Fives (Enneagram of Personality)

Fives is the term most commonly used in Enneagram of Personality teaching for people of the psychological type indicated by point five on the Enneagram figure.

General characteristics

Fives are motivated by the need to know and understand everything, to be self-sufficient, and to avoid looking foolish.

Believing they are only worth what they contribute, Fives have learned to withdraw, to watch with keen eyes and speak only when they can shake the world with their observations. Sometimes they do just that. Other times they withdraw from the world, becoming reclusive hermits and fending off social contact with abrasive cynicism.

Focus of attention

Passion: Avarice Fixation:Detachment

Avarice manifests as the accumulation and conservation of resources - often knowledge, information, understanding, time, energy, or a sense of rationality. Taking direct action, putting oneself out there in the world on purpose, is often avoided or done sparingly because it may deplete the resources. (Direct application of knowledge or ideas in a realm that might render them useless or invalid might be an example of this.) Imagine a canoeist who, deeply frightened of being up the creek without a paddle, collects paddles, or perhaps makes some paddles from collected parts, stores them, but does not want to use them indiscriminately in case they break or get lost in the rushing stream.

Basic fear: Of being incompetent or useless.

In the canoe metaphor above, this would correspond to the dreaded proverbial situation of "being up the creek without a paddle." The Five fears the possibility of being utterly broken and destroyed by the world, of not being able to cope, and believes that the hoarded, protected resources can prevent this and provide the capacity to cope.

Basic desire: To be capable.

Or, in the spirit of the canoe metaphor, "to always have a paddle" (and / or other ways of coping with the "up the creek" situation). Fives attempt to achieve the sense of being able to face whatever life brings them through the avarice / hoarding fixation of accumulating and conserving resources ("paddles").

Riso and Hudson's psychological levels

Childhood issues

Fives often have histories of grossly inadequate, cold, or neglectful early parenting. These traumatic experiences may have created an expectation that relationships would not be gratifying, precipitating a subsequent defensive withdrawal from others (Gunderson & Philips, pg. 1445).

Riso and Hudson describe Fives as being "ambivalent towards both the nurturing figure and the protective figure", meaning that they did not identify with either role strongly. This leads to their perception of themselves as being without a role in life, and their compensatory action of finding and defending a niche; it is as if the roles of their parents filled up all the conceptual "space" in which they could contribute, leading to a fear of being overwhelmed and a desire to have something (an area of mastery) to "bring to the table".

Wings

Fives with a dominant Four wing

The Four wing produces an emotional "charge" that complements the five's mental intensity. They are emotionally sensitive and easily overwhelmed, yet at the same time driven to explore their emotional landscapes, often by deliberately entering dark, esoteric, or disturbing arenas of thoughts. Compared to 5w6s, 5w4s have a more intuitive, non-rational approach to knowledge, which can lead to both aesthetic awareness and open defiance of established ideas. They can be compulsively individualistic in their thoughts at the expense of their usefulness or social implications, and then look distantly down at those whom they "left behind" as they bask in more fantastical and otherworldly speculations. Their emotions, at the same time, agitate, stoke, and unsettle their ideas, imbuing them with a dreamlike, sometimes nightmarish quality.

When unhealthy, this subtype can be one of the most alienated of all personality types, almost completely isolated from others, and full of self-hate (Riso, 1987, pg. 159). There is usually some degree of schizotypal neurosis exhibited. Neurotics with this dominant wing suffer excessive social anxiety, e.g. extreme discomfort in social situations involving unfamiliar people. They experience ideas of reference, entertain odd beliefs and engage in magical thinking. They often have unusual perceptual experiences, e.g. illusions, sensing the presence of a force or person not actually present. And frequently they exhibit odd or eccentric behavior or appearance, e.g. odd speech, an unkempt appearance, unusual mannerisms, and talking to self. Usually they have no close friends or confidants (or only one) other than first-degree relatives. Their affect is often inappropriate or constricted, e.g. they are silly, aloof, rarely reciprocating gestures or facial expressions, such as smiles or nods. They are disposed to suspiciousness and paranoid ideation.

