Optional: Tritype® in Outline, a Separate Lens From Katherine Fauvre
Where you are: Module 8 · Lesson 30 of 30 · about 21 minutes (reading 10, video 3, practice 8). This lesson is optional: nothing else in the course depends on it. It outlines a separate model from a separate author, states where the main authors take a different position, and types no one.
What you'll be able to do
- Outline Katherine Fauvre's Tritype® idea: three centres, one type from each, used in a preferred order.
- Explain why her system has 27 groups (3 × 3 × 3).
- State in two sentences where Fauvre and the main authors differ, without taking a side.
- Keep type, instinct, sequence, Level, mood and tritype apart, and type no one.
A separate lens from a separate author
Tritype is the term of Katherine Chernick Fauvre, who wrote with David W. Fauvre. She sets it out in a booklet, The 27 Tritypes Revealed (seventh edition, 2013). She writes that she and her co-author coined the term to set their findings apart from Oscar Ichazo's earlier "tri-fix" (PDF page 16).
The rest of this course draws on Chestnut and Paes, with Riso and Hudson for the Levels and the instincts. A search of the text of Chestnut and Paes's main book, and of Riso and Hudson's Personality Types, found no use of the word. Nothing in the earlier lessons uses it.
The three centres
Fauvre groups the nine numbers into three "centers of intelligence" (PDF page 9). Module 2 used the same three groups. In this lesson a number stands for the type with that number.
| Centre | Numbers | What Fauvre says it focuses on (our words) |
|---|---|---|
| Gut (the body centre of Module 2) | 8, 9, 1 | The physical world, taking action, directing your own course |
| Heart | 2, 3, 4 | Relationships, and how other people see you |
| Head | 5, 6, 7 | Thoughts and ideas, and wanting clarity |
Her claim: three types in a preferred order
Fauvre writes that "one has not one, but three Enneagram Types used in a preferred order", and that these three "always occur in each of the three centers of intelligence" (PDF page 7). So, in her account, a person has one type from the gut centre, one from the heart centre and one from the head centre. She calls the combination a Tritype.
The order. One of the three is "dominant or primary", the "ego's preferred defense strategy" (PDF page 7). When that strategy does not work, she says, the person turns to the other two "in a repeating, descending order". The numbers are written in that order: the first is the one in charge, the second is used next, the third comes last (PDF pages 7 and 13).
Why 27
A Tritype takes one number from each of three centres, and each centre holds three numbers:
Fauvre counts these groups "without regard to the order the types are used" and calls them 27 "Tritype Archetypes" (PDF page 13). The booklet gives each group a name and a description. This course does not copy them.
If you also count the order, each group of three numbers can be written in 3 × 2 × 1 = 6 ways, and the booklet prints all six orders for each group (PDF pages 63 to 66). Counting every written order gives 27 × 6 = 162. That total is our arithmetic, not a figure the booklet states.
Two different 27s. Chestnut and Paes also have 27 (PDF page 16 of their book): 9 types × 3 instincts, the subtypes of Module 4. That is a different count of a different thing. Do not match one set of 27 to the other.
What she claims, and what the claims rest on
Fauvre writes that research "suggests" the theme shared by the three types identifies a person's "archetypal life purpose and a critical blind spot", and that Tritype adds "precision, accuracy and scope" to working out a type (PDF page 7). These are her claims.
The booklet points to her own booklets, articles and tests. It says more than 16,000 people took her questionnaires and tests online, and that software built for the Fauvres was used to "statistically validate" her findings (PDF pages 7, 15 and 16). A journal article by the same authors describes it, citing their own work. No independent study of Tritype was found. Her claims may still be true, but without outside study this course cannot treat them as shown.
The front cover carries printed praise from Russ Hudson, co-author of Personality Types, calling the work "fresh, innovative and illuminating" (PDF page 1). Praise is not a test.
Where the main authors stand
Chestnut and Paes do not use Tritype in their main book: a word search of its text found no use of the word, though a word search is not a full read. This course attributes no further position on Tritype to them.
