# Common reasons behind mistyping.



## Scruffy (Aug 17, 2009)

I like to swear, and I don't find it necessary to cradle misinformation. It's probably more hostile due to it being a more important system in terms of behavior patterns, it is more personal. Also, when I wrote the original post the Enneagram on PerC was in its infantile stages. I had wanted to avoid an ugly, uninformed forum for the system.

I do enjoy the rawness of the original post, and I've no regret having posted it in terms of aggressiveness.


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## Sayonara (May 11, 2012)

Dang...always gotta be a topic that makes you feel like the type you feel you are, isn't right because of various, absurd reasons.

I really don't know what type I am yet. I feel way too confused and the last thing I need is people doubting me, kthnx. I do enough of that myself. D8

Interesting post either way.


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## Sayonara (May 11, 2012)

LittleB81 said:


> I I think misunderstanding is a huge reason why mistypes occur. *Plus, I don't believe that the Enneagram is absolute- I see it as a context to help people understand personality differences.* And with rules there come exceptions.


This. This so much. I dislike it when people refer to me as being a stereotype. I am no special snowflake, I just get really annoyed when people use the Enneagram as a cut and dried way to label people. When people do that, it just fuels Sir Critique a Lot (Yes, I named my my inner critic lol XD) berating me for being said stereotype.


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## Sina (Oct 27, 2010)

Julia Bell said:


> If I mention I feel lots of shame, people say "ohyeah, image type", however it is the _ reasoning_ behind the shame -- and how I _define_ shame -- that matters. As well as how often I feel it.
> 
> I feel that sometimes the questions on the questionnaire don't always clear this up. It might be helpful to do so.


When the Questionnaire was in process, I was in favour of more pointed questions. A lot of people posted saying they were uncomfortable with more penetrating/direct questions. This feedback as well as our understanding that open-ended questions which allow people to share as much or as little they want has to do with the way it's all worded.

There was the added requirement that the questionnaire be concise. I am a private person, but under conditions of anonymity, I can be very self-revealing. I am like the old Mariner from Colerdidge's poem lofl. So, I could sit here and write an autobiography and not give a fuck if people care to read. But, I don't expect similar levels of self-revelation from everyone taking the questionnaire. It had to be worded in a way that it didn't turn off people who are intensely private and uncomfortable getting personal. 

When I help people with their type, I will often ask them more direct questions surrounding shame. So, if I see 3 paragraphs on shame and 3 lines on anxiety, I don't say "Oh hey! here's an image type not a head type". 

Recently, I've been thinking of adding questions surrounding fear (head fix) and morality (can be very useful when distinguishing between gut fixes, at times). Sometimes, the values question doesn't adequately cover what I am looking for. 

Do you have any suggestions?  Feel free to share on the Questionnaire thread.


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## Sina (Oct 27, 2010)

*Enneagram bourgeoisie vs. wut? the Enneagram proletariat?*:laughing:

lol. I agree with @n2freedom. It's not elitism as much as it's a desire to disseminate correct information. It takes less time to share good sources with people and tell them what kind of mindsets to avoid than it does to correct misinformation and stereotypes. 

If you're new to the game, keep an open mind. Analyze all information critically. When resources are suggested to you, take the time to go through them. Take your time and introspect as heavily as you need to. I* will make it a point to respect your boundaries given the personal and sensitive nature of the process. I will not settle for anything less than respect and open-mindedness on your end. It's just very simple.* The whole typing thing really isn't as complex as the class struggle, I..I assure you.


* re: mistyping and type me threads:*

- take it easy. it's not a battle. i don't see it as one, nor should you

- if you don't want my/another person's feedback, just say so. it's a lot easier for me to walk off than to sit and discuss things with someone, share insights and resources with them, deal with frustration etc. i will do it, but only if it's worth my time. if you've lost interest or are not pulling your weight or throwing an adorable tantrum, i will walk away. don't waste my time and your breath

- keep 'typing battles' to your threads. the person spending their time helping you isn't hungry for bite sized 'battles' in their inbox. it's _*not*_ personal. i don't hate you. i am not out to cut you into a trillion pieces with my rusty, albeit eager, enneagram hatchet. 

