Descriptions of Enneagram Instinctual Variants

The information on this page was taken from Thomas Condon's site The Changeworks, an excellent enneagram and self-help resource site on the net. Check it out today!

The three instinctual variants are Self-Preservation, Social, and Intimate (also known as Sexual or One-to-One). They reflect the three basic desires in our human nature; the desire to protect the self, the desire to interact with others, and the desire for intimacy or sexuality. A person's instinctual variant is determined by which common issues constellate around a particular variant. For example, a Social person's prime issues have to deal with how they relate to others, get along with them, be seen by them, etc. The instinctual variants are fairly new and not much information and research is available on them, so they are an optional way of viewing the Enneagram.

Ones

Self-Preservation
Characterized by a tendency towards worry and negative anticipation, especially as it relates to material well-being. Can seem a little like Sixes. They fret about how to avoid making mistakes that could jeopardize survival. Petty, finicky quality; could seem "penny-wise and pound-foolish." Sense of being undeserving or inadequate - try to compensate with worry. As a parent or friend, they might be critical and nurturing by turns, wanting to protect you from the same negative consequences they worry about. Self-preservation Ones are not plentiful in movies, but some good examples are Hector Alterio in The Official Story, Melvyn Douglas in I Never Sang For My Father, Joel McCrea in Ride The High Country, and Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy.

Intimate
May be preoccupied with their romantic partner. Have high expectations based on having idealized their beloved. Their partner is supposed to be perfect man or woman. One's reaction is jealous judgment if their beloved acts in less-than-ideal ways. Jealous Ones may drive partners away with endless criticism. Can have a dependent tendency related to the low side of 2. Most intimate Ones have a 2 wing. Also there's a melancholy yearning and fear of abandonment fueling the One's criticism. Connection to the low side of 4. I found very few intimate Ones in movies but Geraldine Page in The Beguiled displays some of this theme. In The Official Story, Hector Alterio's basic subtype is self-preservation but he has eruptions of jealousy that are based on his high expectations of his wife. Also Cliff Robertson shows this theme to a degree in the movie Picnic.

Social
Social subtype Ones are everywhere in the movies, probably because they create dramatic friction. Characterized by a preoccupation with rules and how they should apply to (other) people's behavior. Tend to moralize and apply old standards inflexibly to each new situation. Believe they are representatives of a larger social order or tradition. They're not, of course - acting as if they represent the rules is their psychological defense. Usually had great uncertainty in childhood, at least one undependable parent. Made themselves rigid to feel strong, aligned with the rules to contain their anxiety. Tend to depersonalize their own feelings, hope to be above criticism. Social Ones can have either wing, though a 9 wing brings rules that are more abstract and inhuman-sounding. Examples in the movies include Glenn Close in The World According To Garp, Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Alec Guinness in The Bridge On The River Kwai, Raul Julia in Kiss Of The Spider Woman, Joan Plowright in Enchanted April, Jack Lemmon in Missing, Katharine Hepburn in Rooster Cogburn.

Twos

Self-Preservation
Self-preservation Twos often harbor a striking sense of entitlement. May act superior to others and expect preferential treatment that reinforces their pride. Can seem shameless in their expectation of pampering. Behind this attitude is a logic that says, "I give and do so much for others, I deserve to be treated as someone special." Like an unconscious collection of fees for sacrifices made. Others who encounter this attitude are often amazed at a self-preservation Two's self- importance and diva-like behavior. Real-life people with this subtype often have a 3 wing. Dip easily to the low side of 8 when angry. Not many movie examples, but Kathy Bates displays some of this theme in Misery. Glynis Johns has some of it in Zelly And Me, as does Madonna in Truth Or Dare. A real-life self-preservation Two is American hotelier Leona Helmsley.

