Enneagram Tritype® Mistypings • Decoding the ETTv8 Special Notices
Katherine is an IEA Accredited Professional with Distinction and an IEA Board Member from 1997-1999. She is a Triple-certified Enneagram Teacher with Palmer-Daniels, Riso-Hudson, and Hurley-Donson. She has the distinction of being the only person to have attended intensives with both Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo, with Naranjo validating her 1994 qualitative research on the subtypes in 1996. Katherine was inducted into the Marquis Who’s Who in America Biographical Registry, the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) in 2023, and awarded the Top Enneagram Coach of the Year 2023, Best Consultant of the Year for the City of Menlo Park for 2015 and 2023, named the IAOTP Empowered Woman of the Year for 2024, and in 2025, IAOTP voted Katherine as the Best Enneagram Coach of the Decade.
What are the 3 Most Common Tritype® Mistakes?
1. Not Understanding Permanent Motivations vs Temporary and Changing Behaviors and Identifications
To accurately determine our Enneagram type and Tritype®, we must explore the deeper, more hidden motivations driving our behaviors. However, not all assertive individuals are type 8s or 1s. Our behaviors are the observable actions we take and may identify with, but they are shaped by deeper motivations. These motivations reflect the unconscious core fears, desires, and defense strategies of our Enneagram and Tritype® configuration and are essential to accurate typing.
Behavior: Behavior refers to the outward actions an individual takes, which can be observed and described. Behaviors are superficial and subject to change, making them unreliable indicators of type. For example, all nine types may experience feelings of sadness, confusion, or anger. Similarly, all types can sometimes display assertiveness.
Motivation: Motivation refers to the internal drivers behind those behaviors, shaped by an individual's core fears, desires, and values. It identifies why we do what we do.
© 1985-2025 Katherine Chernick Fauvre • All Rights Reserved
2. Not Understanding the Significance of Tritype® Synergy
The Synergy of 3 Types in the Tritype® creates the “new” Type!
What makes each Tritype® unique is that the combination of three types in the Tritype® produces a distinct psychological focus. It is important to note that each Enneagram type shares key values in common with every other type, while also holding key values that are distinctly different from - and even diametrically opposed to - those of each of the other types. Within a Tritype®, what the three Enneagram types share in common is either amplified, minimized, or even eclipsed. This is why it is essential to base your Tritype® on the synthesis of the three types and not merely the types in isolation. Each Tritype® functions as a synergistic combination and therefore has its own set of wings and lines of connection drawn from the Gut Types (8, 9, 1), the Heart Types (2, 3, 4), and the Head Types (5, 6, 7).
More specifically, the three passions of the types in the Tritype® blend into a single emotional tone, determining what feels most urgent. Simultaneously, the three fixations of the types in the Tritype® interact to form a unified mental pattern, shaping how reality is interpreted, and the three convictions of the types in the Tritype® fuse into an overarching creed that guides every choice. These merged forces of the passions, fixations, and convictions do not act in isolation; When the three passions merge, the three fixations merge, and the three convictions merge, these new mixtures then combine with each other. This synergy produces the "new" type unto itself, whose focus emerges from the seamless integration of all three elements. Full descriptions of common mistypings here
Tritype® Synergistic Forces - 478 Tritype® Example
Tritype® is based on the synergy of the three types, which create a new focus of attention that is indicative of the Tritype® itself, not just the three types with which we most readily identify.
This is because the Tritypes®, like the Enneagram types, are based on the more hidden motivations, not our behaviors, talents, or our personal identifications with the type. Tritype® reflects the synergistic fusion of three motivational forces into one cohesive archetype, not just the presence of three independently chosen types.
For example, the 478 Tritype® has the three hexad Enneagram Types that are "creative" and individualistic; one from each triad (4, 7, 8), which include the two hexad types that are intellectual and prefer what is unusual (4, 7). It also has two hexad types that share the line of intensity (4-8) and the two hexad types that are assertive (7, 8).
Together, these three types focus on what they share in common. When merged in a Tritype®, a more specific focus emerges, creating a personality structure that is seen as progressive, innovative, creative, outspoken, intense, assertive, and deep with an original sense of style.
The deeper motivations of the 478 are based on the unconscious need to maintain the idealized images of the three types in the Tritype®: being singular, unique, interesting, innovative, self-possessed, and protective.
It also means avoiding the corresponding core fears of the three types: being inadequate, flawed, or defective; inferior, trapped, or limited; and weak, controlled, and harmed. The three defense strategies intervene when there is a perceived threat to the idealized images (real or imagined), triggering the three core fears, which lead to a restless sense of distress, which in turn triggers an immediate reaction and deployment of the three defense strategies to defend the 478's view of reality.
Tritype® not only names details about how the system works, but it also identifies the corresponding Essential Qualities: Holy Ideas, Holy Virtues, and Holy Actions/Intuitions of the 3 Types in the Tritype® that can neutralize the intensity of the habitual behaviors, negative emotions, and fixed beliefs that cause the unconscious suffering. By making the unconscious suffering conscious, one can ease their suffering enough to recognize more productive ways of handling a perceived threat to the ego types.
