# How do you determine your Tritype?



## Chesire Tower (Jan 19, 2013)

Do you figure it out by studying the different ones, because I could relate to anyone that has type 5 as the core and 4w5, as the heart fix.

When I have taken the PerC Enneagram test; I have gotten:

*5w4 4w5* 9w1
*5w4 4w5* 9w8
*5w4* 9w8 *4w5*
*5*w6 *4w5* 1w2
*5w4 4w5* 1w2

So, I do I figure out which one is the correct one?

Since it appears that my gut type is the last one used; does it even matter if I can decide between a 9w1, 9w8, or 1w2?


* *




Also, I'm pretty sure that I am an So/Sx as opposed to an Sp/Sx but the only thing I'm completely sure about, is that I am a core 5 and pretty sure about being a 5w4 as opposed to a 5w6.

When I took the Fauvre test; I had the highest scores in this order: 5, 4, 6, 7, 9.

My scores were highest in 5, 2nd highest was 4, 3rd - 6, 4-7 and 9 came in dead last and only because it was the highest amongst my gut type.




Could my problems be at all related to devaluing and rarely using my gut type? I know that when it comes to cognitive functions; I exhibit an almost complete disregard for my bodily functions (Si) and most of external reality (Se).



*I want to clarify that, that this is not a "type me" thread, by any means. I am really curious how others have confidently identified their tritype and how they arrived at those conclusions. I am also curious to know to understand how the order of the various fixes head/heart/gut affects one's psychological dynamics.*

For example, as a 5w4; I practically live in my head and my imagination. The 4 wing and the 4w5 heart fix adds an intense emotional cast to my core - even if I frequently try to suppress it. The gut fix - yet to be determined - I have great difficulty, even relating to. It always feels to me, that anything that exists outside my head; doesn't quite seem real to me.


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## Figure (Jun 22, 2011)

I had a harder time with this than expected and could still be way off. The real issue is that there can be significant overlap between lines of connection, wings, and fixes. 

The solution is to



Understand your core type and wing first - what is in charge and when
Ignore the wings of what you may think your fixes to be - they don't matter that much
Try to think of the tritypes as the whole name (459, etc) instead of specific permutations (495, 945, 954 etc.) at least to start
_Try and notice times when your "lens" of viewing the world, or center of attention changes from what it usually is_
Identify which type these lenses are, and which are more influential to you
Think of a time the blind spot for your tritype caused you a serious issue

My tritype says I'm the ultimate idealist, but my core type is called the "Realist." Both are true, just at different times. 

I knew 8 and 1 were secondary strategies, and it was the 478 that resonated, and the 147 that actually caused me a real issue a few years ago. I can get into trouble for being too anti-authoritarian and anti-consensus for the sake of making something loud and clear (478), but I actually had a crisis where wanting a sort of impossible utopia made me fly off the handle in wild behavior (147, 7w8). In the end it came down to deciding that when healthy, I still have a (muffled, heh) superego "voice" that calls for restraint, structure, and composure, rather than more exertion, even while 7w8 is driving what I am doing. Conflicts, anyone?

It may help to also treat your fixes as core types. They seem to function similarly. They aren't really "influences" or "vibes," but actual switches to a different center.


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## kaleidoscope (Jan 19, 2012)

I still struggle with my gut type. I relate in some ways to all three gut types when taken separately from the core, but some combinations make more sense than others. 4-7-8 feels too expansive and id-like, especially with Sx/So as instinctual stacking. 4-7-9 is too 'gentle' and soft for how I am. The key to finding your fixes is to look at how you relate to the types and which fixations seem to resonate more with you. At the same time, tritype is tricky because you can't really know what exactly constitutes a fix. Is it a fixation just like the core? Is it simply a flavor of the core? 

I'd say it's best to start with the specific and exploring the types in depth, core issues and all, before moving to the general picture and assessing what the entire tritype is like - and whether or not it fits you.