Intimate
Tend to act seductive and aggressive by turns. Basic interest is in finding romantic union. Generally confuse sexual desirability with being loved and valued. Act receptively interested in others, use inviting touches. May ooze some combination of charm and sexuality. When they encounter resistance will begin to push and challenge. Try to find a way around the other's objection. May go militant and angrily blame (connection to 8). Behind these flare-ups is a melancholy desire for total enmeshed connectedness to another. Yearning is related to the low side of 4. Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were is an exact depiction of this subtype. Other examples include William Hurt in Kiss Of The Spider Woman, Ray Liotta in Unlawful Entry, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

Social
Twos with this subtype are notable for their ambition, particularly to be publicly recognized as someone special. Seek attention either directly from their own efforts or via affiliation with powerful people. In the former scenario, a Two works to draw an audience through socially useful works or some kind of performing. Confuse being noticed with being loved. Can sometimes act provocative or obnoxious as this is better than being ignored. Might also marry someone influential and concentrate their energies on the spouse's ambitions. Can groom their children to become achievers. Stage mothers and political spouses are possible roles. Often have a 3 wing but a 1 wing is possible. Video examples include: Madonna, Truth Or Dare; Angela Lans-bury, The Manchurian Candidate; Laurence Luckinbill, Star Trek V; Shirley MacLaine, Postcards From The Edge; Marisa Paredes, High Heels; Rosalind Russell, Gypsy.

Threes

Self-Preservation
Have a preoccupation with acquiring material security as a way to calm core anxieties about survival. Some grow up poor and focus on amassing wealth. Concentrate on doing well, having enough, especially of the right things. Irony is that the strategy doesn't really work - a Three could amass millions and still, say, harbor a morbid fear of dying broke. Insecurity fuels a sense that enough money is never enough. Movie examples include Wesley Snipes in White Men Can't Jump, Rebecca DeMornay in Risky Business and Charlie Sheen in Wall Street.

Intimate
Intimate Threes mask themselves with an image of what a sexually appealing man or woman is. They play roles in romantic relationships hoping to get love or admiration. Image is based on community or cultural standards of desirability or a given partner's expectations. If not committed to a specific partner then they will project an image generally and seek sexual conquests. Intimate Threes in the movies can be sexual imposters or suave, attractive ideals of masculinity or femininity. Female characters tend to be beautiful out-of-reach Sirens. Examples include: John Malkovich, Dangerous Liaisons; Cybill Shepherd, Texasville; Richard Gere, American Gigolo, Sommersby; Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct; Kathleen Turner, Body Heat.

Social
Social Threes are often extremely status-conscious. Most confuse their inner self with the world's badges, honors and totems. Measure themselves by money, position, awards or results. Strive to match group standards and have the right credentials. How they rank in the eyes of others is most important. May be materialistic but with an eye towards the best brand names so as to be identified with the product's status. The excesses of this subtype make for fine morality plays about the hollowness of fame and status. Movie examples include: Charlie Sheen, Wall Street; Robert Redford, Downhill Racer; Mary Tyler Moore, Ordinary People; Faye Dunaway, Network.

Fours

Self-Preservation
People with this theme are often advocates of risk. Can be reckless, court disaster or just flirt lightly with loss. Take chances to stir up emotional intensity, play out melodrama or to get attention. Can have a desire to punish other through hurting themselves. The logic is, "If I die then they'll be sorry and finally appreciate me." Can seem like counterphobic Sixes in their behavior. With a 3 wing this subtype is more flamboyant and makes a show of their daring. With a 5 wing they grow more sullen and self-punishing. Movie examples include: Nicolas Cage, Moonstruck; Meryl Streep, Out Of Africa; Judy Davis, Impromptu.

Intimate
Fours with this theme tend to be highly competitive in close relationships but also more generally. With a mate they are prone to jealousy. Want to be the most important person in mate's life. Could be jealous of a partner's past relationships, maybe want to be the only person the partner has ever loved. Related to the dependent side of 2. More broadly can be consumed by professional envy. Long to best others in their work. Can jealously measure their contributions. Petty about keeping score. Want recognition for their uniqueness. Take away from successes of others when threatened. See F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus, Harriet Andersson in Cries And Whispers, Nick Nolte in New York Stories.