3. Tritype®: Dominant Enneagram Type in each Triad
In every Tritype®, there are three distinct Enneagram types—a dominant type from the heart center (Type 2, 3, or 4), a dominant type from the head center (Type 5, 6, or 7), and a dominant type from the gut center (Type 8, 9, or 1), in a hierarchical stacking order. The type at the top of the stacking in Tritype® is the "core" type, which is in charge of the three types in the Tritype®.
The Idealized images, core fears, and defense strategies of the three types within the Tritype® merge into a “new” type unto itself with a shared worldview, creating a much more specific focus of attention, which is our Tritype® Archetype. Full descriptions of common mistypings here
Mistypings and the 469 Tritype®
Our Mysterious, Enigmatic, and Misunderstood 469 and Mistypings
Many 469s mistype at first. This is part of their inner journey and reflects the complexity (469) of this sensitive (4,6), questioning (6), introspective (4,9), reassuring (6), long-suffering (9), enduring (9), curious (6,4), and mysterious (4) Tritype®.
The 469 Tritype® is an intellectual who is hard-wired to seek answers and closure; driven to go deep while remaining open; to notice subtle nuances, and to search for clarity. Yet each answer tends to lead to new layers of inquiry (6,4), as this Tritype® remains unconvinced (9), permitting contradictions (9), and thus continues the quest for meaning and understanding (469).
The 6 in the 469 amplifies the desire to find answers by revisiting the past, replaying conversations, and seeking dialogue with others to gain reassurance and greater clarity. This revisiting can become a cyclical pattern of analysis, in contrast to the 7 in the 479 Tritype®, who is more drawn to seek new experiences, fresh stimulation, and forward momentum. As such, the 469 tends to stay with unresolved questions longer, circling back to the same internal terrain to find peace of mind. Their long-suffering nature allows them to endure extended periods of uncertainty as they seek insight and integration.
If introverted, the 469 is the Tritype® most likely to document their inner world of thoughts and feelings, often turning to journals, blogs, or online forums (incognito). This reflective habit provides a reassuring record of their emotional and intellectual journey and a way to track their evolving inner landscape.
Deeply curious, the 469 is also exquisitely sensitive to shame and self-doubt, especially when their questions are dismissed or when they feel emotionally misunderstood. Until they discover the inherent contradiction within this unique blend of being both open and skeptical and certain and doubtful, they may mistype as the 459, another introspective and thoughtful Tritype®, yet one less compelled to seek external verification and more content with quiet private contemplation.
Identifying the correct heart type is especially critical with any 6-9 combination, as it determines the core emotional lens through which the Seeker Tritype® Archetype perceives and navigates the world. This choice shapes the emotional tone and interpretive filter of the entire Tritype® expression.
Comparison of 469 Related Tritypes® with Different Head Types®
The 469 Tritype® is naturally inclined to reflect deeply on their thoughts, feelings, and actions in a never-ending search for meaning. They tend to express doubt, double-check their perceptions, and ponder the emotional and intellectual impact of their experiences. Because of this inner complexity, 469s often mistype—especially when external behaviors mirror those of other Tritypes®.
Those mistyping are often influenced by the lens of their respective Myers-Briggs Types (MB). While behaviors may vary across time and setting due to the MB Type, the underlying motivations remain constant.
469 Tritype®: The Seeker
The 469 seeks understanding through inquiry, revisiting, and relational reassurance. It moves back and forth between insight and uncertainty, trying to resolve the paradox of knowing and not knowing. This Tritype® tends to be drawn toward mystery, magical and otherworldly ideas, and the unseen meaning beneath the surface. It is more identified with the absence of fulfillment and the long-suffering sense of loss, often feeling caught in the undertow of what is missing.459 Tritype®: The Contemplative
The 459 is deeply contemplative and retentive, often withdrawing into a private world of thought, study, and imagination. More avoidant and less spontaneous. The 459 Tritype® is less likely to seek external reassurance; this Tritype® prefers to observe from a safe distance rather than engage in interpersonal, emotional discussions. It tends to detach from the outer world, avoiding conflict and full engagement, focusing instead on preserving internal peace through silent reflection and introversion.479 Tritype®: The Free Spirit
The 479 is future-oriented and emotionally uplifting, tending to reframe suffering in idealistic and hopeful terms. Known for being the most positive and emotionally positive of the withdrawn Tritypes®. The 479 hides their inner pain and suffering through charm, fantasy, and a lightness of being. Often regarded as the most ethereal, accepting, and receptive Tritype®, the 479 focuses on maintaining harmony and beauty while avoiding heaviness and unresolved emotional conflict.
Comparison of the 469 through the Lens of the Instinctual Subtypes
Due to the mysterious complexity and inner contradictions of the 469 Tritype®, I have included a quick reference to all three subtypes: self-preserving, social, and sexual.
