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Independent Researchers Conclude First Validation Study of the Enneagram System
Press Release (Brief Version)
The Enneagram, a recent synthesis of ancient and modern insights into human personality, has successfully undergone the first stage of validation studies by researchers at SHL Group, PLC, the world's largest occupational psychometric test provider.
Based on the Enneagram work of Don Riso and Russ Hudson of The Enneagram Institute (New York), independent researchers at SHL (UK), lead by Prof. David Bartram, found that the nine personality types of the Enneagram are "real and objective," and that they stand on a par psychometrically with the Myers-Briggs system, the Big Five, and other well-known, accepted psychological systems. In short, the Enneagram has now been "scientifically supported," according to Dr. Bartram.
"The research suggests that the nine Enneagram types, as described by Don Riso and Russ Hudson of The Enneagram Institute, do have validity as real and objective indicators of personality," continued Bartram. Therefore, businesses and other kinds of users of the Enneagram typology can be reassured about its objective value. Even so, more extensive research is being planned by Dr. Bartram and SHL about the various major aspects of the system.
The "very promising results" (Dr. Bartram) of the one-year research project (which are on the high end of statistical probability) will take place over the next two years through SHL researchers working with Riso and Hudson. This research will further clarify and validate aspects of the system as a comprehensive, dynamic, and predictive way of working with human personality. Of special interest is the interplay between type theory (of which the Enneagram is an example) and trait theory (which is SHL's approach). The current validation study, as well as future research, will be of particular use to individuals interested in personal growth, therapy, business, Human Resources, business coaching, education, and marketing—as well as for research into brain chemistry, human development, and other fields having to do with human personality and interactions.
SHL chose the Riso-Hudson interpretation of the Enneagram because it is complete and specific enough to be scientifically testable. Not only do Riso and Hudson provide the already-validated Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI, Version 2.5) personality test instrument, but Riso and Hudson have developed the elements of the Enneagram in a way that allows the generation of a wide variety of scientific hypotheses. These include type-specific childhood patterns, type-specific predictive behaviors in healthy, average, and unhealthy states (and more specifically, in the nine internal Levels of Development for each type), type-specific behaviors in the Directions of Integration, Disintegration, Stress, Security, and "the Missing Piece" (with clear and testable distinctions between them), detailed descriptions of the 18 wing-types (or secondary subtypes), the 27 Instinctual Variants, the Hornevian Groups, the Harmonic Groups, and so forth. For more information about Riso-Hudson contributions to the Enneagram system, see Enneagram Contributions.
The modern Enneagram was originated by Oscar Ichazo in the 1960's, further developed by Claudio Naranjo, MD in the early 1970's, and has been popularized worldwide since then in over 400 books by many authors in over 15 languages. Don Riso and Russ Hudson are the most published and best-selling authors in the field with five books, including the groundbreaking Personality Types (Houghton Mifflin, 1987 and 1996) and the world’s best-selling Enneagram book, The Wisdom of the Enneagram (Bantam, 1999). For more information, see the Full Press Release, the Research Report, and www.SHL.com
The Enneagram Institute
Stone Ridge, New York
August 1, 2005
The Enneagram Institute is a Service Mark of Enneagram Personality Types, Inc.
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