CNET Enneagram Theory & Personality Dynamics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Enneagram theory, what is the term for the automatic emotional reaction that each type experiences when their core wound is triggered?
- Passion (Correct answer)
- Fixation
- Vice
- Compulsion
Correct answer: Passion
The 'passion' is the emotional habit or chief feature tied to each type's core wound, analogous to the seven deadly sins plus fear and deceit.
Question 2: Which Enneagram type is primarily driven by a need to feel successful and to avoid failure, shaping identity around achievement?
- Type Two
- Type Three (Correct answer)
- Type Seven
- Type Eight
Correct answer: Type Three
Type Three, the Achiever, organizes life around success and performance, adapting their image to gain admiration and avoid the shame of failure.
Question 3: In the Narrative Enneagram approach, 'panels' refers to what teaching methodology?
- Expert lectures on each type delivered by trained teachers
- Groups of self-identified type members sharing lived experience with observers (Correct answer)
- Video recordings of famous people displaying their type
- Structured debates between people of opposing types
Correct answer: Groups of self-identified type members sharing lived experience with observers
Panels are a core Narrative Enneagram method where people who self-identify as a type speak from their inner experience while a teacher facilitates and observers listen.
Question 4: What does the term 'Holy Idea' represent in Enneagram theory?
- A religious belief unique to each type
- The higher cognitive perspective each type loses contact with at the core wound (Correct answer)
- A spiritual practice recommended for each type
- The idealized self-image each type projects
Correct answer: The higher cognitive perspective each type loses contact with at the core wound
Holy Ideas are the higher worldview or objective reality each type loses access to, forming the cognitive basis of the type's core fixation.
Question 5: A Type Six client describes constantly seeking reassurance from authority figures yet simultaneously doubting their guidance. This illustrates which dynamic?
- Counter-phobic response
- Ambivalence toward authority (Correct answer)
- Hypervigilance to threat
- Loyalty binding
Correct answer: Ambivalence toward authority
Core to Type Six is an ambivalent relationship with authority—seeking its security while mistrusting it—reflecting their underlying doubt and search for certainty.
Question 6: Which pair of Enneagram types shares the 'Withdrawing' stance in Hornevian theory?
- Types Four and Five
- Types Four, Five, and Nine (Correct answer)
- Types One, Two, and Six
- Types Three, Seven, and Eight
Correct answer: Types Four, Five, and Nine
In the Hornevian grouping, Types Four, Five, and Nine share the Withdrawing stance, moving away from others to protect inner resources or peace.
Question 7: In Enneagram developmental theory, what distinguishes 'average' functioning from 'healthy' functioning for any type?
- Healthy types rely less on their wing
- Healthy types operate from essence with less automatic pattern-driven behavior (Correct answer)
- Average types show no stress/security movement
- Healthy types exclusively use their integration point
Correct answer: Healthy types operate from essence with less automatic pattern-driven behavior
Healthy functioning involves greater access to one's essential qualities and less compulsive, automatic enactment of the type's defensive structure.
CNET Enneagram Theory & Personality Dynamics 2
In Enneagram theory, what is the term for the automatic emotional reaction that each type experiences when their core wound is triggered?