Self-Preserving 469:
Withdrawn, self-questioning, and highly cautious. This subtype often copes with uncertainty by increasing their physical comforts, building internal routines and external structures, and/or distractions to foster a sense of safety. The self-preserving 469 prefers to keep a low profile, process slowly, and rely on solo activities like reading, journaling, and quiet reflection to navigate emotional turmoil. They are private but deeply attuned to the smallest internal and external shifts, often using their internal observations as a compass. Their shame tends to be internalized and hidden, often emerging through somatic symptoms or excessive self-doubt.Social 469:
Intellectual, idealistic, and service-oriented, the social 469 seeks understanding through contribution to the greater good. This subtype is especially concerned with ethics, values, and a shared sense of belonging with like-minded people. They seek reassurance through collaborative dialogue, group involvement, and shared ideals, but may hide their sensitivity and shame behind helpfulness or a well-informed persona. They often question systems, seek to reform injustice, and try to harmonize social contradictions. Their shame is typically hidden and masked with intellectual conversations and citing elite authorities or dutiful involvement in group settings.Sexual 469:
Intensely self-conscious, introspective, emotionally complex, and interpersonally focused, the sexual 469 shyly seeks resonance through deep one-on-one pair bonds. This subtype is drawn to private, passionate, intellectual, and emotional exchanges; and uses close relationships as a mirror for self-discovery. They may oscillate between vulnerability and guardedness and are often preoccupied with existential longing, emotional merging, and the desire for a partner who understands their depths. Their shame is often felt most acutely in intimate relationships, where the stakes of being misunderstood—and emotionally exposed—are at their highest.
Mistyping is especially common for the 469 Tritype® due to the internal contradictions inherent within their structure. With a push-pull dynamic between doubt and desire for certainty, a longing for connection and a retreat into solitude, and a profound emotional depth often concealed behind inquiry, they may initially relate to types that mirror only parts of their inner experience. Subtype expression, social and cultural influences, and MBTI overlays can obscure the underlying motivations and intensify confusion. Recognizing their unique blend of openness, skepticism, sensitivity, and shame is essential to clarifying their true Tritype®.
©1985-2025 Katherine Chernick Fauvre • All rights reserved • Permission with Proper Citations
479 Tritype® with Subtypes and Secondary Distinctions
The 479 Tritype®: The Gentle Spirit
The 479 Tritype®, known as The Gentle Spirit, is intuitive, imaginative, and compassionate. This Tritype® combines the sensitive expressiveness of Type 4, the visionary curiosity of Type 7, and the receptive peace-seeking of Type 9. These individuals are deeply idealistic and strive to maintain inner harmony while nurturing the emotional and creative potential in themselves and others. They seek to express their true self through aesthetic refinement, authentic connection, and imaginative exploration. The core desire of this Tritype® is to experience emotional wholeness, spiritual attunement, and freedom from conflict. Their soft and fluid nature conceals an inner complexity fueled by emotional intensity, optimism, and serenity.
Tritype® Trialectic Core Traits
Idealized Self-Images (Heart – Type 4): I am original, expressive, and emotionally deep.
Core Fears (Head – Type 7): I am limited, trapped in pain, or missing out.
Defense Strategies (Gut – Type 9) Narcotization to avoid internal conflict or disharmony.
These three dominant types function in a hierarchical stacking order, with one leading, one supporting, and one working behind the scenes. The Heart Type (4) seeks uniqueness and meaning through deep emotional resonance. The Head Type (7) desires freedom, novelty, and positive stimulation to avoid internal discomfort. The Gut Type (9) seeks internal peace and external harmony, often merging with others to avoid tension. Together, these types form a trialectic structure that favors ease over confrontation, beauty over chaos, and possibility over limitation. Their idealized self-images foster a desire to be seen as special and peaceful; their core fears drive them to avoid deprivation or inner fragmentation; and their defense strategies aim to smooth over reality to preserve equanimity.
Secondary Influences: Wings and Lines of Connection
The 479 Tritype® may also be influenced by Types 3, 5, 1, and 6 through wings and lines of connection. Type 4 may have a 5 wing that adds introspective depth and intellectualism, or a 3 wing that adds ambition and aesthetic finesse. Type 7 may have a 6 wing that introduces loyalty and a desire for reassurance, or an 8 wing that enhances boldness and assertiveness. Type 9 may carry the influence of 1, reinforcing moral ideals and perfectionistic tendencies, or 8, amplifying independence and quiet strength. Additionally, Type 4 connects to 1 and 2; Type 7 connects to 1 and 5; and Type 9 connects to 3 and 6.
