my knowledge of communication through the Enneagram. What sparked my interest in

choosing the Enneagram as my topic is to challenge my beliefs and the real validity of the

Enneagram. How reliable is this system? What are the psychological or even physical aspects to

the Enneagram and how accurate are those correlations?

For this paper I started my research on a website called “The American Journal of

Psychiatry” with an article giving an overview of the Enneagram, the history of the system, the

features and functions of the system, and how it relates to psychiatry. The article was written by

a fourth-year doctoral student and a graduated psychiatrist. I was interested in the ways that

psychology could play a role in the Enneagram and how we type people and ourselves. Having
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the background history and a correlation between the Enneagram and psychiatry helps further

my argument as to how reliable the system can be. The Enneagram has been in use in psychiatry

since the mid 20th century. Origins of the Enneagram itself dating as far back as 1915. With

having its roots set in Greek philosophical and mathematical ideologies.

I then started searching for studies regarding the correlation between the Enneagram and

how knowing this system can improve quality of life. There was a study done in Peru about

stressed college students, which of course spoke to me being a stressed out college student.

There was predictably as to how certain types would react under pressure, most to all adapting

traits of their stressor type. I found this interesting because in that article they also talked about

how important it is to know your triggers (whether you are conscious of them or not) that cause

stress. Knowing your Enneagram type can help you understand and better cope with being under

pressure and can bring to light things about yourself that you are unaware of.

I came across a study I found interesting about ego development in adults which simply

means maturity and if the Enneagram speeds up ego development. In this study they tested the

correlation between ego development by taking a sample of 112 middle aged adults 73 of those

having intensive Enneagram training. The results showed that there was a lack of correlation but

I found it important to include as a counter argument. I would like to talk about how there is a

spiritual aspect to the Enneagram in conjunction to the psychological aspects. Adopting a belief

system is equally important to our well being. With using belief systems that is how we navigate

our own worlds and manage stress. There are many religions whose belief systems are not

questioned on whether or not they have validity, I believe the Enneagram as a belief system is
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just as valid and useful as a religion. If the Enneagram helps you manage your day to day there’s

no need to question if it’s a useful belief.

After that last article I began to look into the impact the Enneagram has had on lives. I

came across this non-profit organization called The Enneagram Prison Project. The founder of

the organization, Susan Olesek, studied sociology at Occidental College in Hong Kong. Many

individuals incarcerated reached a level of rehabilitation through the classes provided that they

would have before. I found her mission statement incorporated a humanitarian approach rather

than a psychological one. Having many different fields utilize the Enneagram will help push my

argument in the right direction leading to the conclusion that everyone in any field can utilize the

system of the Enneagram.

I stumbled upon an interesting study about the correlation between different health

conditions and certain personality types. I wanted to include a medical aspect to further my point

that knowing the Enneagram can help you in many different aspects of life. Whether it be

medically, socially, psychologically, spiritually, really the list goes on. I then wanted to check out

another article countering the validity of the Enneagram and was faced with very little academic

journals and got many opinion pieces. I did however find a counterargument from a website

called Psychology today written by a psychologist who pointed out a topic I didn’t think about

until I read it. The article was about how the online tests themselves lack reliability by giving

limited shallow questions and answers, each decision you chose could lead to a completely

different type all in the name of marketing. However, with the Enneagram there are tests you can

take but you can also do your own research or talk to a teacher about what type you may be
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which leads to a deeper understanding of the Enneagram, which doesn't involve tests like “what

cat are you based on your Enneagram?” that do lack actual knowledge of the Enneagram.

PART II: Annotated Bibliography

References

Alexander, M., & Schnipke, B. (2020, March 6). The Enneagram: A Primer for Psychiatry

Residents | American Journal of Psychiatry Residents' Journal. Psychiatry Online.

Retrieved March 22, 2023, from

https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2020.150301

In this article by the American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal there is an

overview of the Enneagram itself, and the history of the Enneagram in a psychiatric

setting, and the function of the Enneagram. The Enneagram is a complex system that

integrates many other theories relating to personality typing and psychiatry; they explain

this by comparing the usage of the Enneagram to the DSM-5 that’s used to diagnose

personality disorders. They explain that the Enneagram may be more accurate and

comprehensive when diagnosing a patient due to the various health levels and correlation

between certain types with certain disorders commonly associated with them. This will fit

into my essay due to the comparison of the Enneagram and psychiatric practices which

will back up the validity of my argument. This article is reliable because it was written by

a fourth-year medical student, Morgan Alexander and second-year resident in the

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Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Schnike, at Wright State University Boonshoft School of

Medicine, Dayton, Ohio.

