Introduction to Enneagram instinctual subtypes

Our evolution as human beings required three basic survival behaviors, referred to in the Enneagram as the basic survival instincts or instinctual energies:

• Self-preservation – responding to perceived threats and needs to assure survival
• Social or group – creating social structures within communities to assure survival
• One-to-one or sexual – primary relationships or coupling to assure survival

These survival instincts or drives are part of our body-based intelligence, especially in the gut or belly, and are biological imperatives so to speak. For example, your one-to-one instinct would come to the forefront if your primary relationship were threatened, while your self-preservation concerns would be heightened if you were laid off from your job or got lost on a wilderness hike.  All of us, no matter our type, use all three instincts, but we each tend to express one of these three instincts more than the other two.

In Enneagram terms, we use the word “subtype” to describe how the three instinctual energies are expressed in everyday life, flavored by the type’s associated driving emotional energy or passion. Each of the nine Enneagram types has three instinctual variations, totaling 27 subtypes, each with a distinct flavor. This explains much of the variation among people of the same type. We have been teaching and exploring the instinctual subtypes in our Enneagram Professional Training Program since its inception in 1988.

Take a free online test to determine your instinctual subtype pattern.

Self-preservation behaviors. Each of us responds to perceived threats and needs to assure individual survival. These responses extend to others deemed as important in assuring personal survival or with whom we are identified. These behaviors also are sometimes referred to as support functions or instrumental and task functions. Attention and energy go to issues related to personal survival, such as safety, security, comfort, protection and adequate basic resources of food, shelter and warmth. Learn about the self-preservation subtype in all nine types.

Social behaviors. We are a group-living species. Survival depends on social structure and group function. These behaviors also are sometimes referred to as the friendship, companionship or affiliation functions. Attention and energy go to issues related to community and group membership or participation, such as role, status, social acceptance, belonging, being included, participation with others, companionship and fellowship. Learn about the social subtype in all nine types.

Sexual or one-to-one behaviors. Our survival involves pair bonds and primary one-to-one relationships or connections as part of successful adaptation. These relationships may or may not involve sexual acts per se. Attention and energy go to issues related to connection in vital relationships, such as bonding with special others, expressing intensity in one-to-one relationships, sexual intimacy, attractiveness, closeness, union and merging. Learn about the one-to-one subtype in all nine types.

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How subtypes can drive behavior

The subtypes are central behaviors, so energy gets expressed through them. They represent key avenues or channels for the expression of our type’s chief emotional energy or passion. Because of this expression through the subtypes, the core type’s emotional or passion energy may not even be experienced.

Our predominant instinctual subtype depends upon what period of development was most difficult and/or most indulged. Each type’s three instinctual subtype behaviors have a different flavoring than the other eight types. As the driving emotional energy or passion is a compensation or substitute for an original essential quality or virtue, the specific type-related instinctual subtype behaviors are compensations for the original essential quality or virtue that goes into the background as personality develops.

Read the subtype descriptions for each type (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9).

The instinctual survival behaviors also have universal manifestation across type, and hence often are not particularly type-related. These universal or generic influences help in determining what particular instinctual subtype a person leans on most and least. In addition, bonding, a vital and universal behavior, occurs from the beginning of life in the womb. It is not to be confused with the one-to-one or sexual subtype behavior, which is an object-relationship behavior. Still, this bonding likely represents the precursor of the one-to-one instinctual subtype.

The words used to name the various subtypes often do not correspond to regular dictionary definitions, so it is necessary to read the descriptions to understand the meaning of many of the key words.

Becoming aware of and interrupting automatic subtype behavior helps us work with the passion or emotional energy of our type. This work is important since it is vital that our instinctual subtype behaviors be as free of the driving emotion or passion energy of type as possible, since the influences of the driving emotion or passion tend to distort the appropriate basic universal expression of the instinctual behaviors.

The subtype behaviors can be conceived of as a three-legged stool with each subtype representing a leg. If the legs of the stool are all strong, the stool is stable and there is much free energy. If the legs are unequal, then the stool is unbalanced and much energy goes to keeping it upright. In close relationships these three legs are referred to as: (1) the support/instrumental tasks domain (self-preservation), (2) friendship/companionship domain (social), and (3) affection/intimacy domain (one-to-one or sexual). In a healthy relationship all three legs (instinctual subtypes) manifest themselves appropriately.

It is important to become aware of these three instinctual subtypes operating in our lives and how they often drive our behavior. One goal of this awareness is to balance the subtype preoccupations appropriately so that none of them dominate our lives. Another goal is to accept differences between ourselves and others. Without the awareness of the influence of these subtype preoccupations, we can experience an imbalance in what our energy goes to, and we can experience misunderstandings and conflict with others whose preoccupations differ from ours.

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Subtypes in relationships

The different subtype emphases may either help balance a relationship or polarize it. For example, if one person leans on self-preservation and the other on one-to-one, this difference can either balance or unbalance the relationship. Even small differences in subtype emphasis over time can erode a relationship.

Instinctual subtype behaviors may be quite unconscious. If we manifest either too much or too little of one of the instinctual subtypes, it can harm or hinder our lives and relationships. The instinctual subtypes need to be as free of our habitual personality tendencies as possible, not so influenced by the energy of our emotional passion that gets expressed through them. There is a healthy, broad middle range of expression of the subtypes, like the middle range of a bell curve where the best health is in the middle of the curve.

Importantly, instinctual subtype behaviors may be quite unconscious, like a shadow element outside of awareness, so we don’t experience their impact while others in our lives do. Hence, in determining our predominate subtype, we need to use caution and get input from others close to us. And just as there is much more to life than type, there is much more to life than our instinctual subtypes.

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How to determine your instinctual subtype pattern

We manifest all three instinctual subtypes to some degree, with their expression depending upon life circumstances pulling for a particular subtype. However, we tend to have a hierarchy in the expression of our subtypes: a dominant one (most prominent), secondary one (intermediate in prominence), and tertiary (least prominent). Also, keep in mind that the universal or generic expressions of the instinctual subtype behaviors, which are not type specific, are important manifestations. In determining your instinctual subtype pattern, pay attention to both type specific and generic manifestations. Be cautious about determining your subtype from any questionnaire or inventory that has not been validated, especially when no type specific manifestations are included.

Take the free Instinctual Subtypes online test.

Read subtype descriptions:
For each type – 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
By subtype – Self-preservation, Sexual, Social