Fives with a dominant Six wing

Average Fives with a dominant Six wing are strongly attracted to systems of thoughts. The systems that interest them could range anything from the natural sciences to games of strategies to the stock market, and some might create a new field from scratch. They are more emotionally detached compared to fives with a four wing, and they are often mistrustful of emotions and their effects. Hence, it can be difficult for them to form relationships and respond naturally to the emotions of others. The 6-wing gives them a talent for problem-solving, a penchant for logic, and a greater ability to follow through on their studies. It could also rob them of spontaneity and leave them in a sort of "analysis paralysis" under stress. Many 5w6s yearn for acceptance though they might come across as aloof or shut-off. There can also be a bit of paranoia expressed in even the average levels of this wing of five, often coming off as obsessive fears of specific things like relationships, health problems, or certain number combinations.

When persons of this subtype become unhealthy, they usually exhibit some degree of schizoid neurosis. They seem not to desire or enjoy close relationships, including being part of a family. They almost always choose solitary activities. They rarely, if ever, claim or appear to experience strong emotions, such as anger and joy. They indicate little if any desire to have sexual experiences with another person. They seem indifferent to the pains and criticism of others. They usually have no close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives. And they usually display a constricted affect; for example, they are aloof, cold, and rarely reciprocate gestures or facial expressions such as smiles or nods.

As Fives with a dominant Six wing become more unhealthy, their theories tend to become more abstract and theoretical, and less connected with physical and tangible reality to the extent that they may dismiss empirical evidence which does not support their ideas on the basis that they are meaningless or arbitrary. In fact, many unhealthy Fives with a dominant Six wing tend to become fairly nihilistic, seeing reality and existence as meaningless and arbitrary. It must be said though that these theories may be perfectly logical and reasonable, as many theories of Fives are. However, as they become unhealthier, they tend to place less and less faith in the tangible, external world and so lose perspective. In other words, their ideas may be extremely logical, but also extremely obscure, eccentric or bizarre. Many unhealthy Fives also tend to suffer from bouts of existential depression.

Instinctual subtypes

Self-preservation

Self-preservation Fives may be the most reclusive type and instinctual subtype combination within the Enneagram of Personality. They tend to feel, with acuteness, scarcity of energy, time and resources and defend against this fear by withdrawal. Such Fives can hoard property, time and space or produce a fortress of theoretical constructs to ward off intrusions from the outside world. Some also have a strong technical focus and abilities, again because they prefer their time to be used as efficiently as possible, which technology promises to fulfill. They can be warm and friendly to those they are personally close to, but most others would likely find a standoffish person who prefers to be left alone than to suffer company.

Social

Social Fives are focused on finding a specialized and indispensable role in their community. They appear to be more "open" and friendlier than the other Fives subtypes, willing to discuss and debate ideas in diverse fields. They frequently find themselves in the role of advisor or behind-the-scenes expert, whether they consciously strive for it or not. They can also be active commentators and critics of the outside world. However, it nowhere means that social fives are less "hoarding" than the other subtypes, for they can express and withhold ideas selectively as means of wielding power. Less healthy social Fives, in particular, can have a very grim view on humans and societies in general, and they will develop long treatises to support the outlook.

exual

The clash of the sexual subtype and the Five ego-fixation causes significant intrapsychic conflicts, which gives them a somewhat brittle and delicate outward appearance. These Fives yearn for human relationships, but with the fixation holding them back, they can alternate between pursuit of a love interest and defensive withdrawal. However, it is through relationship and works of art that they find channels for self-expression. They long to share their internal world, which they guard with care until they feel there's someone who can understand them. They can become emotionally obsessed, holding the love interest as the only source of their connection with the external world, yet also fear their autonomy be compromised by it.

Overview

Ego Fixation: Stinginess
Holy Idea: Omniscience
Basic Fear: Being useless, helpless, or incapable
Basic Desire: To be capable and competent
Temptation: To ...
Vice: Avarice
Virtue: Detachment (?)
Stress/Disintegration point: Seven (Detached Fives suddenly become hyperactive and scattered like Sevens.)
Security/Integration point: Eight (Avaricious, detached Fives become more self-confident and decisive like healthy Eights.)

Notable Fives

* Albert Einstein
* Bill Gates
* Bobby Fischer
* Friedrich Nietzsche
* Ken Masters
* Phil Ivey
* John Galt (Atlas Shrugged)
* Rorschach (comics)
* Dr. Doom
* Elizabeth Wagele
* Schneizel el Britannia