These wings and lines bring additional nuance to this Tritype®, offering patterns of aspiration and retreat. For example, 4's line to 1 can create self-critical idealism, while the line to 2 fosters emotional caretaking. 7’s line to 5 provides intellectual focus, and its line to 1 imposes discipline under pressure. 9’s line to 3 introduces a drive to succeed and look good, while the line to 6 increases internal questioning and a desire for safety. When types appear more than once within the Tritype® or through wings and lines, such as 1 appearing in all three lines of connection, they become amplified secondary influences. This intensifies the need for harmony, moral clarity, and personal expression. The result is a highly nuanced and adaptable individual who may initially mistype as a 451, 459, or 469 due to the introspective and emotionally complex qualities shared among these combinations.
Self-Preserving 479: The Grounded Gentle Spirit
Focus of Attention
This subtype channels their emotional and imaginative nature into practical matters of well-being. They focus on comfort, simplicity, and personal space. They create soothing environments and are often caretakers of beauty and emotional sanctuary. Their sense of identity is built around preserving internal peace while remaining quietly expressive.
Gifts
Gentle, calming, and nurturing, this subtype creates safe emotional spaces. They are deeply empathic and protective of others’ feelings. Their groundedness enhances their ability to transform daily life into an experience of ease, beauty, and grace.
Challenges
They may withdraw too much and become avoidant when overwhelmed. There can be a tendency to idealize routines or comfort zones, avoiding necessary confrontation. Their passivity can create blind spots in relationships.
Emotional Dynamics and Integration
When imbalanced, they may become quietly resigned or scattered. Growth involves embracing discomfort as a path to truth and deeper intimacy. When balanced, they serve as peaceful, soulful presences who help others reconnect with joy and meaning.
Social 479: The Harmonizing Gentle Spirit
Focus of Attention
This subtype places their attention on group harmony, emotional tone, and shared ideals. They are often facilitators of healing and cohesion in communities. They present a friendly and emotionally aware persona that avoids divisiveness and seeks mutual understanding.
Gifts
Diplomatic, inspirational, and empathic, they tune into collective needs and help others feel seen. Their optimism and authenticity bring warmth and encouragement to group settings. They are imaginative thinkers who inspire with their visions.
Challenges
They may overaccommodate others, losing touch with their own desires. Conflict-avoidance can result in passive-aggressive tendencies or withdrawal. Their need to be seen as kind and likable may lead to suppressed emotions.
Emotional Dynamics and Integration
When imbalanced, they may detach from reality and prioritize idealism over truth. Growth requires them to voice their feelings more directly and take up space authentically. When integrated, they uplift others with gentle clarity and creative leadership.
Sexual 479: The Enchanted Gentle Spirit
Focus of Attention
This subtype seeks emotional fusion through intimacy, beauty, and transcendence. They pursue soulful connections and often retreat into inner fantasy worlds. They are drawn to relationships that feel fated, healing, or spiritually elevating.
Gifts
Enchanting, emotionally intense, and expressive, they bring depth and magic to their relationships. They are idealistic and emotionally attuned, often expressing themselves through art, poetry, or soulful dialogue. They offer compassion, insight, and romantic idealism.
Challenges
They may become overly attached to fantasy or an idealized partner. Disillusionment can lead to emotional withdrawal or inner turmoil. Their desire to merge can result in boundary confusion or disappointment.
Emotional Dynamics and Integration
When unbalanced, they oscillate between longing and resignation. Growth involves grounding their emotions and seeing others as they truly are. When whole, they embody the archetype of the dreamer who loves deeply and lifts others with their vision.
Comparing the 3 Subtypes of the 479 Tritype®
Self-Preserving 479: The Grounded Gentle Spirit:
Creates safety through routine and internal sanctuary.Social 479: The Harmonizing Gentle Spirit:
Seeks group harmony and shared creativity.Sexual 479: The Enchanted Gentle Spirit:
Desires intimate fusion through idealized emotional connection.
Each 479 subtype mirrors the Gentle Spirit’s core longing for authenticity, peace, and inspiration. The Self-Preserving 479 prioritizes comfort and soothing routines, turning the mundane into the meaningful. The Social 479 channels their empathy into group settings, mediating and connecting others with intuitive ease. The Sexual 479 dives into emotional landscapes, seeking union and depth through intimate experiences.
Despite differences in expression, each variant orbits the same themes: idealism, avoidance of discord, and an intense inner life. The Self-Preserving instinct leans into grounded calm, the Social instinct channels optimism into group cohesion, and the Sexual instinct romanticizes emotional intensity as a gateway to transcendence.
Summary of Subtype Differences: A Comparative Overview
Self-Preserving 479:
Grounds sensitivity in routines and physical environments; values comfort and calm.Social 479:
Harmonizes with others through shared vision and empathy; attunes to collective mood.Sexual 479:
Seeks soulful fusion; leads with romanticism, longing, and depth of emotion.
Each subtype offers a unique variation of the same gentle essence. When fully integrated, the 479 becomes a poetic visionary, bringing peace, inspiration, and compassion wherever they go.
©1984-2025 Katherine Chernick Fauvre • All rights reserved • Permission with Proper Citations
Decode Special Notices in Enneagram Tritype® Test v8
Diagnostic Key to the Anatomy of Mistyping and the Exceptions
What do the Special Notices mean in my ETTv8 Test Results?
