The Enneagram versus the Jungian Types as defined in the MBTI

Many wonder if the nine types of the enneagram and the Jungian types can be correlated. In some online enneagram discussion forums, there are often obsessive attempts to correlate enneagram types and the Jungian types as defined by the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, or systems that have evolved from the MBTI, such as Socionics or The Big Five. In my opinion, this is a ticket for a quick bus trip off a cliff and into the abyss of insanity.

While the types of the enneagram and the Jungian types may have some common elements, they are different systems measuring different things. The Jungian types measure conscious preferences in 4 specific areas. The enneagram is all about unconsious motivations. Yes, there are tendencies for certain Jungian types to be certain enneagram types, but it is possible for any given enneagram type to contain representatives of just about all of the Jungian types.

If that isn’t confusing enough, consider that the definitions of the functions, as used by the Jungian typologies are different from the common definitions of the words. To understand the Jungian types, you must thoroughly study the use of the words they use to define the functions, and exactly what they mean by those words.