News and Articles about the Ongoing Validation Studies of the Enneagram System

SHL (UK) is the world's leader in occupational testing. In 2004, Don Riso and Russ Hudson were invited by SHL to embark on a major research project to explore the connections between SHL’s trait-based psychological tests and the Enneagram system. The Riso-Hudson interpretation was chosen by SHL because it is clear, complete, and specific enough to be scientifically testable.

After a year of testing, independent researchers at SHL, 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 is now "scientifically supported" by preliminary tests, and two more years of research are being planned to further validate the Enneagram scientifically.

Check this page regularly for updates and new reports regarding the ongoing research.

PRESS RELEASE: Independent Researchers Conclude First Validation Study of Enneagram System (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.

PRESS RELEASE: Independent Researchers Conclude First Validation Study of Enneagram System (Full Version)
The Enneagram Institute is pleased to announce that a year-long research project has shown that the nine types of the Enneagram are "real and objective", and that they are strongly supported by the psychometric evidence applied to the Enneagram by the researchers at SHL Group Plc, a world leader in objective assessment.

RESEARCH REPORT from SHL Group, PLC: Relationships between OPQ and Enneagram Types
This report summarises the results of research carried out to explore relationships between personality traits measured by OPQ32 and Enneagram Types. The Enneagram is a typology that features 9 Personality Types. It takes individual differences into account and maps out the basic motivations of each personality orientation.

Table of OPQ Correlations by Enneagram Type

Based on the graphs on pp. 25-34 of the SHL Research Report: Relationships between OPQ and Enneagram Types and showing the degree to which each type exhibits the specific characteristic.

SHL Short Research Report: Putting the Person into Personality

This report summarizes the difference between categorical (e.g. MBTI) and prototypical (e.g. Enneagram) approaches to type and shows how trait based measures can be used to model the two different approaches to type.

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