Excerpt from “Enneagram Tritype® Advantage 2.0: Strengths, Struggles, and Strategies” coming this summer of 2025 to Amazon.com.
The Enneagram Tritype® Test v8 (ETTv8), introduced in 2020, included Special Notices as a groundbreaking diagnostic tool designed to highlight unconscious type patterns and prompt deeper inquiry. These Notices act as intelligent signals, revealing discrepancies between surface identification and underlying motivation. With over 50 possible Notices, each tied to a behavioral, linguistic, or cognitive marker of one of the nine Enneagram types, they provide a new dimension to accurate type interpretation.
When multiple Special Notices are triggered—particularly for types like 6, 9, or 3—it indicates a consistent reliance on these type-based strategies, whether acknowledged, minimized, or outright denied. These types are especially adept at adapting to social environments, which can result in distorted self-perception and frequent mistyping. The Notices highlight the anatomy of mistyping by illuminating unconscious identification with a type’s behaviors rather than a full understanding of its idealized self-images, core fears, and defense strategies, as well as the passions, fixations, and convictions, along with their corresponding Holy Virtues, Holy Ideas, and Holy Actions.
The Notices function as a built-in system of early detection. They are not casual suggestions, but precision indicators that reflect repeated use of type-specific defense mechanisms, idealizations, contradictions, and fixation language. Once a test-taker reaches seven Notices, the system caps further Notices—signaling the need to consider this type’s role in their Tritype® and, in some cases, strongly suggesting it may be their core type. At the very least, it signals the need to further explore these inconsistencies to uncover the actual Tritype®, as it could be an example of a rare exception that needs to be thoroughly examined.
Crucially, these Notices are not based on self-declared identity, but on the recognition of unconscious patterns. They track consistencies across language, behavior, and cognitive framing. Many users resist the type that receives the most Notices, which in itself is revealing. The Notices decode unconscious resistance, over-identification, projection, minimization, and dissociation—all of which contribute to mistyping.
For example, the Type 6 Notice often appears in the context of questioning, hedging, doubting, or defensively distancing from fear. It frequently emerges when a test-taker actively resists the idea of being fearful or reactive, while unconsciously displaying these very patterns as cautionary rebuttals. Type 9 Notices tend to arise when the test-taker avoids conflict, merges with others, or identifies broadly with multiple types—often as a way of maintaining internal and external harmony. They may choose all three gut types or none at all.
Type 3 is also a primary "adapting" type. Notices are triggered by language emphasizing achievement, productivity, image management, and efficiency—even if the individual claims modesty or detachment from success. Unlike Type 6 or Type 9, the Type 3 is more likely to consciously accept their core type due to pride in traits associated with ambition and effectiveness. They often identify with their idealized self—the “fantasy self” they strive to project—and are less troubled by the shadow elements of Type 3 than 6s and 9s are by their own. However, the Type 3 may struggle more with recognizing their secondary and tertiary types in the Tritype®, particularly when those types challenge the 3’s aspirational self-image.
Importantly, the presence of multiple Special Notices for Type 6 does not always mean that Type 6 is part of the Tritype®. While it most often is, the appearance of seven Notices should always be explored thoroughly, even if the final Tritype® stacking does not include Type 6. This depth of investigation ensures clarity and prevents misinterpretation, allowing for the rare exceptions and their significance. For example, counterphobic expressions of Type 5 or Type 7 may receive the Type 6 Notice due to reactive or oppositional head center strategies—even when Type 6 is not present in the final Tritype®.
These rare counterphobic profiles—such as the assertive or rebellious cp5 or cp7—may align with 6-like strategies in certain contexts. Although they may momentarily appear similar to Type 6 in terms of vigilance or challenge, they retain the idealized self-images, core fears, and defense strategies of their respective types—Type 5 or Type 7. Their passions, fixations, and convictions, along with their corresponding Holy Virtues, Holy Ideas, and Holy Actions, are those of their actual type. These profiles almost always include Type 8 or Type 1 as their gut type in their Tritype®, further reinforcing their drive toward assertiveness and opposition.
These Special Notices are rooted in decades of panel interviews, type-specific lexicon mapping, microexpression tracking, talk style profiling, and gesture analysis. Their purpose is not to replace intuition or lived experience, but to sharpen one’s ability to detect what is habitually unconscious. Unlike superficial quizzes that capture momentary states and behaviors, the ETTv8 has been programmed to focus on the enduring structure beneath personality expression as seen with tens of thousands of test-takers over decades of study.
The Special Notices also provide coaches and typologists with a diagnostic lens for interpreting resistance, misidentification, and type confusion. They assist in identifying pattern clusters that persist regardless of context, mood, role, or social overlay. This makes them uniquely capable of clarifying chronic mistyping and refining Tritype® distinctions.
