# Is Enneagram type determined by genetics?



## hubcap (Mar 25, 2014)

I'm curious as to the "why" anyone is a certain Type. Is it determined by genetics, environment, or a combination of the two? Or something else?


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## -Alpha- (Dec 30, 2013)

Some combination of nature and nurture, though I would speculate that enneagram types are malleable since, as I understand it's rooted in desires and fears as opposed to something strictly related to genetics.

In that sense, I believe as you grow, your enneagram might be subject to change based on values, as with Jung typology, you're likely to stay the same your entire life. Assuming you're capable of changing at all.


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## Sixty Nein (Feb 13, 2011)

Your enneagram type is a divinely mandated occult symbol that is etched into your soul. Where as JCF functions are basically as random and in flux as most human personalities are concerned. Although the change between two types takes a while.


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## SharkT00th (Sep 5, 2012)

I think that genetics can have an influence on your E-type, but its not that you are genetically born to be a certain type. Someone for example who has a genetic disposition for physical strength could have a higher chance of becoming an E8, while an individual who's genetics give them a weakened immune system has a higher chance of becoming an E6 for example.


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## caramel_choctop (Sep 20, 2010)

SharkT00th said:


> I think that genetics can have an influence on your E-type, but its not that you are genetically born to be a certain type. Someone for example who has a genetic disposition for physical strength could have a higher chance of becoming an E8, while an individual who's genetics give them a weakened immune system has a higher chance of becoming an E6 for example.


That's not the way it works. As @-Alpha- said above, Enneagram's about desires and fears. What on earth has a weak immune system to do with an Enneagram personality? I'll grant you that more aggressive types are more likely to be Eights, but that's all about why and when they use that aggression - and not necessarily physical. Eights can be petite and still be verbally aggressive.

To the OP, well, heh. If it's genetic I'd be surprised; I think it's more to do with childhood perceptions of the world and how you were raised. My mum is solidly 3. It's harder to pinpoint with my dad, but he might be 9 too, with some 3-ish traits developed later in life. I can't peg my sister's type, particularly because she's still at school and partly dependent on her peer group for validation. And of course, all this is influenced by sex and gender as well.


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## mushr00m (May 23, 2011)

I think deprivation in an area during the developmental stages is what shapes E type. There is certainly evidence to suggest the child/parent relationship shapes the childs view of their existential perception, I havn't seen enough evidence that correlates genetics and E type, yet.


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