Enneagrams

[hannah_hinda]

Anyone familiar with these? A 9-type personality/behaviour system/description, which seems to make a hell of a lot of sense. I might be doing an article on it at some point, but for now I'm just fascinated to read up.

http://www.enneagramcentral.com/

I am so very seven.

Comments

[esoteroticist]

What I am aware of with regards to enneagrams: based, as far as I can remember, on a mishmash of mysticism and neo-Freudian oddities, with a side order of numerology. Not taken seriously by psychologists generally, for that reason, and that it relies heavily (if not entirely) on confirmation bias/Forer effect. Also tends to attract barmy spiritualists who think that it's divinely inspired. Lots of different schools of thought exist, many of them utterly bonkers. There are a few studies floating around claiming it's got some sort of basis in brain chemistry; there are a few more demonstrating quite a clear Forer effect and saying it's a pile of crap. It might be worth looking up Fourth Way Enneagrams and the history of the symbol itself, too, if you're writing about it. And running that site through a bullshit detector.

That said, you know I'm an incorrigible sceptic, so take my opinion as biased, but based on relevant evidence.

[hannah_hinda]

It's going to be a very fluffy piece for the new 'mind body and spirit' section, so I think I can get away with it.

Need to research this Forer effect of which you speak.

[i_novander]

The Forer effect, as demonstrated by Derren Brown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haP7Ys9ocTk

[hannah_hinda]

Ooh, ouch.