- i am not here to coddle anyone's angsty ass. that expectation will not be met. 

- mistyping is not the end of the world. nearly everyone has mistyped at some point or another. it doesn't reflect on your intelligence etc. so, don't take suggestions that you're mistyped as *'accusations' *(i quote- you accused me of being an X ! - fireworks- )

- you approach the process with the right mindset, and there's a good chance you'll walk away, at least, a bit more self-aware.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Finally, you will not be provoked and prodded for a reaction. you will not have personal assumptions made about your life, personality and motivations. you will not be pathologized and treated like a number. negative stereotypes and unfounded claims will not be shoved down your throat.


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## Steel Magnolia (Apr 10, 2012)

Here is a mistake I made when initially typing myself. Basically, I only looked at the past five years of my life, because they've been the hardest. They say that looking at your negative qualities can help figure out your true type, but in my case, I've been more pessimistic over the past five years because I've been struggling terribly with illness and my attempts to seek help for myself have failed, leading to worsened anxiety, depression, and self-doubt. I have mentioned my abusive childhood several times, but when looking at who I was, internally, I was far more focussed on 2007-present and downplayed life events that happened to me before this traumatic event. Huge mistake on my part, and I realize that now.

I got more information when I looked at my life *in its entirety*, as far back as I could recall. What stood out? What themes/issue have been re-occurring since childhood? How did they manifest themselves as I entered teenagehood? Adulthood? Another important question I asked myself was: "If none of my health issues existed, then what would I consider to be my primary motivation? Where did I seek security before this event?" I've written some of that stuff in private journals of mine, because I've dealt with many issues of an extremely sensitive nature, and being a private person, I'd like to keep that stuff private. 

I really hated revisiting my past in detail, but I had to do it. I think if one is only focussing on part of their life when trying to determine their motivations, and not their *whole life*, then mistyping is more likely to occur. Don't know how often this happens, but it definitely was a mistake of mine.


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## Wake (Aug 31, 2009)

Typers ego! Gotta look like you know it all, can't be proven wrong, bias viewing of a person's attributes to prove not the typee but the typer.


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## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

Boss said:


> Finally, you will not be provoked and prodded for a reaction. you will not have personal assumptions made about your life, personality and motivations. you will not be pathologized and treated like a number. negative stereotypes and unfounded claims will not be shoved down your throat.


I like the whole thing, but this in particular resonates because on another forum, I have witnessed the abuse of members with these methods. I simply do not want it over here. Thanks for posting this.


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## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

Wake said:


> Typers ego! Gotta look like you know it all, can't be proven wrong, bias viewing of a person's attributes to prove not the typee but the typer.


This is also something that I have witnessed a lot. People learn the system, or even ad-lib with their own theories on enneagram, and their ego becomes wrapped up in not only being correct about someone, but in 'winning' the typing-battle. I have seen a few try to beat others into submission in various ways in order to win this. It begins to look like verbal arm wrestling and nothing more. One tactic I see is that they will try to take away the possibility of the "strong" or detached types, to prove that you're the one more affected in the conversation, while they hide behind the armor of their chosen type. There are many others of course, thats just one example that I observe a lot. 

Then theres the abusive pigeonholing -- 'if you disagree with my typing of you its just because you're [whatever stereotype of this type, and your opinion isn't really anything beyond the weakness of your core]'


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## LimeDegree (Mar 6, 2012)

Preface - _I apologize if bringing cognitive function references to the Enneagram sub-forum is bad form, and hope this doesn't come off sounding like a slight against strong Fe/Fi users._

Recently, I've been wondering if Feeling judgements are a notable obstacle for typing. 

