Enneagram types and childhood scenarios

[GuavaDrunk]

Found an interesting article at http://pstypes.blogspot.com/2010/01/...types-law.html

Chilhood Scenarios for Enneatypes: Law of Three

I've recently come across a really interesting article that promotes a different hypothesis of how Enneagram types form during childhood and I thought I should present it briefly on the blog.

It's commonly accepted that the Enneagram type has both a genetic component and an environmental component and it's their interaction that decides the final typology. This theory states that there are three major innate orientations of the personality and that we are all born with one of them prevalent over the other two. Furthermore, it suggests that each of the nine Enneagram types is a consequence of the way in which the child's preferred inborn orientation (the hereditary component) interacts with the one that their parent - or main caretaker - has towards them in the forming years (the environmental component). (...)

Any thoughts?

[Pallas]

I know this is an old thread, but I really love this compared to the other hypothesis I've seen. It allows for both good and bad scenarios leading to each of the types and seems way more concrete and specific than most others as well, plus it includes the innate component rather than "your parents abused you so you became a emo cutter 4". I do think it's sort of compatibilist with the purely innate view in a way though, because as the saying goes, we do not see the world as it is, but as we are.

[GuavaDrunk]

Oh my lawd someone replied to my thread!

[Adam Strange]

I agree that this article is very interesting, but I wonder how predictive the theory is?

[GuavaDrunk]

Considering humans' tendency to refashion memories to support their own sense of identity, you need to either a/ ask adults with no knowledge of enneagram about their family dynamics, analyse these + adult personality to guess their enneatype, and then ask them to type themselves (and sit tight in case it takes a while). Or b/ pick a bunch of kids and start tracking their enneatype and parent-child struggles now.

[The Exception]

I was a "neutral" child with a "neutral" father and a "responsive" mother. So that would make me type 5 or 3 in this theory.

[ashlesha]

I relate mostly to 4, not 6, but I'm not convinced I should reevaluate my type over this. Especially if it deals with early childhood, which I don't remember as well.

[The Exception]

I think my actual enneagram type is 5 or 9. I'm on the fence between the two because I don't seem as distant or as withdrawn as a typical 5. I also have more dislike of conflict. But I also don't feel like I have the passive indifference of type 9 either nor am I the mellow 'cool as a cucumber' type but somehow people think I am.

[darya]

I relate mostly to 4, not 6, but I'm not convinced I should reevaluate my type over this. Especially if it deals with early childhood, which I don't remember as well.

My god lungs, you're such a 6 : )