Social
Prone to shame because they compare themselves with the "normal" world around them. Can be highly self-critical and feel ashamed for their deviance from imagined group norms. Sensitive to criticism. May romanticize their defects but feel bad about themselves anyway. If they have a 3 wing, may cover their shame with charm. Can also seek status or be driven to achieve to get revenge against those who once laughed at them (Danny DeVito, Batman Returns). With a 5 wing, can grow antisocial and depressed, bearing their shame in solitude (Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant's Woman).

Fives

Self-Preservation
Chief defensive tendency is to withdraw. Sensitive to feeling saturated by the world, Fives with this subtype lose their sense of privacy easily. Can feel knocked over by people's expectations. In isolation they refind their lost sense of balance and build up to the next round of social stresses. More alienated than the other subtypes. May hide in books, live alone or need their own room where they can close themselves off. Take little from others. Sometimes thin. Likely to hoard time and space. Have solitary hobbies and interests, seek comfort and solace alone. Examples include: Kerry Fox, An Angel At My Table; Gena Rowlands, Another Woman; Robin Williams, Awakenings.

Intimate
Intimate Fives trust only a few people but then do so totally. Friendship is based on the sharing of confidences. Intimacy is equivalent to exchanging secrets. Can go from enigmatic, deliberate distance to intense, unguarded openness. Seductive invitation to sharing secrets; seek a total merging. When entranced can be a little kinky. A great movie example is James Spader in sex, lies and videotape. Sharing intimate sexual secrets is what he gets women to do on videotape. Both Monsieur Hire and Mr. Lemorne in The Vanishing show this theme albeit perversely. Ben Kingsley in Turtle Diary also enjoys secrecy and is a little more normal.

Social
Social Fives connect with groups of like-minded people. Enjoy living in the flow of a group interest, sharing knowledge and affiliations. May prefer specialized or esoteric areas of knowledge that exclude all but the initiated. Could live in high society, know the "right" people, belong to the best clubs. Might enjoy speaking a professional language that few people understand. Can be quite friendly but, at times, terrific snobs. Romanticize secret elitist group membership; concerned with titles, degrees, credentials, etc. Realm of academia. Peter O'Toole in Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a good movie example. Also, Anthony Hopkins in 84 Charing Cross Road.

Sixes

Self-Preservation
Self-preservation Sixes often display a personal warmth that is meant to defang the potential hostility of others. If they sense aggression or disapproval in the environment, they may counterphobically zero in on it. Use humor, charm, self-depreciation to make friends out of possible enemies. Can flatter like Twos, play themselves down, work to maintain other people's affection. Act vulnerable, invite rescue. Ingratiating, but more nervously dependent than other Six subtypes. Also less in touch with their own hostility. Their home environment is sometimes important. May feel like their house is a fortress against the outside world's dangers. Worry about their ability to survive; have scary "worst-that-can-happen" fantasies. A good movie example is Bill Murray in What about Bob?. Also Teri Garr in Tootsie and The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz.

Intimate
Sixes with this subtype tend to act strong or seductive when insecure. They are much more likely to be counterphobic, especially the men. May seem like Eights, take risks, talk tough. Act powerful and in control at the times when they feel most frightened. Worry about looking weak, having their fears show. May act arrogant but aren't really. Some study martial arts or seek a way of life that makes them strong. Beauty is another focus; trying to seem attractive so as to contain fear, get approval, and distract others. May consciously hide behind a seductive mask. Unlike Threes, Sixes know they are hiding. Can act cool and patrician or be flirty. Some have a focus on aesthetics. This subtype often has a stronger connection to the vanity of 3. Movie examples include: Humphrey Bogart, Treasure Of The Sierra Madre; Holly Hunter, Broadcast News; Anjelica Huston, The Grifters; Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Class Action; Nick Nolte, The Prince Of Tides; Janine Turner, Northern Exposure. In Batman Returns, Michelle Pfeiffer turns from a meek phobic Six into a fiesty counterphobic Six. When phobic, she is a social subtype (see below). Her alter ego, the counterphobic Catwoman, is an intimate subtype.

