The Meaning of your Enneagram Test Results: Analyzed & Explained
If you're trying to figure out which Enneagram test to take then visit the Find Test section of this website.
If you've already taken an Enneagram test but are unsure what the results mean then this is the right page for you.
Interpretating Enneagram test results often depends on how much information the test results give you.
Some test results simply offer suggestions for your type or variations of type. With these tests you simply need to understand what's meant by those suggestions.
Many tests show the actual scores given to all nine types. From this there are a number of things that can be derived beyond what's explicitly stated.
Some tests offer a multi-page profile explaining the results of the test more thoroughly. Most often, this will be included only in paid tests or a fee will be required at the end of a free test to see the profile or full report.
Enneagram Type and Variations of Type
Making sense of a test result requires an understanding of the Enneagram terminology and shorthand being used. When the raw scores are given in a test result then understanding how to derive information from those scores can be useful. Below you will find some brief information on both terminology/shorthand and deriving information from scores.
Your Basic Enneagram Type
Also called your primary, dominant, or core type, this is the type that best matches your personality. It's most often the highest score of the nine types. It's represented by one of nine numbers (i.e., type 1 or type 2 or type 3, etc.). Tests may also add one or more names to the types based on which interpretation of the types the test is using.
Your Candidate Types
While your most likely type will be the one with the highest score, your actual type may be one of the other top scores (Enneagram tests are not 100% accurate). Look not only at your top score as your possible type but also the top three or so scores and explore which one best fits as your basic type. If the test results don't include scores for other types then you may be able to simply retake the test answering differently to get new results.Your Preferred Wing
The types on either side of a type as seen on the symbol are the wing types (i.e., the wings for type 9 are 8 and 1, for type 1 the wings are 9 and 2, etc.).
One wing type often has more of an influence on your personality than the other. This is called your preferred or dominant wing and is often written as "type n wing n" (e.g., type 9 wing 8 - abbreviated 9w8, type 9 wing 1 - abbreviated 9w1).
People new to the Enneagram types sometimes mistakenly think their preferred wing is indicated by their second highest score on a test. It's not. The preferred wing is the higher score between the two wing types of your basic type (e.g., if your basic type is 9 then your preferred wing is the higher score between type 8 and type 1).
Your Tri-Center Types
Commonly referred to as trifix or tritype, which are actually specific implementations of the tri-center approach, your tri-center consists of three types - one type from the gut center (8, 9, or 1), one type from the heart center (2, 3, or 4), and one type from the head center (5, 6, or 7). Your gut type is the highest score between types 8, 9, and 1. Your heart type is the highest score between types 2, 3, and 4. Your head type is the highest score between types 5, 6, and 7.
There's also an order to the tri-center types as well. To find your tri-center order you compare the scores between your gut, heart, and head types.
Let's look at an example. Assume type 9 is your highest score out of 8, 9 and 1 while type 2 is your highest score out of 2, 3, and 4 and type 7 is your highest score out of 5, 6, and 7. Along with that, when comparing the scores of 9, 2, and 7, you find that type 2 is highest with 9 second and 7 third. In this example your tri-center would be 2-9-7 (which may also be written as 297).
You can also find your wings for each type in your tri-center. Using the previous example, you might find your 2-9-7 tri-center with wings to be 2w3-9w8-7w6 by finding the highest wing score for each of the tri-center types.
Your Instincts
The three Enneagram instincts of self-preservation (abbreviated sp), sexual (abbreviated sx), and social (abbreviated so or soc) are not found on the Enneagram symbol itself and may be used with or without reference to Enneagram type.
Enneagram test results that try to determine instinct will often suggest instinct in one of two ways: 1) a single dominant instinct or 2) a preferential ordering of all three instincts called stacking.
When the dominant instinct is used with your basic type it's generally called an instinctual subtype (e.g., sp 1 or sx 1 or so 1). The dominant instinct may also be referred to without reference to type (i.e., dominant sp or self-preservation, dominant sx or sexual, or dominant so or social).
Your instinctual stacking describes your preferences for the three instincts and has a specific shorthand for representing it. As an example, if your preference were social 1st, self-preservation 2nd, and sexual 3rd then it would be written as "so/sp" (the sx 3rd instinct is implied by its omission).
If the test results give you scores for each instinct then your dominant instinct is the highest score. For stacking (1st, 2nd, 3rd), the scores are from highest to lowest.
Analyzing Type Scores
As described in the paragraphs above, if your test results have scores for all nine types then in addition to basic type you can derive candidate types, preferred wing, gut type, heart type, head type, tri-center (often referred to as trifix or tritype), and tri-center with wings. You can work through that yourself or simply enter in your type scores below and click "Analyze Test Scores" to have it figured out for you.
You'll need a numeric score for each type to use the form below. With some test results the numeric score may be a little difficult to find. In those cases try placing your cursor over a chart's pie slice or bar to see if the number gets displayed or look in the url address box to see if the numbers are at the end of the address. Note that some tests just don't give you scores for all the types and you'll need to take a test that does if you want to use the analysis form below.
Enter a number for each type score.
All nine type scores are required. Include minus signs "-" and decimals "." if any. Omit percent signs "%" if any.
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