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## Sina (Oct 27, 2010)

Disregard tests. Ignore the Fauvres' tritype descriptions, and do this:



kaleidoscope said:


> I still struggle with my gut type. I relate in some ways to all three gut types when taken separately from the core, but some combinations make more sense than others. 4-7-8 feels too expansive and id-like, especially with Sx/So as instinctual stacking. 4-7-9 is too 'gentle' and soft for how I am. *The key to finding your fixes is to look at how you relate to the types and which fixations seem to resonate more with you.* At the same time, tritype is tricky because you can't really know what exactly constitutes a fix. Is it a fixation just like the core? Is it simply a flavor of the core?
> 
> *I'd say it's best to start with the specific and exploring the types in depth, core issues and all, before moving to the general picture and assessing what the entire tritype is like - and whether or not it fits you.*


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## Chesire Tower (Jan 19, 2013)

Well, I know that my heart fix is 4; so, that leaves some combination of 541, 548 or 549 - none of those are presumably so/sx; so does that mean that I have my variants wrong?


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## Tater Tot (May 28, 2012)

I've always thought it was...

2, 3, 4: Identity, self-esteem
5, 6, 7: Thought process, anxiety response
8, 9, 1: Relating to the environment, action/reaction

So for 2 the identity would be based on other people, for 3 the identity would be based on work and status, for 4 the identity would be based on defects and dramatizations.

For 5 the thought process would be analyzing and theorizing, and the anxiety response would be withdrawing from the world. For 6 the thought process would be questioning and troubleshooting, and the response would be either phobia or counterphobia. For 7 the thought process would be planning and rationalizing, and the anxiety response would be distracting and escaping. 

For 8 the environment would be like a battlefield, their reaction would be to dominate and overcome. For 9 the environment would be some kind of "Big picture" that they fit in to, their reaction is to merge and numb. For 1 the environment is a place of disorder and chaos, and their reaction would be controlling and fixing. 

Or you could just look at what type you relate to most in each center! :laughing:


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## enneathusiast (Dec 15, 2012)

TreasureTower said:


> When I took the Fauvre test; I had the highest scores in this order: 5, 4, 6, 7, 9.


Could be you're having difficulty identifying your tritype because such a thing doesn't exist for you. The only authors I've ever seen mention tritype are the Fauvres. I don't know why there's so much effort placed on trying to force ourselves into the artificial, unsupported rules made up by others. Why not just go with 5-4-6 as your starting point instead of trying to find something not supported by the evidence?

Perhaps for those who easily find their tritype, it's simply a matter of your type preferences being more naturally distributed between the centers while others may not have their preferences so conveniently distributed. It just annoys me when the theorists expect us to ignore the reality we experience in favor of some concept they've created in their minds.


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## Chesire Tower (Jan 19, 2013)

enneathusiast said:


> Could be you're having difficulty identifying your tritype because such a thing doesn't exist for you. The only authors I've ever seen mention tritype are the Fauvres. I don't know why there's so much effort placed on trying to force ourselves into the artificial, unsupported rules made up by others. Why not just go with 5-4-6 as your starting point instead of trying to find something not supported by the evidence?
> 
> Perhaps for those who easily find their tritype, it's simply a matter of your type preferences being more naturally distributed between the centers while others may not have their preferences so conveniently distributed. It just annoys me when the theorists expect us to ignore the reality we experience in favor of some concept they've created in their minds.


That's an interesting way of looking at it; since with the exception of type 4; I do tend to identify for the most part with the head types (5,6,7).

I'm not sure that if I did this; I would necessarily choose 5-4-6. I might choose 5-4-7 or 5-7-4 because the only reason that my 7 scores aren't higher then they are; is because I'm an introvert. I also think that my high 7 score, contributed to some mistyping me as a 9.

That said, isn't the tritype theory based on how which type we use to deal with our different centres: head/heart/gut?

I don't think that we need to disregard tritype theory at all but simply realize that it should always be considered as far inferior to standard Enneagram theory with just the core, wing and instinctual variants. I also can understand how tritype theory can differentiate one type with the same core, wing and instinctual variant from another; since, we utilize all E types and I see tritype theory as way of explaining the subtle differences between two types with the same traditional typing from one another.