Social
Social Sixes tend to be dutiful and especially dependent upon authority. More often phobic than counterphobic. Often dedicated to a cause. When acting alone they will still refer to others in their mind for safety and agreement. May want to see your opinion first before they will offer their own. Could change their mind to agree with you. Often align with a group or a cause and will follow the rules loyally, trying to please the boss. "Company men." Focus on a social or work context and try to be ideal within it. Could persecute others in the name of their group's ideals. May imagine they can't live without the group's support: "If I don't play by the rules I'll be out on the street selling pencils." Later there's inevitable disillusionment. Then Six starts grumbling that they are not appreciated. Could go passive/aggressive, resent a boss they had romanticized. Connection to 9 is stronger with this subtype. Movie examples include: Wendy Hughes, Lonely Hearts; Ben Kingsley, Pascali's Island; Martin Landau, Crimes And Misdemeanors; Jack Lemmon, The Apartment; Michelle Pfeiffer, Batman Returns; Sheila McCarthy, I've Heard The Mermaids Singing; Martin Short, Innerspace.

Sevens

Self-Preservation
Self-preservation Sevens are a little confusing since they tend to be highly social. Characterized by a drive towards family and shared group experiences. Enjoy operating within their real or chosen family, checking in with a group of like-minded people. Chronic sharing on a circuit. People in the group are the source of interesting information and stimulation. Don't feel burdened or trapped by duties like a social Seven. Loyal to family, often have a 6 wing. Defend their circle and castle. Barricade, find safety in numbers. This subtype goes with the image of the "party animal." Movie examples include Auntie Mame and, especially, Hugh Hefner in Hugh Hefner: Once Upon A Time.

Intimate
Intimate Sevens tend to garnish and embellish reality with fantasy. Intimate relationships are often thought of as shared experimental adventures, and the Seven perceives their partner through a veil of imagination. May romanticize others as a way to avoid the limits and boredom of mundane life with the same old someone. Can be more involved with their fantasy of the partner than with the real person. Tentative, distractible, impersonal, may have a wandering eye. Some have great difficulty with commitment and seem fickle as they move on to the next fantasy projected onto the next new person. Don Juan scenario. More generally, intimate Sevens have a tendency to be suggestible. They may especially seek the new with the fascinated enthusiasm of a faddist, stepping into future fantasies to avoid the present. Good movie examples include: Julie Christie, Darling; Tom Hulce, Parenthood; Christine Lahti, Housekeeping; Karen Landry, Patti Rocks; Lena Olin, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being.

Social
Social Sevens often feel a tension between duty to others and the desire to escape. Tend to feel responsible for the people around them and experience that as a confining burden. They then react against the weight of obligation, seeking variety and craving change. When entranced, can be highly irresponsible. When awakened, they make peace with commitment and sacrifice and are often very stable and generous. Often an idealism, sometimes a stronger connection to 1. Serving something beyond themselves, dutiful. Can be from a large family where they had lots of responsibility, eldest child. With an 8 wing they tend to fight the sense of burden harder. Movie examples include: Beau Bridges, The Fabulous Baker Boys; Cher, Mermaids; Tom Hanks, Nothing In Common; Sidney Poitier, Lillies Of The Field, James Woods, Joshua, Then and Now. Also Christine Lahti in Housekeeping, though her basic subtype is intimate.

Eights

Self-Preservation
Self-preservation Eights often grow up poor or struggling. Food, home, money may be crucial. Generally seek control over their immediate environment and may worry about survival. Tend to value things over people. Maintaining order and material security are important. Eights with this subtype have a stronger connection to 5. Can be materialistic and feel deserving about it; more often have a 7 wing. Could be collectors or have prized objects. Sometimes domineering towards those within their sphere. Might preach an ethic of selfishness - justify their bullying of intimates as necessary to "toughen them up" for the hard world outside. Life is a jungle, only the strong survive. Survivalist mentality, territorial imperatives, angry at family members because they threaten household objects. Hiding in and presiding over their castle; sometimes extra Fiveish. Good movie examples include: Barry Corbin ("Maurice"), Northern Exposure; Robert De Niro, This Boy's Life; Peter Falk, A Woman Under The Influence; Jackie Gleason, Nothing In Common; Gena Rowlands, Gloria; Denzel Washington, Malcolm X.

