Type 5 Initial Self-Belief: “I am uninformed as I am.”

Type 5 Compensation: "I must objectively observe the world as it is in order to clearly make sense of and navigate it."

Type 5 Core Focus: Comprehension comes from objectively observing the world and logically distilling the facts. This often requires that I detach from experiences as they happen in order to see things clearly and not feel overwhelmed. I need time and space to later process those facts and experiences.

Personality characteristics that might arise from the type 5 core focus include:

• Narrows area of interest to specialized niche
• Minimizes needs to avoid dependency on others
• Guards against intrusions upon privacy
• Lives life from the sidelines instead of fully participating
• Withdraws when feeling overwhelmed by people
• Postpones action in favor of more research and analysis
• Detaches from emotions by going into the head
• Delays experiencing life in the moment, rehashing it when alone
• Requires time to think and reflect before responding

5 wing 4 (5w4) - preferred 4 wing
Common Name: The Iconoclast

• more imaginative than analytic
• deals more with symbolic representation
• more peaceful and going along

5 wing 6 (5w6) - preferred 6 wing
Common Name: The Problem-Solver

• more technically oriented
• deals more with factual details
• more contrary and argumentative

The Five with a Four-Wing: The Iconoclast
Often drawn to the arts, they use the imagination more than the analytic, systematic parts of their minds. Their interests tend toward the surreal and fantastic rather than the rational or the romantic: they can easily get lost in their own cerebral landscapes.¹

The Five with a Six-Wing: The Problem-Solver
Observation combined with organization and detail gives people of this subtype the ability to draw meaningful conclusions from miscellaneuous facts and to make predictions based on those conclusions. They can be more argumentative than the other subtype and more defensive in their views.¹

Five with a Four Wing (5w4): These more inward-looking Fives bring subjective awareness to their process of analysis and discovery. They may enjoy the overtly bizarre.²

Five with a Six Wing (5w6): These more outward-looking Fives bring rigorous, process-oriented thinking to their analytic methods. They may prefer systematizing or hands-on means.²

Fives with a Four wing may be more emotional and artistic.³

Fives with a Six wing may be more skeptical and cautious.³

Fives with a Four wing (5w4) are more creative, sensitive, empathetic and self-absorbed than 5w6s. The connection to Four’s energy and depth of emotion helps these Fives be more tender with themselves and less emotionally guarded around others.⁴

Five with a Six wing (5w6) are more anxious, cautious and skeptical, but they’re also more social and loyal than 5w4. Fives with six wings live more in their minds and will question authority and the status quo.⁴

Fives with a more developed Four wing tend to be more creative, humanistic, sensitive, empathic, and self-absorbed.⁵

Fives with a more developed Six wing tend to be more loyal, anxious, skeptical, and cautious.⁵

Five With a 4 Wing
The difference between the 4 wing and the 6 wing in Fives is like the difference between Art and Science. 4 wing brings an abstract, intuitive cast of thought, as though the Five were thinking in geometric shapes instead of words or realistic images.⁶

Five With a 6 Wing
The 6 wing brings an orientation to detail and technical knowledge, along with the tendency to think in logical sequence. Especially intellectual, far more analytical than Fives with a 4 wing.⁶

¹Book: The Wisdom of the Enneagram

²Book: The Modern Enneagram

³Book: Bringing Out The Best In Yourself At Work

⁴Book: The Road Back to You

⁵Book: The Enneagram Made Easy

⁶Book: The Enneagram Movie & Video Guide

Enneagram Type with Wing Test
This is a very short test that determines your most likely type and preferred wing.
Select from paragraphs, similar to the method used by the
Essential Enneagram Test as found in The Essential Enneagram book.
Use when you want to know your type and preferred wing.

Enneagram Type Preference Test
This test produces a scored list of all nine types.
Questions are forced-choice, similar to the method used by the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indictor (RHETI).
Use to determine type, wings, gut/heart/head types, and tri-center.

Enneagram Wing Comparison Test
This test compares the two wings of any type, producing a score for each wing.
Use when you know your type but not your preferred wing.

Enneagram Type Comparison Test
This test compares any two types, producing a score for each.
Use when not sure which of two types is your primary type and which is your preferred wing type.