I wanted to add that typing myself as a 5-4-6 wouldn't really make a lot of sense; since 4 and 6 are my wings. It wouldn't really make sense for anyone to have both of their wings included in their tritype, because, that's why they're their wings. Now if one of an E type's wing is from a different centre than their core, that that would of course make more sense. What I'm saying is that being a core 5; it obviously makes perfect sense that my wings would make up my second and third highest score and the types that I would relate to most in that order.


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## Daeva (Apr 18, 2011)

The tritype was actually one of the easiest for me; 

The first months I learned about the Enneagram, I identified strongly with both 4 and 7, and I didn't really relate to the rest that way.
I felt always a bit restless about those typings though, as if I knew it wasn't complete yet.
Especially the core elements to those types. Sure, I could relate somewhat, but I had no real negative experiences with them.

Turns out, I'm a 9 who couldn't see his core type (oh how rare), but I saw my other fixes a lot clearer. The core of 9 is so painfully true for me, I tried my best to not type as 9 for quite a long time. Constantly comparing each type to 9, to prove to myself how un-9 I really was.

My dominant type was a lot harder for me to find than my tritype, once I found out I was a 9, the wing and the other fixes just fell into place.

I guess this isn't really helping anyone finding their tritype, but hey; sharing's caring, right?!


(p.s. @*kaleidoscope *: I may appear gentle sometimes (I guess..), but there's nothing soft about me!)


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## Entropic (Jun 15, 2012)

Essentially, tritype was all about finding my core issues or motivations from each center. At first I focused on my core, then I tried to figure out what other issues explained me the best. It got rather easy with my gut though I waffled for some time between 8 and 1, because ultimately I felt and still feel a very strong connection to 8 and I have a lot of vulnerability issues. It is very evident I use anger as a way to deal with a sense of vulnerability and the situations that cause me to really experience the most anger are situations where I feel I have no sense of control over the outcomes. 

I think what was tricky for me was more to understand the order of my tritype. I for a long time thought 8 was last and 4 second. I always knew I was 4-fixed, because no other motivations made sense to me and I strongly identify with Holy Origin, but that was the problem in that I also have 4 as a wing. It took time to separate lines of connection and wing from what is what. In retrospect it made sense that image issues were last, not second, because while I seem to care it mostly informs my 5-ness rather than standing on its own. 

And yes, test results are meaningless. I've gotten 9 on a test once though it is very evident I am not a 9.


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## enneathusiast (Dec 15, 2012)

TreasureTower said:


> I might choose 5-4-7 or 5-7-4 because the only reason that my 7 scores aren't higher then they are; is because I'm an introvert.


Unfortunately the tests tend to describe type 7 as a gregarious extravert when that has nothing to do with type 7. There are actually introverted 7's (they often seem to be social-last).



TreasureTower said:


> ...since, we utilize all E types and I see tritype theory as way of explaining the subtle differences between two types with the same traditional typing from one another.


It's just that I read over and over again about how people are trying to find their type, their wing, their tritype, their tritype with wings, etc. They're all just different ways to slice the pie in an *attempt *to explain why people of a given type are not the same. I just think it should be whatever works for you rather than some forced fit to match someone's theory. I believe we're all types so reducing ourselves to some theoretical subset just seems a little artificial to me. To each their own.


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## Tater Tot (May 28, 2012)

What is this Fauvre test that you speak of?


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## Chesire Tower (Jan 19, 2013)

ephemereality said:


> In retrospect it made sense that image issues were last, not second, because while I seem to care *it mostly informs my 5-ness *rather than standing on its own.


Can you elaborate on this?



Tater Tot said:


> What is this Fauvre test that you speak of?


Enneagram Test, free online personality test to find your type


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## Chesire Tower (Jan 19, 2013)

kaleidoscope said:


> I still struggle with my gut type. I relate in some ways to all three gut types when taken separately from the core.


Yeah, I am pretty clear that I am a 5w4 4w5 XwX; I really can't figure out which one I relate to the most. If the gut type is about boundaries; then when I feel that they are being violated, I will either try to change the behaviour of the "violator" (1), withdraw from them (9) or assertively confront them (8); so I do all three. I know that I am extremely hyper-conscious of any threats to my boundaries. It all depends on the context.


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