The 9 types of Personality (and how they influence our behavior)

One of the most interesting aspects of Psychology as a scientific discipline consists in the study of the tension that there is between the ability to be mentally flexible, on the one hand, and the stability of psychological traits, on the other.

If we stop to think about it for a moment, it is curious that these two characteristics that we consider very human are, at least in appearance, opposite: we have an amazing ability to learn through experience without relying solely on instinct, but we also we have an intense experience of our own identity and the concept of "I" together with habits and routines that characterize us as individuals different from the rest.

In this sense, personality models have been proposed to explain the way in which people tend to behave in a certain way. relatively predictable way throughout their lives and at the same time experience psychological development that does not stop even in old age. In this article we will focus on one of them, which proposes 9 different types of personality.

• Related article: "Psychology of individual differences: what it is and what it studies"

The 9 Personality Types The Enneagram

There is no single valid way to distinguish between personality types, since this way of classifying behavior patterns depends on what the focus is on; The ones we will see below are those that arise from what is known as the Enneagram. As we will see, these 9 categories, known as enneatypes, are in turn divided into three classificatory sets:

• Mental enneatypes: typical of people who try to understand everything from their rational facet, and find security in logical explanations.
• Emotional enneatypes: characterizes people who experience emotions more intensely and take them into account in their relationships; They seek to be loved.
• Instinctive enneatypes: people with a tendency to take action and become actively involved in what is happening without first reflecting on it.

Let's now see what are the detailed categories that the Enneagram of Personality describes.

1. the perfectionist

This enneatype, which belongs to the group of instinctives, has moral integrity and fairness as values, something that makes these people prone to feel very indignant when detecting injustices, and to carry with them resentment in the face of those debts that they do not consider settled. Apply discipline to try to fix the imperfections in the environment.

• You may be interested in: "Perfectionist Personality: The Disadvantages of Perfectionism"

2. the helper

This emotional enneatype is characterized by the desperate search for the love of others, and to deserve it; These people want to feel needed, but maintaining humility as a value, so they maintain a low profile and a role of support for the rest.

3. The winner

The people described by this enneatype (one of the emotional ones) they give a lot of importance to the objective of reaching their most ambitious goals, for which they try to be as efficient as possible; However, their idea of ​​perfection is given by the expectations of others, so they try by all means to earn the acceptance of the rest in view of the merits they are doing.

• Related article: "Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection"

4. the individualist

The individualist, or melancholic, is someone with a romantic perspective on reality, in the sense that they seek to behave in a way that is authentic and unfiltered by social conventions. He fears above all things the idea of ​​not having his own identity. It is an emotional eneatype.

5. The investigator

We are facing a class of very observant and curious people, although with a tendency not to get too involved in their environment. They want to be able to translate their experiences into abstract concepts. and clear conclusions that can be reduced to words. This is one of the mental enneatypes.

6. the loyal

Those who fit this enneatype tend to doubt and anguish at the idea of ​​being alone on the way out, which is why they highly value the honesty and fidelity in significant relationships, while they are suspicious of other people little known. Like the previous one, it is one of the mental personality types.

• You may be interested in: "The 10 types of values: principles that govern our lives"

7. the enthusiast

Characterized by optimism, spontaneity and idealism, people characterized by this type of personality are active and full of energy, always seeking the experience of self-realization through effort and learning. He is among the mental enneatypes.

8. the challenger

Driven by the value of fairness, the challenger fears being controlled and eagerly seeks personal autonomy and even influence over others through a leadership role. It is a type of personality from the set of instinctives.

9. The peacemaker

As his name indicates, his main fear is the separation or fragmentation of what was united, and he puts peace of mind and love at the center. It belongs to the group of instinctive enneatypes.

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