This chapter explores the emergence, meaning, and diagnostic function of the Special Notices in the Enneagram Tritype® Test v8. It decodes how these Notices illuminate unconscious type patterns, challenge superficial identification, and reveal the anatomy of mistyping. Whether you’re a seasoned typologist or just beginning your Enneagram journey, understanding these Notices offers profound insight into who you are, who you are not, and what you need to explore to discover your "TrueType.
Why are the Special Notices Significant in the ETTv8?
Special Notices do more than highlight recurring behaviors; they expose underlying motivations that are often outside of conscious awareness. Their significance lies in their capacity to identify the defenses test-takers use most frequently—whether owned or disowned. Unlike type descriptions that rely on self-recognition, the Notices confront what is unconsciously enacted and defended.
The Notices challenge the self-image by pointing to the difference between the role one plays and the motivation behind the role. This diagnostic function is especially vital for types that adapt, mirror, or suppress their inner world, like Types 3, 6, and 9. Special Notices force the user to confront the very patterns they resist seeing.
When the Type 6 Notice appears repeatedly, it signals the user’s unresolved relationship with fear, uncertainty, and authority—even if Type 6 is not selected in the final Tritype®. This becomes especially relevant in rare profiles like the counterphobic 5 or 7, where oppositional head center behavior mimics that of a reactive 6. In these cases, the user retains the idealized self-images, core fears, and defense strategies of Type 5 or 7, not 6.
The diagnostic power of the Notices increases with repetition. One or two flags may indicate momentary alignment, but seven or more Notices strongly suggest entrenched patterns. Whether a Notice applies to one’s dominant type or an unrecognized fixation, its presence invites meaningful self-inquiry.
Because these patterns often operate beneath conscious awareness, the Notices serve as a vital counterweight to subjective bias. For example, a social Type 7 may test like a 6 due to caution and group sensitivity. A counterphobic 5 may be outspoken and challenge authority, falsely triggering 6-like behavior. Without Special Notices, these distinctions might be overlooked.
The Notices are not merely corrective; they offer developmental guidance. By illuminating the unconscious structure—including idealized self-images, core fears, and defense strategies—they also point toward the associated passions, fixations, and convictions, as well as the potential growth offered through Holy Virtues, Holy Ideas, and Holy Actions.
For coaches and typologists, the Notices are indispensable. They provide evidence of type patterning that may contradict the stated self-perception. In this way, the Notices act as psychological X-rays, revealing the deeper architecture of Tritype® structures.
The significance of the Notices also lies in their contribution to pattern recognition across instinctual stackings and subtype expressions. They highlight not just who someone is at their best, but what they do when under stress, when defensive, and when trying to cope. This is where the rare exceptions like the cp5 and cp7 offer powerful insights.
When used correctly, Special Notices act as pivot points for transformational self-discovery. They reveal where identification ends and realization begins, making them one of the most valuable tools in the advanced Tritype® typing process.
How did the Special Notices Emerge within the Research Studies?
The development of Special Notices was not accidental; it evolved from more than three decades of qualitative research, including intensive panel interviews, type lexicon mapping, talk style observation, and behavioral coding. These efforts documented consistent type patterns that extended beyond conscious type identification.
Notices first emerged from the need to explain contradictions in how people tested versus how they behaved. Many individuals disclaimed a type while consistently exhibiting its language patterns and defense structures. The concept of the Notice was born to account for this unconscious repetition.
Through behavioral research, it became clear that people use a narrow range of phrases, metaphors, and defenses linked to their dominant and secondary types. This verbal fingerprint became the foundation of pattern recognition and lexicon use within the ETTv8 engine.
These discoveries were built into the ETTv8 system as algorithmic flags. When multiple patterns from a type occurred in different sections—adjectives, core fears, idealizations, defenses, and triggers—the system would prompt a Special Notice. Once a type reached seven Notices, additional alerts were suppressed to minimize redundancy and encourage focused exploration.
The algorithm was also designed to recognize rare but important deviations, such as when a counterphobic 5 or 7 selected a 6-related response. Over time, these anomalies were seen not as errors, but as meaningful patterns reflecting oppositional strategies within the Head Center.
By incorporating talk style, contradiction recognition, and defense activation, the Notices could do what traditional scoring could not: identify the behavioral use of type without relying on self-report. This improvement in accuracy was significant, especially among Types 3, 6, and 9, whose shape-shifting tendencies and adaptability often mask their dominant strategies.
Special Notices are also calibrated to work with instinctual stackings and subtype influences. For instance, a social 8 may test closer to a 2, but the Notices will flag where Type 8’s defense strategies still dominate.
Over time, the Special Notices evolved into a system within the system—patterns within patterns, one that recognizes both the clear and the hidden. Their emergence marks a new era in advanced personality typing, offering an unparalleled level of precision in the Tritype® typing process. One can simply accept the messages and dig deeper, or learn to read the ETTv8 test results at a deeper level. It is simply a matter of learning more about what the ETTv8 reveals.
