# Are the enneagram tests as bad as the Myers Briggs test.



## pianodog (Jan 25, 2013)

The MB tests on Google are really bad and confusing, but are the enneagram tests just as bad?

Just a random thought.


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## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

Absolutely.


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## Surreal Snake (Nov 17, 2009)

What she said^^


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## Ellis Bell (Mar 16, 2012)

Yeah, the tests are baaad. Maybe worse than MBTI.

@_Surreal Snake_, I love your signature. .


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## cyamitide (Jul 8, 2010)

johnlynx said:


> The MB tests on Google are really bad and confusing, but are the enneagram tests just as bad?
> 
> Just a random thought.


yes, I've gone mistyped for around a year because I went by the test result and didn't investigate it more thoroughly -- some people go around mistyped for longer

ime it takes at least several months of research and reading into the topic to get a decent grasp on enneagram types


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## Entropic (Jun 15, 2012)

Yes, they are. They tend to ask for behavior, not motivations.


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## mushr00m (May 23, 2011)

Its always amusing when people actually believe the test results and don't bother to question it further. Until people have been vetted through the Type Me forum or have only read an online description they are probably incorrectly typed. This of course is just my humble opinion.


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## All in Twilight (Oct 12, 2012)

Surreal Snake said:


> What she said^^


What he ^ said about her.


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## leafling (Dec 15, 2011)

Oh yeah, they're just as bad if not worse. 

I agree with @cyamitide and @mushr00m - you can use the test results as a guideline, but if you don't research it yourself, I doubt you'll get typed correctly.


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## leafling (Dec 15, 2011)

Oh, and @johnlynx in reference to your signature: 






:tongue:


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## pianodog (Jan 25, 2013)

@leafstone 

I will never. I shan't let my designs look like they're done by little girls. :bored:


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## Doll (Sep 6, 2012)

Yeah, they're definitely not good... I mean, usually they can give you a ballpark idea, but there are so many variables in tests that it's impossible for it to actually _be_ accurate.


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## CataclysmSolace (Mar 13, 2012)

On another, but related note, Timeless is updating the older version of the Enneagram quiz on this site. I'm really excited to try it out. 

Best typing quizzes are on this site in my opinion...



timeless said:


> There's no element of randomness to the tests; if you put in the same answers, you'll get the same results. Different answers may yield different results. Basically, each trait corresponds to a type. The quiz tallies the scores and then determines your tritype through a series of logic statements.
> 
> There's an updated version of the quiz that I'm still working on, but I'm behind in due to my RL work. The quiz is literally 80-90% done, all that's left to do is the interface. The difficult stuff is all done. It's a three stage test. The second and third stages are like confirmation stages. Let's say you pass through the first phase and you have a handful of types that are all near the top. The second and third stages asks you questions directly targeted toward distinguishing the two. The quiz will generate these questions as needed to eliminate the possibility of other types.
> 
> ...


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## Doll (Sep 6, 2012)

CataclysmSolace said:


> On another, but related note, Timeless is updating the older version of the Enneagram quiz on this site. I'm really excited to try it out.
> 
> Best typing quizzes are on this site in my opinion...


I'd be interested in trying it out! It'd be nice to get something different than 4w5 - 5w4 - 9w1 for once. I KNOW I'm not triple withdrawn!


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## voicetrocity (Mar 31, 2012)

Yeah, they're pretty bad. 

My 1w9 sibling came up to me and announced (after pressure, on my part) that they had taken an enneagram test and are a 4w3. I face palmed. 4w5 is their heart fix, and it is secondary-but NOT their core (at least not from my observations).


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## aestrivex (Mar 7, 2011)

johnlynx said:


> The MB tests on Google are really bad and confusing, but are the enneagram tests just as bad?
> 
> Just a random thought.


No, virtually by definition enneagram tests are not as bad as MBTI tests. Let p(t) be the probability that test t produces an accurate result. For the enneagram, p(t) has an average lower bound of 1/9; for MBTI p(t) has an average lower bound of 1/16. Regardless of the domain-relevance of the test questions, the enneagram tests would perform better on a known sample (if such a thing could exist, which it can't), albeit not in an interesting way.


