The Enneagram and the MBTI, early papers on the relationship between the two personality typing systems, Fudjack and Dinkelaker

The
Enneagram
and
the MBTI^{^®}

Early
Papers
on the
Relationship
Between
the Two
Systems

(1995-1998)

Last updated: 01/01/01

Our
Purpose

It has become fashionable in Enneagram and MBTI circles to declare that no correlation exists between an individual's Enneagram type and his or her Meyers-Briggs (MBTI)^® type. In this view, the two personality systems presumably measure different things, and are unrelated. We believe, to the contrary, that there exists a strong and demonstrable relationship between MBTI and Enneagram type - and one that warrants further study. It was our purpose, in designing this web page, to gather together a series of papers that we have written on this topic, and make them available in one place. The most recent of these are previously unpublished manuscripts.

Other
Authors

We are also pleased to present the work of others, in some cases authors with rival theories regarding the relationship between the Enneagram and MBTI. We have benefited from ongoing dialogue with these individuals. Their creative thought processes have influenced the direction that our own work has taken. Our appreciation is reflected in the presence of their essays here and in the fact that our more recent papers make significant use of concepts first articulated by them.

Our
Theory

Some time has elapsed since we presented our original theory regarding how MBTI types cluster around prototypical 'Jungian' pairs in the nine 'Enneazones' that comprise the Enneagram of Personality Type. The results of recent empirical studies continue to confirm our view that there is a strong correlation between Enneagram and Jungian/MBTI types. Anomalies, however, have forced us to posit an additional principle on the basis of which MBTI type can be understood to distribute across the enneazones - what we have called 'S-N blindness' in the Enneagram.

The Papers Contained in this Volume:

New Material	A Brief Review and Update John Fudjack - January, 1998. The Impact of 'S-N Blindness' on the Distribution of MBTI Type Across the Enneagram John Fudjack and Patricia Dinkelaker - January, 1997. This paper, shared informally with a few individuals when it was written, is publicly presented here for the first time. A number of new concepts are introduced, and anomalies occuring in our original MBTI-Enneagram theory are explained in terms of a tendency toward 'S-N Blindness' in the Enneagram, which we discovered when applying an empirical method that we developed for analysing survey data. 1998 Addendum to the 'S-N Blindness' paper. In 'The Impact of 'S-N Blindness' we identified eight new 'hybrid' prototypes (associated with Enneazones 2 through 9) which appeared to us to most accurately reflect the two principles guiding distribution of MBTI types across the Enneagram: Jungian pairing, and S-N Blindness. In this addendum to that paper we demonstrate that when those hybrid prototypes are tested against the findings that were later to come out of the Richards/Flautt survey, 19 out of 21 of our 'assignments' match the MBTI types that their study identifies as 'most highly correlated'. We predicted their findings, in other words, with 91% accuracy. Why do We Confuse 6s and 4s? The Case of Colonel Slader John Fudjack - July, 1996. Enneagram 4s are often mistaken for 6s, as Claudio Naranjo did when he typed 'Colonel Slader', the character Al Pacino played in 'Scent of a Woman', as a 4. These are previously unpublished excerpts from correspondence on this topic initiated by psychotherapist Michael Huber. If, as our theory proposes, IN(F/T)Js are prototypical of enneazone 4, IS(F/T)Js are prototypical of zone 6, *and* Enneagram theory and practice is prone toward 'S-N blindness', such confusion is bound to occur. In this piece an in-depth analysis of 'Scent' is offered, and both Slader and Hitler are seen as ISTJs suffering from what Larry Gabbard (see below) has designated a 'dominant-function struggle'.
The Original Formulation of Our Theory	The Enneagram and the MBTI: In Search of Common Ground John Fudjack and Patricia Dinkelaker - January-April, 1996. Part One - January, 1996. In this essay we described the importance of looking at the Enneagram in terms of 'deep' and 'surface' structure. We argued that traditional 'triad' theory fails to provide an adequate description of the Enneagram's deep structure. Part Two - February, 1996. In this piece we presented our own hypothesis regarding the 'deep' structure of the Enneagram. We posited the existence of nine 'enneazones', in eight of which MBTI types gather in 'families' around a prototypical 'Jungian' pair with which they share issues related to that pair's common 'inferior' function. Part Three - March, 1996. Here we take a close look at each enneazone and its 'prototypical' MBTI pair. Descriptions of specific Ennea-types, gleened from the Enneagram literature, are compared to descriptions from Myers and Briggs and the Jungian analysts, of the MBTI types with which we associated them. Part Four - April, 1996. Issues related to the empirical confirmation of our theory are discussed, along with the importance of seeing the 'inferior' function as a door to the unconscious and to the development of one's personality. In Defense of Our Original Theory John Fudjack - 1996. This paper, a response to a critique of Enneagram/MBTI theories by Tom Flautt, originally appeared in July of 1996 as 'The Continuing Search for Common Ground'. In it we utilize the concept of 'data lenses' for the first time (a method later explained in detail in our 1997 paper on 'S-N Blindness'). And instead of calculating the 'I-values' of the MBTI types in the Enneagram Monthly survey, we calculate the 'I-values' of the *Jungian* types - with interesting results.
Papers Preceding Our Enneagram/ MBTI Theory	Nine Qualities of the 'Enlightened' Being - Parts One, Two, and Three John Fudjack - May/June/July, 1995. Concepts first introduced in this paper are returned to in Part Four of 'The Enneagram and the MBTI: In Search of Common Ground'. Nine Qualities of the 'Enlightened Being', Part Four John Fudjack - August, 1995. In this unpublished sequel to the above paper, the notion of a 'deep structure' for the enneagram was first explored. Do the triads which form a symmetrical diagram comprised of three equilateral triangles when plotted on the enneagram circle [(4,7,1), (6,9,3), (5,8,1)] constitute the 'latent' structure of the enneagram, hidden beneath the more common diagram that we usually associate with it? The relationship of the triads to each other and to the 'nine qualities' is discussed. As enticing as this idea was at the time, and apparently still is (Helen Palmer has recently turned her attention to the same three triads), this theory did not seem to agree with data from empirical studies and publication of this paper was not sought. And subsequent investigations into the infrastructure of the Enneagram led to our 1996 series of papers. The Pitfalls of Professionalism: Science, Art, and the Enneagram John Fudjack - November, 1995. The work of Thomas Kuhn (the philosopher of science who introduced the concept of 'paradigm shifting') is used to cast doubt on the notion that it is an increased *professionalism* that is needed in the Enneagram field. The 'rational-empirical' model in science, which displays a distinct bias toward a specific personality group (the 'ST', in MBTI terms) is eschewed. In the process of writing this article our attention progressively turned toward the Jungian 'four functions', which comprise the core infrastructure for MBTI theory, with the hope that it could shed light on the deep structure of the Enneagram.
Papers by Other Authors	MBTI and Enneagram by L. J. Gabbard - January, 1995. In this paper Larry describes his own theory concerning the 'deep structure' of the Enneagram. The original version of this paper was first presented, he tells us, at an APT Conference in 1994. Each of the nine Enneagram 'Points' are characterized by MBTI types that exemplify a particular 'preference struggle' which he believes to be associated with it. According to Larry, for instance, the ESTP/ENTP pair, which represents an 'S-N dominant- function struggle', characterizes Enneagram Point 7. The Enneagram of Consciousness and Jungian Psychology by Walter Geldart - January, 1998. Walter believes that the Enneagram offers a method for mapping out fundamental truths about nine inter-related 'inner' processes in the individual that are closely associated with the Jungian 'functions'. He speaks, accordingly, of the 'Enneagram of Consciousness', distinct from the currently popular 'Enneagram of Personality Type'. For Walter, Point 3 is unique in that any attempt to adequately describe it requires a *ninth* 'process', in addition to the eight (EN, IN, ES, IS, ET, IT, EF, IF) originally identified by Jung. He argues that this new process corresponds closely to the Jungian 'persona'. Although we neither agree with the specific MBTI assignments that Walter makes, nor with the need to identify a 'ninth' process in order to adequately describe Point 3, we believe that he may be right in insisting that that Point cannot be adequately characterized by a simple association with one of the eight Jungian functions. In contrast to Walter, hoewever, we would explain some of the puzzling things taking place at Point 3 (e.g., the fact that it seems to attract MBTI types that have diametrically opposite dominant-functions) in terms of an 'S-N blindness' in the Enneagram. "Scent of a Reversal?" The Four and the Six by Michael Huber - January, 1997. In this essay Michael attempts to account for a tendency amongst Enneagram practitioners to mistake 6s for 4s and vice versa. He argues that the Enneagram as we know it was errantly transmitted from Ichazo to Naranjo, when 'Naranjo placed Ichazo's type 6 at the 4 position and placed Ichazo's type 4 at the 6 position'.
Tables	Chart One : Assessing Enneagram/MBTI Theories Using the (1996) Enneagram Monthly Data Chart Two: Assessing the Fudjack/Dinkelaker Theory using the (1997) Richards/Flautt Data Chart Three-A: Summary of the Raw Data from the Enneagram Monthly Survey Chart Three-B: Summary of the Raw Data from the Enneagram Monthly Survey, using 'I-values' Chart Four: the 'I-values' of the 'Jungian' Pairs in the Enneagram Monthly Survey.
Index	A Brief Index on Key Terms
Interactive Exploration	A Javascript Tool for Exploring Typological Space - for exploring the MBTI-Enneagram relationship interactively an early, simpler javascript application
Download this Site	If you are interested in downloading the 'PDF' version of this website, for off-line viewing, click HERE. If you have comments, suggestions, or questions, or if you have views on the relationship between the two personality systems that you wish to share with us, you may do so by clicking HERE.
Journal	Visit "The Enneagram and the MBTI: an Electronic Journal" The first edition of this periodical was released in August of 98. The site includes a message board and chat room facilities, type indicators, an 'art and personality' section, and various other features
A New Site	Visit our new site, on Personality Type, Organizational Form, and the Structure of Human Consciousness
Guestbook	Sign our guestbook before leaving

ª MBTI and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Trust in the United States and other countries