Cao, D., & Zhang, G. (2022, November 24). Enneagram typologies and healthy personality to

psychosocial stress: A network approach. Frontiers. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1051271/full

In this article there was a cross-sectional study conducted in Peru on college students put

in stressful situations to analyze the probability of these students developing into the

types that they integrate to when stressed. There are connections between certain types,

you can develop certain traits from your connecting types when in stress as well as when

you are at your best. For example, a six is connected to type nine and three. Sixes go to

three when stressed and integrate to nine when at their peak. Sixes under pressure

develop traits from three's. These traits involve becoming more self centered and

aggressive which is uncomfortable to sixes who are usually group oriented and don’t love

being forced to take charge. This article is particularly important because there is clear

data which the authors connect back to the idea that if we pay attention to these traits, we

can better adapt when stressed, and we can develop coping skills to better regulate our

reactions under pressure.

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Daniels, D., Saracino, T., Fraley, M., Christian, J., & Pardo, S. (2018, January 30). Advancing

ego development in adulthood through study of the Enneagram system of personality.

Journal of Adult Development, 229-241.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10804-018-9289-x.pdf

This article comprises different psychological theories that test the validity of the

Enneagram. I chose this article as a counter argument to my claim that the Enneagram

should be utilized more, some say the Enneagram is pseudoscience with no actual

scientific proof that learning this system will improve quality of life. In this article they

talk about Loevinger’s theory of ego development in adults and conducted a study of 112

adults, some with enneagram training and some without to see if there is ego

development with those who undergo training. The results concluded that there were no

signs of ego development. There were simply no ways of accurately determining ego

development within the Enneagram which is still important to mention. The Enneagram

has a spiritual aspect as well such as faith attached to it which simply cannot be measured

by science. Having a spiritual connection to a certain group or ideology can still improve

quality of life and still deserves to be paid attention to.

The Enneagram Prison Project. (n.d.). Our Impact - ENNEAGRAM PRISON PROJECT.

Enneagram Prison Project. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from

https://www.enneagramprisonproject.org/home-our-impact.html
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This organization “The Enneagram Prison Project” founded by Susan Olesek, has been

helping prisoners find their way back to rehabilitation through learning the Enneagram.

This organization has been around for ten years and claims to have a high enrollment rate

meaning those incarcerated are ready to break habits and go down the road to recovery

through the typing system. Many inmates attribute their success to the classes they

attended having 3,000 students graduate from their course and reach rehabilitation. I

found this organization to be inspirational and helpful to my claim that this typing system

improves communication and one’s self. The founder Susan Olesek studied at Occidental

College in Hong Kong to study sociology. She states that she “believes wholeheartedly in

everyone and anyone willing to take an honest look at themselves to make deep and

lasting changes from the inside out.” I’m including this non-profit organization to

emphasize the loving community and the benefits of the Enneagram.

Smedslund, G. (1995). Personality and vulnerability to cancer and heart disease: Relations to

demographic and life-style variables. Personality and Individual Differences, 19(5), 691-697.

Retrieved March 23, 2023, from

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?author=G.+Smedslund&publication_year=1995&title

=Personality+and+vulnerability+to+cancer+and+heart+disease:+relations+to+demographic+and

+life-style+variables&journal=Pers+Individ+Dif.&volume=19&pages=691-697

This 1995 journal article by Geir Smedslund, a senior researcher at the Norwegian

institute of Public Health, provided a study recording the correlation between personality types

and their common health conditions. The research done was looking largely at heart disease and
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cancer. The study interviewed each type and assessed their medical concerns. There was a follow

up ten years later. Smedslund concluded from the data collected that type one’s were cancer

prone, type two’s were prone to coronary heart disease, and type fours were generally the

healthiest type. These correlations are due to behavioral aspects and their general lifestyle, type

two’s are going to make drastically different life choices than a type five. Having this journal

article included gives another reason as to why we need to look further into the Enneagram to

improve quality of life. By including the health, sociology, psychology, and spiritual connections

that the Enneagram has to quality of life I think It’s important to mention this study.

Fayard, J. V. (2019, September 25). Your Favorite Personality Test Is Probably Bogus.

Psychology Today. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/people-are-strange/201909/your-favorite-pers

onality-test-is-probably-bogus

Jennfier Fayard, Ph. D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Ouachita Baptist

Church. In this opinionated article she relates the Enneagram to the Myers Briggs personality

typing system and addresses how personality typing systems can be used for marketing purposes

and lacks research from psychologists. I included this different opinion because there is truth to

how personality typing systems can mistype and mislead you for the mere fact of marketing to

you. Fayard also goes into the fact that people who are taking these tests make their scores a part

of their identity. Fayard’s argument is important for me to include in my paper because there are

issues within online typing tests that make you choose from limited options that may sway your

results too far into one direction. What’s different about the Enneagram is that you can read
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descriptions of each type and make the judgment for yourself. There is no need for a test with the

Enneagram which is different from the other personality typing systems.