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

Doll said:


> I'd be interested in trying it out! It'd be nice to get something different than 4w5 - 5w4 - 9w1 for once. I KNOW I'm not triple withdrawn!


Lol, when I took the PerC Enneagram test for the first time it gave me 5w4 4w5 9w1.  Er, no. 

I recently tried it again. This time it gave me 9w1 5w6 2w1. Closer. XD


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## Doll (Sep 6, 2012)

Julia Bell said:


> Lol, when I took the PerC Enneagram test for the first time it gave me 5w4 4w5 9w1.  Er, no.
> 
> I recently tried it again. This time it gave me 9w1 5w6 2w1. Closer. XD



What test did you use? The last one I actually took with any seriousness was over a year ago, so I'd be interested in redoing it just for curiosity's sake.


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

Doll said:


> What test did you use? The last one I actually took with any seriousness was over a year ago, so I'd be interested in redoing it just for curiosity's sake.


This one: Comprehensive Enneagram Quiz ^_^ 

It's pretty good, really. The questions it asks are fine, for the most part. How it's weighed is funny, though, and it doesn't exactly take into account stress and stuff. Some of the questions are more behavioral questions. But it's definitely not the worst test I've come across.


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## Doll (Sep 6, 2012)

Julia Bell said:


> This one: Comprehensive Enneagram Quiz ^_^
> 
> It's pretty good, really. The questions it asks are fine, for the most part. How it's weighed is funny, though, and it doesn't exactly take into account stress and stuff. Some of the questions are more behavioral questions. But it's definitely not the worst test I've come across.


Your trifix is 4w5, 5w4, 9w8.

Well damn.


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

Doll said:


> Your trifix is 4w5, 5w4, 9w8.
> 
> Well damn.


Lolz. Don't worry. According to that quiz, I'm pretty withdrawn myself. Even though I'm a core 6w7. It keeps making my head "fix" (ahem) Five.

Yes. Yes, Enneagram quizzes fail. Miserably.


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## Dewymorning (Nov 24, 2012)

The way I see it, the PerC enneagram test is a good starting point, but you need to investigate further to know if the results are accurate.


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## Tater Tot (May 28, 2012)

tbh perc's test is the best. If I want to test somebody I'll give them the RHETI, even though I don't like it, because it's easier. Then if they're interested in their results I give them perc's. Then if they're REALLY interested I'll actually give them different links and read info out of books and stuff.


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## Octavarium (Nov 27, 2012)

Judging by the fact that most tests give me 5w6, and every introvert seems to get either 4 or 5, they're pretty bad.


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## Ellis Bell (Mar 16, 2012)

Yeah, they're pretty bad. I keep scoring as a 5w6 or 6w5 every time, too (still I get 6 every time, which may say something...).


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## benoticed (Nov 14, 2012)

Still I like it because it has the word "*Test*".

I have to give credit to whomever thought of the test, they have atleast achieved something useful in their life


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## bearotter (Aug 10, 2012)

Bad relative to what? It is difficult to create a test for these things, I'd say, if one really wants to aim to help people get something deep from the system, but for that self-discovery is basically essential anyway. I don't think most online typings I see are any better than the tests. Do I recommend more than a few minutes with a test result? Probably not.

The tests are based on a handful of traits commonly associated with a type without acknowledging that the types aren't really determined by these traits, nor is the only reason for having these traits to be the type commonly associated (in fact, I'd almost say a huge ton of cases present themselves where this is evident).
This is basically the main "flaw", aside from the one other "flaw" which stems from the tests being authored against different descriptions of the enneatypes than are considered respectable by some subset of the forum that's active in enneagram.
Yet, while some "respectable source" may emphasize certain traits in an enneatype, this does not mean sources do not differ in focus, nor can these emphases be mass-applied recklessly as they unfortunately often are to some level (or, at least, one often sees that there's a tendency to err on this side). All this said, the only point underlying really is to ask oneself why one accepts one presentation over another (the ideal answer as per my bias is that the presentation actually carries depth for one's purposes after one has done requisite self-discovery, as opposed to "the other way around").


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## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

johnlynx said:


> The MB tests on Google are really bad and confusing, but are the enneagram tests just as bad?
> Just a random thought.


they're even worse.