Why do People Mistype—and Why do the Notices Matter?
Mistyping is common because many people start with observable behavior, not unconscious motivation. They ask, “What do I do?” instead of “Why do I do it?” The Notices shift the focus back to intent, revealing where fear, desire, or control are quietly steering the ship.
Enneagram Typing, Trityping® and Mistyping 6 & 9:
Why do Types 6 and 9 Mistype during the Typing Process?
Overview
Understanding the Enneagram goes far beyond simply identifying surface behaviors. At its core, this Trialectic system unveils the deeper motivations, idealized images, core fears, and defense strategies that shape self-concepts and our internal worlds. Accurately typing oneself is challenging enough, but mistyping is especially common among the adaptable primary types—3, 6, and 9. These three types are fundamental to each center of intelligence—Heart (2, 3, 4), Head (5, 6, 7), and Gut (8, 9, 1)—acting as neutralizers that strive to balance the tensions created by the opposing expressions of their wing types. Their adaptive nature can obscure the foundational motivations that define each center of intelligence.
The three Heart types combine to build emotional connections and maintain meaningful relationships in order to avoid painful feelings of rejection and shame. The three Head types combine to gather information and practical know-how in order to manage potential threats and anxiety in order to avoid irrational fears and uncertainty. The three Gut type instinctively responds to environmental cues and internal sensations, using control, resistance, or assertion to avoid feelings of discomfort, injustice, or vulnerability.
• The three Heart Types (2,3,4) combine to build emotional connections and maintain meaningful relationships in order to avoid painful feelings of rejection, insignificance, and shame.
• The three Head Types (5,6,7) combine to gather mental information and practical know-how in order to manage potential threats and anxiety in order to avoid irrational fears, uncertainty, and negativity.
• The three Gut types (8,9,1) combine to react to physical sensations and environmental cues in order to manage anger and control, resistance, or assertion to avoid feelings of injustice (8), discomfort, or condemnation.
When these three types are integrated into a Tritype®, their combined sets of three heart-type emotional desires and images, three sets of head-type core fears, and three sets of gut-type habitual defenses merge and interact dynamically in a continuous, rapidly oscillating stacking order. This is because Tritype® is Trialectic; working with patterns of 3, not dialectic, which is an either/or proposition.
It is important to note that your Tritype® is never simply the combination of three types that you most relate to, but rather the types you have in the way of idealized images, core fears, and the actual defense strategies you use. This is because finding your Tritype® always involves recognizing the integration of the three complete and distinct types that merge to form the shared view and inherent blind spots, then identifying the dominant type from each triad and determining your core lead type at the top of the Tritype® Stacking.
To further clarify; your Tritype® consists of the three types and the three sets of three idealized images and passions from your heart types in the Tritype®; the set of three core fears and fixations from your head types in the Tritype®, and the set of three physical resistances and dogmatic convictions from your gut types in the Tritype®. These three dominant types in each center of intelligence (heart, head, gut) then merge to create a new type—a Tritype®—in which the three dominant types are ranked in a hierarchical stacking order with the lead, “core” type at the top. This combination reveals the overarching shared core views, shared values, blind spots, and the emergence of a much more specific focus of attention within the Tritype®.
This fundamental principle was first revealed during Katherine Chernick Fauvre's 1994 qualitative research on the "internal experiences" of the types and subtypes. It consistently surfaced with each Enneagram type during the in-depth Inquiry Process. It identified the innate way in which each type organizes their sets of idealized images, core fears, and defense strategies. It remains an essential part of the typing process to identify and understand this application of the Tritype® framework, which creates a psychological system that oscillates through emotion, thought, and instinct, with one action as the chief executive officer.
This triadic structure demonstrates that personality involves far more than a single type; it is a synergistic fusion of three distinct sets of inner mechanisms: the three idealized self-images and passions from the heart types in the Tritype®, the three core fears and fixations from the head types in the Tritype®, and the three instinctual resistances and reactive strategies from the gut types in the Tritype®; creating a more holistic and succinct.
Each of us has a heart-based set of motivations stemming from one of the types in the Heart Center (2, 3, 4), which create emotionally idealized images and the passions that shape our longing for love, significance, or identity. We all possess a head-based set of motivations derived from one of the types in the Head Center (5, 6, 7), which influence our perceptions and knowledge through core fears and mental fixations that fuel anxiety, doubt, or planning. Additionally, we all have gut-based motivations originating from one of the types in the Gut Center (8, 9, 1), which express themselves through bodily sensations, resistance, and instinctual reactions against perceived threats to control, comfort, or integrity.
Furthermore, each of these three components—heart, head, and gut—always exists in a Tritype® configuration. Each contributes one of the three types that make up the Tritype® Archetype. These three types interact in a constant oscillating loop, while a hierarchical stacking order also organizes them. The dominant or "core" type always leads; determining which type to activate first and deploy in a moment of stress.
