Enneagram Levels of Development / Fixation: Psychological health

Enneagram Levels of Development

Enneagram levels of development have to do with how healthy or fixated a person is within their Enneagram type. Two people of the same Enneagram type will look different when they are operating at different levels of health or fixation for that type.

Level of fixation

Today's nine Enneagram personality types evolved from Oscar Ichazo's nine ego-types which identified nine types of ego fixation. The goal of working with ego fixation was to find freedom from it, to realize it's not who you are but a habit of being that you've fallen asleep to. In other words, to begin "waking up" from the fixation.

The more asleep to or trapped in the fixation you are, the more limited your approach to life and the more unhealthy you may become psychologically. The reason for this is that you are limited to only the possibilities offered by your Enneagram type, operating from it even when it's inappropriate for the situation because it's all you know.

To begin seeing beyond the fixation allows you to be more adaptable in the way you respond to situations and more accepting of other ways of being (i.e., other Enneagram types). You can begin to explore who you are beyond your habit of being by adding choices that you didn't have when you were operating from a more unconscious and less self-aware place.

Simply put, fixation leads to limitations and psychological unhealth while freedom from fixation leads to adaptability and psychological health.

Levels of Development

Don Richard Riso detailed nine levels of development or health for each type. In general, levels 1-3 are said to be in the healthy range, 4-6 are in the average range, and 7-9 are in the unhealthy range.

A person is described as operating within a range of levels where the expression of type can seem to vary as they move between levels. In other words, there isn't simply one set of characteristics for type but different characteristics for each level.

For example, two people may both identify as type 2. One person may be operating at the relatively healthy levels of 2-4 (empathetic, supportive, well-intentioned) while another person might be operating at the relatively unhealthy levels of 6-8 (self-important, self-justifying, entitled).

For Riso the levels of development add a vertical dimension (nine levels within each type) to the existing horizontal dimension (the nine types themselves).

You can find more specifics on the levels of development for each type in the Riso and Hudson books: Personality Types, Understanding the Enneagram, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.

Below are two words associated with the nine levels of development for each Enneagram type as described in the book The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Riso and Russ Hudson.

Type 1

  1. Accepting, Wise
  2. Evaluating, Reasonable
  3. Principled, Responsible
  4. Obligated, Striving
  5. Self-Controlled, Orderly
  6. Judgemental, Critical
  7. Self-Righteous, Inflexible
  8. Obsessive, Contradictory
  9. Condemnatory, Punitive

Click here for descriptions of all nine type 1 levels. If you're not taken to the correct part of the web page when it appears then scroll down to the middle of the web page and look for the section on Levels of Development.

Type 2

  1. Self-Nurturing, Unconditional Loving
  2. Empathetic, Caring
  3. Supportive, Giving
  4. Well-Intentioned, People-Pleasing
  5. Possessive, Intrusive
  6. Self-Important, Overbearing
  7. Self-Justifying, Manipulative
  8. Entitled, Coercive
  9. Feel Victimized, Burdensome

Click here for descriptions of all nine type 2 levels. If you're not taken to the correct part of the web page when it appears then scroll down to the middle of the web page and look for the section on Levels of Development.

Type 3

  1. Inner-Directed, Authentic
  2. Adaptable, Admirable
  3. Goal-Oriented, Self-Improving
  4. Success-Oriented, Performing
  5. Image-Conscious, Expedient
  6. Self-Promoting, Grandiose
  7. Unprincipled, Deceptive
  8. Duplicitous, Opportunistic
  9. Monomaniacal, Relentless

Click here for descriptions of all nine type 3 levels. If you're not taken to the correct part of the web page when it appears then scroll down to the middle of the web page and look for the section on Levels of Development.

Type 4

  1. Life-Embracing, Life-Enhancing
  2. Introspective, Sensitive
  3. Self-Revealing, Creative
  4. Romanticizing, Individualistic
  5. Self-Absorbed, Temperamental
  6. Self-Indulgent, Decadent
  7. Hateful, Alienated
  8. Self-Rejecting, Clinically Depressed
  9. Despairing, Life-Denying

Click here for descriptions of all nine type 4 levels. If you're not taken to the correct part of the web page when it appears then scroll down to the middle of the web page and look for the section on Levels of Development.

Type 5

  1. Participating, Visionary
  2. Observant, Perceptive
  3. Focused, Innovative
  4. Conceptualizing, Preparing
  5. Detached, Preoccupied
  6. Extreme, Provocative
  7. Nihilistic, Eccentric
  8. Horrified, Delirious
  9. Seeking Oblivion, Self-Annihilating

Click here for descriptions of all nine type 5 levels. If you're not taken to the correct part of the web page when it appears then scroll down to the middle of the web page and look for the section on Levels of Development.

Type 6

  1. Self-Reliant, Courageous
  2. Engaging, Reliable
  3. Committed, Cooperative
  4. Dutiful, Loyal
  5. Ambivalent, Defensive
  6. Authoritarian, Blaming
  7. Panicky, Unreliable
  8. Paranoid, Lashing Out
  9. Self-Abasing, Self-Destructive

Click here for descriptions of all nine type 6 levels. If you're not taken to the correct part of the web page when it appears then scroll down to the middle of the web page and look for the section on Levels of Development.

Type 7

  1. Joyful, Satisfied
  2. Anticipating, Enthusiastic
  3. Realistic, Productive
  4. Acquisitive, Consuming
  5. Distracted, Scattered
  6. Self-Centered, Excessive
  7. Insatiable, Escaping
  8. Manic (Depressive), Reckless
  9. Overwhelmed, Paralyzed

Click here for descriptions of all nine type 7 levels. If you're not taken to the correct part of the web page when it appears then scroll down to the middle of the web page and look for the section on Levels of Development.

Type 8

  1. Self-Surrendering, Heroic
  2. Self-Reliant, Strong
  3. Self-Confident, Leading
  4. Pragmatic, Enterprising
  5. Self-Glorifying, Dominating
  6. Confrontational, Intimidating
  7. Ruthless, Dicatatorial
  8. Megalomaniacal, Terrorizing
  9. Sociopathic, Destructive

Click here for descriptions of all nine type 8 levels. If you're not taken to the correct part of the web page when it appears then scroll down to the middle of the web page and look for the section on Levels of Development.

Type 9

  1. Self-Possessed, Indomitable
  2. Unself-conscious, Peaceful
  3. Unselfish, Comforting
  4. Self-Effacing, Agreeable
  5. Disengaged, Complacent
  6. Resigned, Appeasing
  7. Repressed, Neglectful
  8. Dissociating, Disoriented
  9. Self-Abandoning, "Disappearing"

Click here for descriptions of all nine type 9 levels. If you're not taken to the correct part of the web page when it appears then scroll down to the middle of the web page and look for the section on Levels of Development.

Click here for the Complete Guide to the Enneagram.

This free guide explains
  • the nine Enneagram personality types
  • the many type variations within type
  • where the types came from (origins and history)
  • how the types use the Enneagram symbol

Click here for Enneagram tests.

These free tests help you find your
  • primary type
  • candidate types
  • preferred wing
  • intinctual subtype
  • instinctual variant stacking
  • center types (gut, heart, and head)
  • tri-center with wings


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