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## rajAs (Sep 14, 2012)

Tests suck because Enneagram is mostly about deep understanding of yourself. So, if you test "just for fun" or without a deep introspection you're going to answer too quickly and depending on how you feel in that moment.

Talking to people who know Enneagram is the first step in my opinion (for instance, the best starting point is to open a topic in the "Type me" section), second step are books. Third step is to avoid internet informations lacking reference. Fourth step (once you gathered enough knowledge about yourself and the theory) is bringing into question everything other people told you and find your type by yourself. Oh, and fifth step is to avoid tests


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## Sina (Oct 27, 2010)

No wonder I don't let it slide when people suggest typing by taking tests. :laughing: This is among THE worst ways of self-typing out there and the most foolish.

1. The self-reporting bias is a huge obstacle, because it's very easy to tell which statement refers to which type. Like full type descriptions, statements in tests also tend to favourably portray some types over others. So, even an Enneagram novice is liable to report more who they'd like to be as opposed to reporting on traits objectively as they are. 

2. The phrasing of questions can present false dichotomies or oversimplifications that don't capture type. In fact, they're broadly applicable behaviour traits that are not at the crux of finding the core type, instead describing traits common to multiple types.

A good example is Introverted folks over-typing (mistyping) on tests as withdrawn types. 

3. Enneagram type (with all the emphasis on core neuroses, cognitive distortions, trait structures, basic fears and more) is far too nuanced to be captured by a test. I thought this was common sense but apparently not. 

4. If you use a test to type yourself, you are missing the whole point of Enneagram study. You're supposed to develop a solid understanding of the system, and you're supposed to spend considerable time reflecting upon your fears, drives, motivations, the general patterns of insecurities, triggers and compulsive needs that have shown up during the course of your entire life. 

If you reduce all of this to putting stock in a poorly worded online test made worse by the self-reporting bias, you're obviously wasting your time

5. Enneagram tests have no scientific validity. The EI claims their test is 'scientifically valid', and it's among the most poorly worded tests out there. I have taken the full RHETI as part of a college study someone enlisted me on. Some tests (Eclectic Energies) are better worded and more fun to take, but fun is all there is to it. To take it as a serious indicator of type is folly. 

6. The Forer effect is amplified by the vague wording used in Enneagram tests or personality tests in general. 
Here's an interesting link: Forer effect - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com It again ties back with the self-reporting bias.


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## SharkT00th (Sep 5, 2012)

Worse


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## Kabosu (Mar 31, 2012)

While it's not exactly the subject of this forum, are the Socionics tests as bad as MBTI ones or even Enneagram?


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## perennialurker (Oct 1, 2009)

Worse actually. Enneagram tests, more so than MBTI, are NOT meant to tell you your type. They are a tool to help you begin the process of discovering your type. Enneagram requires far more investment in research and reflection, but the insights provided are also far more profound.


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## SharkT00th (Sep 5, 2012)

The notion of ones E-type being easy to figure out is what needs to go. The truth is its very hard to figure out your real E-type since your ego doesn't want you to know about it. If you become aware of your chief feature - what most Enneagram teachers will call vices, your first encounter with it would result in either ego death or denial. The process can begin slowly, and you slowly and steadily figure out your E-type, but understand that denial and not knowing are all part of the process. You aren't missing out on anything not knowing your type, just keep up with the learning and you will find it one day, once your ready to truly know.


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## IIIIII (Oct 2, 2013)

Like everything else some are better then others, but the only way any of the test will work is if you do the work. I.E. really dig deep and figure out your core issues and how you manifest your ego in the world around you.


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## SJMobley (Nov 17, 2013)

I found it easy to become aware of my chief feature of vanity. As a 3w4 I usually can tell when I'm putting up an image because of the feeling that comes with it. It's different than other feelings in that it feels like I'm just receiving praise for something that isn't me or an image that I'm putting up. While it makes me feel happy, I know the praise I'm getting is for the wrong reasons and I feel inauthentic when that happens.


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## clay (Nov 9, 2012)

I think they're a little better because if you don't know anything about enneagram then you won't know the trigger words. The best way to learn is to introspect and understand the underlying foundation for each of the 9 types.


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