Intimate
Want stability, loyalty and predictability in close relationships. May feel easily betrayed, and are prone to suspicion. Can love deeply, have a genuine close-up interest in and concern for spouse. Since life is dangerous they want to choose close allies carefully. Attached to the idea of being able to trust completely. Lots of testing of their partner's motives. If they pass the tests then the Eight relaxes. When entranced, this can lead to possessive obsession, and a need to dominate and control partner. Intimate Eights can get codependent, jealous, hooked into the other. Sometimes can't let go; their partner's every move is (over)reacted to. When very unhealthy, spousal abuse scenarios are possible. Stalking, vengeful vows to follow other to the ends of the earth, etc. Connected to the low side of 2. Intimate Eights sometimes play socially rebellious "bad kid" roles.

Social
Social Eights are often loyal to a group and conceive of friendship as a pact of mutual protection. Want everyone to benefit; group's cohesion and welfare is most important to them. Often oriented to family, honest, hold themselves accountable to others. May be the group's protector or provider. Emphasis on cooperation. When healthy, they are aggressively blustery but will back down and apologize when they've been unfair. More able to say the Three Little Words -"I was wrong." Stronger connection to 2, can emotionally switch places with others in their chosen group. As friends they want to protect what's soft or young in you and appreciate the same in return. Hostility directed towards outside forces who threatens the group's welfare. Movie examples include: Richard Gere, Internal Affairs; John Cassavetes, I'm Almost Not Crazy, Tempest; Gene Hackman, Class Action; Nick Nolte, Q & A; Ron Silver, Reversal Of Fortune; Elaine Strick, September.

Nines

Self-Preservation
Preoccupied with physical comfort, maintaining habits and satisfying appetites. The image of the lazy couch potato goes with this subtype. Strategy for getting along is to ask as little of life as possible. Can have a love of the minimal and enjoy the repetition of known routines. Distract themselves with pleasant domestic activities. Live conservatively. Consume food and drink for anaesthesia. May have large appetites, drug addictions, be physically slow moving. Many good movie examples including Gary Farmer, Powwow Highway; Albert Finney, Rich In Love; Lillian Gish, The Whales Of August; Elliott Gould, Little Murders; William Hurt, The Accidental Tourist; Wallace Shawn, My Dinner With Andre.

Intimate
Focused on an ideal of romantic union. Get lost in one relationship or in the yearning to have one. High expectations of partner. Sometimes sound melancholy like a Four. Prone to jealousy. May settle on someone and then grow critical and have a wandering eye. Can also deny their partner's flaws and idealize them to stay in union. Another scenario involves multiple relationships, searching from one person to the next. Sometimes the Nine can't decide between two people. Triangulation. Paradoxically, this subtype can be fickle because they are so easily disappointed. Good movie examples include: Andie MacDowell, sex, lies and videotape; Ann-Margret, Carnal Knowledge; Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment; Joanne Woodward, Mr. And Mrs. Bridge.

Social
Social Nines tend to gravitate toward groups and then have conflicts about joining or staying apart. Can enjoy group energy and interests but may be also aware of the group's expectations. These the Nine will both play along with and resist. When immersed in a group, social Nines can lose themselves, trying to become all things to all people. Gregarious but may start to resist being too heavily influenced, to compensate for their sense of lost identity. Can sometimes resent how the group doesn't really see them. May fixate on what others think of them. Or resent the group and make fun of it. Some social Nines stay basically uninvolved but hang out at the group's edge. Frequently there's lots of activity. May get caught up in roles - a stronger connection to 3 goes with this subtype. Movie examples include: Jeff Bridges, Texasville; Sean Connery, The Russia House; Tom Cruise, Risky Business; Imelda Staunton, Antonia And Jane. Bill Clinton would be a real-life social Nine.