The reason I hypothesize this is that I rarely apply any such evaluations. When I read the various characteristics of types, I refrain from labeling any of them as bad or good, acceptable or unacceptable. After analyzing my past motivations and my reasons for various choices and responses, I carefully go over the information on the types, and am easily able to rule out behaviors that seem utterly foreign to me. Again, I am not concerned with the intrinsic nobility (or lack thereof) of behaviors/motivations.

1) Determining my own type appears to have been less distressing for me than it is for others to type themselves. 
2) Fe and Fi are my two least used functions, in most situations. 

Whether these two aspects of my persona are connected is of great interest to me, and I thought some of you more experienced practitioners could debunk/discuss/confirm a possible link.


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## Wake (Aug 31, 2009)

@Promethea, I know you're marked as unknown but you could very well be a 6. The anxiety is there you just don't notice it.

There is a huge difference between CP6 and normal 6s. The fact that you can't admit your anxiety just shows you are afraid of admitting, you know you're a CP6.

You could be a 3 even though you aren't self-conscious about your image. [Makes the image seem complex yet capable of applying to anyone]. You know the image is there and you're trying to project your greatness and success.

Haha, I'm not good at even faking being a douche.

The real issue with all of it is that these people don't tell how it goes above and beyond normal in terms of the driving symptoms of each type because you're less likely to identify with it, but it is stated in a way that is vague enough to identify with and they win proving their skill as a typer.


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## Steel Magnolia (Apr 10, 2012)

Promethea said:


> One tactic I see is that they will try to take away the possibility of the "strong" or detached types, to prove that you're the one more affected in the conversation, while they hide behind the armor of their chosen type. There are many others of course, thats just one example that I observe a lot.


That's an interesting statement @Promethea. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by it, though. Could you elaborate further?


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## Sina (Oct 27, 2010)

@Steel Magnolia
This is my interpretation of Prom's comment. She is welcome to correct me.

A lot of times what happens is that a typer will proclaim that they're an 8 or 5 or 4, for example, then they'll make up half-assed theories based on unfounded crap or personal observations and stereotypes. They'll then start making very personal comparisons between themselves and the typee to put the typee down. These comparisons are mostly negative and are aimed at demonstrating what the typee ISN'T (in a negative sense) . The aim is to make the typee look inferior in some way.

Another thing I've noticed @Promethea , is that anyone who even calmly disagrees with the typer(not in any particularly reactive fashion which can indicative the reactive triad, and still looking deeper is required), they are automatically called a 6 or 2 or whatever type happens to be the scapegoat at the time. And, no positive references are made to the strengths of these types. It's all negative personal stuff. 

I've also noticed, in some places, that anyone the typer doesn't personally like becomes a 6. I mean..all it does is creative a very negative picture of the type, something that keeps many 6s from accepting their type. Then, there's the whole knee-jerk reaction that anyone who says they're an 8 is a cp6 LOL. I've seen a few self-typed 8s who are 3s and 7s. I've worked with quite a few people who thought they were 6s, and intuitively 6 didn't make sense for them. So, after I worked with them, they realized they were 7s, 3s, 1s and even 2s. So, I don't assume that just about everyone is a 6 until proven otherwise.


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## Wake (Aug 31, 2009)

It seems that typers who type others as 6 fail to check typees for anxiety based on things which could happen, as they don't realize that many types have anxiety for many reasons. It is a simplistic view of what it takes for people to be of a type with no shown recollection of understanding how the fixation (non-tritype usage) stems within the person's psyche. Even having viewed type 5 reasons for anxiety they all seem rather practical by nature, but they're practical in a non-existential or fearful of harm sense but one based on personal capabilities which concern interaction with the outside world.

The word usage is also notable. To not turn people off to type 6 words like 'insecure' and 'fearful' are never used, you have to reel the prey in.


