Not Sure If You are an Enneagram Type 1 or Type 5? Ask Yourself These Four Questions

While the nine Enneagram types have detailed descriptions, the system itself is not primarily about behavior or even personality traits. At its core, it is about a habit of attention. To recognize your Enneagram type, you need to pay attention to where your attention goes.  

That said, behavior radiates out from these habits of attention and that is why even the best Enneagram teachers will offer a set of behavioral patterns for each type. And this is often where the confusion begins.

Some Enneagram types can appear similar on the outside despite having radically different inner worlds. A clear example of this dynamic is Type One, the Perfectionist and Type Five, the Investigator.  Their behavior may look the same, but they operate with very different motivations and different mental landscapes. Let’s have a closer look at these two personality styles, explore why they are sometimes confused and learn how to tell them apart once and for all.

The Similiarities: What They Share

The Perfectionist and the Investigator share a love of knowledge and a deep desire to speak with authority and accuracy on topics that interest them. They can each be detail-oriented and conscientious, carefully considering all angles and getting full data before acting. Both are matter-of-fact, rationally minded individuals who you might come to if you need a solution to a practical problem. 

Another commonality is that both come across as emotionally restrained, rarely having outbursts of intense emotion. These two personalities tend to be reliable in their commitments and respectful of the boundaries of other people. Both can be rigid and unspontaneous, although for different reasons. Together they demonstrate disciplined thought and principled action.

The Differences: The Hidden Divide

But while their external world can seem similar, their internal worlds are strikingly varied, like the landscapes of Mercury and Saturn. 

Type Ones are guided by a strong sense of duty, order and the drive to improve both themselves and the world around them. Their focus is on doing the right thing and in creating efficiency and fairness in all they do. They can be critical of the outside world, but the rest of us would be shocked to hear how harshly they talk to themselves. This relentless inner critic is part of the driving force behind their desire to get things right. As one Type One said, “The self-criticism is constant. I can get frustrated with myself about almost anything: what I ate, what I didn’t eat, what I said, what I didn’t say. It makes me really afraid to make a mistake because I know that I’ll be thinking about it days later..”

By contrast, Type Fives seek knowledge and to protect themselves from being overwhelmed by the demands of the outside world including time, energy, financial resources and emotional demands. They are curious and analytical with an almost insatiable quest for mastery over things they are interested in. They see knowledge as a dynamic body of information so new concepts are welcome, and Type Fives tend to be very open-minded. They approach life in a cautious way, wary about what they say yes to.  For Type Fives, the starting position is usually “no, I won’t commit to that…” This is someone who is mindful of the parameters of their engagements – as one Type Five said, “It is like I feel as though every day I am starting off with a quarter of a tank of gas, and I need to be really careful how much I consume…” 

Not sure if you are a Type One or a Type Five? Ask yourself these four questions.

1. How all-encompassing is your self-criticism?

One of the defining characteristics of a Type One is a strong, persistent inner critic. This harsh internal censor is wide-ranging, scrutinizing everything from behavior to appearance and beyond. I’ve worked with Type Ones who were beating themselves up about work mistakes they had made six months prior.

Type Fives may report some amount of self-criticism, but this self-judgement is usually focused more narrowly on social interactions. Type Fives don’t always connect easily with others, and this can be a sense of shame and disappointment for them. But overall, Type Fives don’t generally spend a lot of time castigating themselves over a wide range of topics. Their mind is more focused on knowledge and resource management than it is on critiquing their own behavior.

Type Ones have an all-encompassing inner critic whereas Type Fives have a more narrowly focused one.

2. How important is it for you to get time alone every day?

Any person, regardless of Enneagram type, might say it is essential to get time alone each day. For example, most introverts report this need. However, as a grouping, Type Fives almost universally report an intense need for time alone. This is because they are deeply impacted by demands on their nervous system, and they need time alone to rejuvenate. I ask this question in my Enneagram typing interviews and when I ask to put it on a scale, Type Fives typically report eight, nine or ten in terms of importance. They often get visibly uncomfortable when I ask “What happens if you don’t get time alone?” 

Type Ones, by contrast, may also value time alone but for them it is more of a desire than a pressing need. They might report feeling irritated or agitated without it, but they generally do not experience the same level of distress or urgency as Type Fives. 

For Type Ones, alone time is a helpful reset, whereas for Type Fives, it is a critical requirement for maintaining emotional and mental equilibrium.

3. How much do you rely on your gut instinct in decision making?

Both Type Ones and Type Fives like to get facts and information when making decisions. Type Fives feel a certain sense of security in cold, hard data, trusting their careful analysis to guide them. Type Ones also appreciate factual support but for them, it gives them fewer reasons to criticize themselves if they can logically back up their decision making.  

But here their decision making may diverge because Type Ones operate from the body center of intelligence, giving them strong gut instincts. They may meticulously collect information, but if their inner sense signals that the decision should go in a different direction, they are likely to honor that feeling.

Type Fives, on the other hand, reside in the head center of intelligence, relying primarily on mental processing and logical analysis. Their decision-making is more dependent on careful thought and gathering sufficient knowledge. They are less likely to respond to a gut instinct (or in fact, to even recognize one).

Type Fives tend to be data-driven in their decision making whereas Type Ones often strike a balance between considering the data and using their intuitive tools.

4. If your best friend comes to your front door unannounced just to pay you a visit, how do you feel?

This is another one of the clarifying questions I ask during my Enneagram typing interview sessions. Type Ones typically report mixed emotions. They are happy at the prospect of seeing their friend but also worried that the house might not be clean or they don’t have refreshments to offer. Or they may also have a tightly scheduled day. But they welcome the idea of a warm connection and the opportunity to chat with their best friend.

Type Five often report pure horror that someone, even their best friend, would drop by unannounced. Some Type Five challenge the question, saying their best friend would never do that. Or they say they won’t answer the door (some even report they would hide!). For Type Fives, there are just too many unknowns: how long will they stay, what will we talk about, and so forth. Type Fives are famously unspontaneous because they need to carefully think through the time and energy required for social interactions.

Two Paths, One Goal: Becoming the Best Version of Yourself

As you can see, the inner world of the Type One and the Type Five are as different as night and day even though the external behavior may look the same. But sometimes people remain confused between the two so I ask one final clarifying question: What is your work?

The work of a Type One is to quiet their inner critic, to learn the perfection in imperfection and to surrender to the flow of life. At their highest and best, Type Ones experience joyful serenity. 

The work of a Type Five is to trust they will not be overwhelmed, to engage in the world more spontaneously and to value their emotional world the same way they value their intellect.  At their highest and best, Type Fives experience freedom from attachment and the ability to freely engage with others.

Whether you are a Type One, a Type Five, or one of the other personality styles, at the end of the day, the value in the Enneagram isn’t just in learning your type. It is in finding the path to be the best version of yourself. Learn more about the personal growth path for each of the nine types.