Are written Enneagram type tests a good way to type yourself?
No pencil-and-paper type tests are foolproof. Don Riso and Russ Hudson have done more work than any other Enneagram writers to develop a battery of type tests and yet, they still caution students to use them only as one element in the search for the person”s type. Because of the inherent limitations of type tests (including skipping questions, not reading words, misunderstanding concepts, projection and misinterpretation, nervousness, being too analytic, and so forth), it is almost impossible to have any test that is consistently higher than about 85% accurate for determining basic type. Even so, the RHETI (The Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator, Version 2.5) has been independently scientifically validated and is accurate in around 80% of cases, and the new QUEST-TAS quick questionnaires in The Wisdom of the Enneagram are also equally accurate. (Both are available in Offprint booklets from The Enneagram Institute, and the QUEST-TAS scoring form is more sophisticated in the Offprint
No pencil-and-paper type tests are foolproof. Don Riso and Russ Hudson have done more work than any other Enneagram writers to develop a battery of type tests — and yet, they still caution students to use them only as one element in the search for the person’s type. Because of the inherent limitations of type tests (including skipping questions, not reading words, misunderstanding concepts, projection and misinterpretation, nervousness, being too analytic, and so forth), it is almost impossible to have any test that is consistently higher than about 85% accurate for determining basic type. Even so, the RHETI (The Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator, Version 2.5) has been independently scientifically validated and is accurate in around 80% of cases, and the new QUEST-TAS quick questionnaires in The Wisdom of the Enneagram are also equally accurate. (Both are available in Offprint booklets from The Enneagram Institute, and the QUEST-TAS scoring form is more sophisticated in the Offprin
While written tests are certainly convenient they are at best indicators of type. The journey of self-discovery is without doubt more complex than can be illustrated by a written test. The Enneagram describes unconscious, habitual response, which by definition is invisible to the person. It therefore makes more sense to get someone who knows you well to do the test for you rather than do it yourself, since the other person can at least see the habitual response, even if they are unable to determine the motivation. If the Enneagram tests describe habitual responses which are invisible to the person, then by definition, they will be unable to divine the personality type of the person. External feedback from impartial, trained observers through a clinical assessment with an experienced practitioner is without doubt the gold standard of Enneagram assessment. Written tests make great copy for fashion magazines, or news magazines like Time or Newsweek, but they are a less than helpful method