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## Hello Witty (Jul 2, 2012)

What I have noticed is that there is seemingly an overlap between CFs and Enneatypes. Strong extroverted feeling function makes you seem so much like type 2, introverted feeling type 4. Extroverted thinking might seem like 8, introverted thinking 5. Fives and Sevens are both thinking types, Ni and Ne are very much abstract concepts, the first is deep but may seem slow, the latter is not deep but wide and may seem even chaotic. Types 5 and 7 come into my mind but use of Ne may easily be confused with type 6 too. Extroverted intuition is not its own master really, it is restless, even rootless and will keep asking for feedback. It produces multiple options, questions, connects the most random things together, does not know its own worth without hearing it from others. And that does sound like Enneatype 6 to me and yet, even when my use of Ne does produce the possibility of such a connection, I do not think it is a very meaningful one.


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## Tucken (Dec 13, 2009)

Lol I should have read this and taken in advice nr 1 a long long time ago!


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## Twigs (Feb 6, 2012)

I'm fairly sure I'm either a 4w5 or a 5w4, and to be honest I'd really rather not be a 4. Special snowflake or not, I don't like the idea of being at a high risk for suicide because of the brain chemistry I was born with.

I'm fairly content to just say I'm either a 4 or a 5 and leave it at that, though. It took me long enough to figure out I was an INFP and I still doubt that every day (although after having studied the functions as much as I could, I'm fairly sure I don't fit any other type). Plus school starts tomorrow, I ain't got time to be researching a new personality type theory.

(why am I even cluttering up this thread)

Edit: Or maybe I'm a 6w5. I'm definitely caught between head and heart.

Edit 2: Just did a quiz (here: http://www.enneagramquiz.com/quiz.html) and got 5w4, 9w1, 4w5. I suppose that makes sense, although I tend to distrust quizzes; I'd rather know the theory behind them. I wonder how common INFP 5's are, or if that's considered an impossibility. =/


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## Lotan (Aug 10, 2012)

I don't see too much of a problem with being blunt or even swearing when talking about mistypes. It's not always a personal attack, I'd honestly rather have someone be brash but accurate than someone who comes off as polite but spews nothing but negative stereotypes.

I'm an enneagram beginner who is still 'unknown' even though I've gotten some help from members here. I'm quite sure 3 is my core or fix, but I'm not sure if I might just be trying too hard to come off as a 3 core because I'd like to think of myself as a competitive risk-taking winner even if I sometimes withdraw from competition because I can't stand to lose, or sabotage my opportunity rather than accept aid from others. It's very easy to see which types I'm not...I'm certain I have no 2 or 9 anywhere in my tritype (excluding wings!) and I am also fairly certain that 4 and 7 are not my core, although it's possible I have them somewhere in my tritype. Walking around as an Unknown and checking out the various forums has been helpful, though.

I love to read people typing each other and about mistypes...I also don't think mistyping yourself is a terrible thing as long as you fix it eventually; the reasons for mistyping seem to be telling a lot of the time. Even though I'm sticking to Unknown because I dislike being inaccurate, I think a lot of people benefit from mistyping themselves and being told otherwise, as long as the discussion remains civil.


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## Doll (Sep 6, 2012)

JungyesMBTIno said:


> Another common reason I see behind mistyping as 5s and 4s is the following:
> 
> People who think they are non-conformist will be some of the first to jump for these - honestly, they have nothing to do with non-conformity (I mean, 4s might do this, but that doesn't explain the core motivation) - in fact, none of the types do. Yet another reason that typing the persona with this stuff is unsuccessful.



Agreed. I don't see myself as a non-conformist necessarily. I just think my world is better.


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## Luanne (Jul 6, 2012)

*Random awkward noob interruption*
I typed as a four on nearly every test, so I thought I was a 4. Then Wake typed me (twice) as type 6, and after lots of leaving it I came back to it and realised that I could see how 6w7 manifested itself in my life and behaviour. And now a test has typed me as 6w7,4w5,1w9, which is what I think I am. Maybe with 4 and 1 switched round, maybe not. So I'm doing a celebratory dance because either I'm being more honest with myself or spending time reading about type 6 and ended up using bias to answer the questions... Either way I've learnt something... But I thought I was 4 thanks to an emotional dreamy nature and stereotypes... Just sharing.


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