When there is a perceived threat to one or more of our idealized images, it triggers the surfacing of one or more of our core fears, which in turn causes the immediate visceral and overt convictions of one or more of our defense strategies, followed by the secondary and tertiary types, which each bring in their influence as needed to support, resist, or adapt.
This layered structure fosters a nuanced and dynamic personality architecture that reflects a more complex understanding of our human motivations. Tritype® improves the precision and accuracy of Enneagram typing by recognizing how the dominant type is supported, amplified, or challenged by the secondary and tertiary types from the other two centers. It is a rigorously developed framework that clarifies our inner conflicts and the deeper complexity of identity. Identifying the fundamental components of Tritype® outlines the core defense strategies of each of the nine types, describes how mistyping occurs, particularly for Types 6 and 9, and identifies the twenty essential dynamics as to how Tritype® operates in real-time.
The 639 Tritype® and Instinctual Types and Subtypes
Katherine promised to say more about the commonly mistyped elusive, dedicated, smart, emotionally complex Type 6w7 639 Tritype®.
Ok, just this description for now...a very short example...
The 369 Tritype® is the most primary Tritype®
The 369 is the most amenable and adaptable of the 27 Tritypes®. This Tritype® includes the core types of each center of intelligence. The core of each center is seeking to balance the opposites within each center to create balance and resolution. The core of each center is usually out of touch with the focus of their respective center and tends to be caught in the dance of opposites created by the opposing defense strategies of the wings in each center.
So the 6, as the center of the head triad, struggles to trust themselves and their own inner guidance. They oscillate between feeling they need to be an expert about something or feeling they need to know a little about everything to feel safe. But they know they don’t truly know everything that is important, so they befriend those who can do what they cannot. This expands to include competent friends of their friends to seek advice from when they need it, or to have friends of their friends who can do whatever the 6 feels unsure about.
So, the 3 is trying to manage the overall fear of being ignored. The 6 is trying to manage the fear of fear itself and chaos, and the 9 is trying to manage the fear of being overlooked and unimportant. Together, the focus is on creating, restoring, and maintaining peaceful relating.
If your Tritype® is the 369, it reinforces the primary issues. As a result, neutralizing conflict is a primary concern.
The 7 wing gives the 6 a lighter touch and a desire to manage stress with quick-witted, often self-deprecating humor. So, the 6w7 with the 639 is the friendly boy or girl next door who wants to engage with others as a means of survival. This strategy is true even if the person is shy. And, the extroverted 639 still feels cautious and/or has doubts, but the extraversion makes it easier to bridge their shyness by saying something funny and/or witty. The introverted 639 uses their shy smile to disarm and engage others.
The Self-Preserving 639 Tritype®
The self-preserving 639 is preoccupied with their physical needs. They focus on their sense of security and what will keep them feeling safe, nurtured, and comfortable. They tend to worry about everything associated with their essential needs, focusing on the demands of their home, job, pension, and family, etc.
Being disarming and friendly are tools of the trade for the self-preserving 6. And a friendly and socially acceptable partner may be considered just as important as a good job as both reinforce that they have what they need in times of uncertainty. As such, they monitor their physical needs and resources to gauge if they are safe and secure. To maintain a sense of well-being, they may also track the physical needs of their designated other(s). This can be exhausting and feel difficult to manage, so they often keep their world small, letting in only one person or a trusted few.
The Social 639 Tritype®
The social 639 is preoccupied with their place or position within the group(s) of their choosing. Ideally, their group needs to be considered socially acceptable, and their partner needs to be considered friendly and successful to ensure and maintain the security that comes from status.
They focus on being dutiful and supportive to the people, beliefs, values and/or creeds they have chosen to align with. As such, they monitor who is doing what with whom and whether or not they feel included and secure. To maintain their security, they seek a role or position within their group(s) and family systems to ensure they have others who will come to their aid should they need it. They see themselves as dedicated and loyal to the people in their lives. They instinctively shapeshift and become what their others need in order to be deemed worthy of admiration and protection.
The Sexual 639 Tritype®
The sexual 639 is preoccupied with selecting and/or being a desirable and irresistible alpha mate. They are more intense and counter-phobic than the self-preserving and social 6. They seek intensity and chemistry in their intimate relationships and tend to push the edge in whatever they do. They manage their fears and anxiety by jumping into situations that cause distress proving to themselves that they are strong enough to manage whatever feels threatening. They can move from fear to action in nanoseconds when they have already projected a worst-case scenario and have prepared for it. As a result, they may not identify with having fear.
The sexual 639 focuses on having and being strong enough and/or beautiful enough to attract a desirable mate who will stand beside them and protect them when they feel insecure. Strength may mean physical strength and beauty or can be defined as someone who is extremely smart and competent. Ideally, they want their mate and close friends to be extraordinary in some way they feel they are not. As such, they may choose a mate that they think is smarter than most so that they feel they have all of their bases covered. To that end, they adapt to what their mate or partners want to ensure they have their special someone who will stand together with them against an uncertain world.
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