The 9 Personality Types (and How They Influence Our Behavior)

One of the most interesting aspects of Psychology as a scientific discipline consists of the study of the tension 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 having to rely solely on instincts, but we also We have an intense experience of our own identity and the concept of “I” linked to 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 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 personality types

Table of Contents

The 9 personality types the enneagram

There is no single valid way to distinguish between personality types, since this way of classifying behavioral patterns depends on what the focus is on; Those that 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 classification sets:

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Let’s now see what are the detailed categories that the enneagram of personality describes.

1. The perfectionist

This enneatype, which belongs to the instinctive group, Its values are moral integrity and equanimity, 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.

2. The helper

This emotional type is characterized by the desperate search for the love of others, and deserving it; These people want to feel needed, but maintaining humility as a value, which is why they maintain a low profile and a supportive role for the rest.

3. The winner

People described by this enneatype (one of the emotional ones) They give great importance to the objective of achieving 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 gain the acceptance of others in view of the merits they are achieving.

4. The individualist

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

5. The researcher

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.

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6. The loyal

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

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 It is among the mental enneatypes.

8. The challenger

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

9. The peacemaker

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