The Shadow Personality Type

Each person has a possible personality variation to be one of 16 possible MBTI Types. The elementary differences in introversion/extroversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, judging/perceiving can make a huge difference in how someone perceives the world.

Of these 16 MBTI types, there are also variations within each MBTI Type as “turbulent” or “confident”. A person who naturally leans towards “confident”, will be more relaxed, not experiencing as much stress which may come at the cost of more mistakes, compared to a “turbulent” person, who will have higher stress response to stimuli which can lead them to catching mistakes and a certain level of perfectionism. Combined with the turbulent/confident, there are 32 variations of MBTI types that are relatively well-known by those who know about MBTI.

However, even if you had put 2 MBTI types together with the same turbulent/confident variation together, and compared them, you would find that they may still be extremely different. Why is that? Environmental conditions growing up for the two people is definitely a big factor, but another explanation may be the existence of a shadow personality type.

You may in fact, say that the enneagram type is a hint towards the shadow functions that each individual has. Enneagrams are correlated with childhood experiences, and are often created as a sort of reaction against those experiences. A person with an enneagram 5, likely grew up in an environment with strong intellectual stimulation and encouragement while an enneagram 7 likely grew up in an environment with a strong focus on extrasensory pleasures.

One way to look at the relation between MBTI and Enneagram is that the MBTI functions are akin to tools that have their own unique strengths based on the order of the functions, while the Enneagram or shadow personality type can be considered the goal and direction you unconsciously use those tools towards.

The perfect example for illustrating how enneagram type influences direction is the difference between 5w4 and 5w6 Enneagram types. 5w4 enneagram types have artistic bents, being more likely to consider themselves writers, musicians and philosophers compared to 5w6 enneagram types, who are structural problem solvers that are more likely to be interested in fields like science and technology. A person who is INTJ 5w4 can have very different life focuses and goals compared to an INTJ 5w6, hinting at a shadow personality type that pushes each MBTI type towards completing certain “directives”.

Why does this matter? Well for starters, you can be certain that a person’s job preferences, such as the RIASEC job fit test will be bias to some extent towards your enneagram type without you realizing it. You may also be pressured by society to take certain jobs for a certain amount of pay but it could be at the cost of ignoring your true internal desires that would derive from your enneagram type like wanting to help people. If you understand your shadow personality type, it leads you to make choices that are a better fit for you as an individual, rather than taking a conventional path that is motivated by external standards.

With multiple possible variations of enneagram type combined with the 32 variations among MBTI types, there are numerous unique personalities that can emerge, adding to the synergy of human achievement, all possible if we can better understand ourselves and act upon it.

If you’d like to take the enneagram test, you can do so here, but be wary that your first result is not necessarily the end-all. You will have to engage in heavy internal reflection and seek positive feedback from those who know you, to determine which result seems to fit you most.