This course takes no side. Fauvre says people use three types; the main authors do not use the idea. With no independent study, the course can neither support nor reject her claims. "I am not sure" is a complete position.
What we leave out. Fauvre describes finding a Tritype with her own tests and with software that reads a person's writing (PDF pages 15 and 16). This course uses none of them. Nobody is typed here, from their words or from anything else, and that includes you and every colleague.
Six ideas, kept apart
| Idea | What it asks or says | Whose idea |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Which of the nine patterns fits my reactions across settings? | Chestnut and Paes; Riso and Hudson (Module 2) |
| Instinct | Which of the three instincts draws most of my attention? | Named authors (Module 4) |
| Sequence | In what order do I use the three instincts? | An authors' claim (Module 4) |
| Level | How freely or rigidly is a pattern working? | Riso and Hudson (Module 3) |
| Mood | How do I feel now or this week, and what is pressing on me? | Our words (Module 3) |
| Tritype | Three types, one from each centre, in a preferred order | Fauvre only |
Worked example
The numbers below describe no one. Take 4, 9 and 6, written in that order.
| Step | What to do | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Find each centre | Look each number up | 4 is heart, 9 is gut, 6 is head |
| 2. Check the rule | One number from each centre? | Yes |
| 3. Read the order | The first number is in charge | 4 first; if its way of handling a problem does not work, Fauvre says the person turns to 9, then 6 |
| 4. List the orders | 3 × 2 × 1 = 6 | 496, 469, 946, 964, 649, 694 |
| 5. Group them | Fauvre ignores order when she groups | All six are one group among her 27; the order changes which number is in charge |
Now suppose someone says, "She took over the task on Monday, so her first number must be from the gut centre." The course gives no way to turn one observed reaction into a type, an order of types or a Level. What you can write is what happened on Monday.
Watch: Tritype in outline
As you watch, notice:
- how the three centres are laid out, and how an invented set of numbers (9, 2 and 7) takes one from each;
- how 3 × 3 × 3 gives 27 groups, and why counting the order gives 162;
- how the video states Fauvre's claims and the main authors' position side by side, without choosing.
The lesson teaches the same points in text, so it is complete without the video.
Your turn
Work privately. You are working with numbers and kinds of statement, not judging whether any statement is true, and nobody is typed.
Part A. The outline. The numbers 8, 3 and 5 are invented, written in the order 8, 3, 5.
- Write the three centres with their numbers.
- Name the centre of 8, 3 and 5. Which is in charge in Fauvre's account, which is used next, and which last?
- Explain, with the multiplication, why Fauvre's system has 27 groups, and say what the 27 counts.
- Does the set 8, 9, 5 follow her rule of one number from each centre? Why?
Part B. Two sentences. Say where Fauvre and Chestnut and Paes differ about Tritype. Do not say who is right.
Part C. Sort eight statements. Taleen is a fictional supervisor; Leen is on her team; Rasha is in another team. Choose type, instinct, sequence, Level, mood or tritype for each.
- "In meetings, at home and on holiday, what Taleen seems to protect is being seen as reliable."
- "Across a month of entries, Taleen's attention went most often to how her team fits together and where she stands in it."
- "Taleen's guess is that social comes first for her, then self-preservation, and the third instinct last."
- "Fauvre says each person uses three types, one from each centre."
- "Leen says she has felt unsettled since Monday, when the new rota was announced."
- "Rasha is clearly working at a low Level this week."
- "Rasha's three numbers obviously start with one from the gut centre."
- "Taleen says she has felt confident this week, now that her first review is done."
Check your work
Part A. (1) Gut 8, 9, 1; heart 2, 3, 4; head 5, 6, 7. (2) 8 is gut, 3 is heart, 5 is head. 8 is in charge, 3 is used next, 5 last. (3) Three numbers in each centre, one taken from each: 3 × 3 × 3 = 27. The 27 counts groups of three numbers and ignores the order. (4) No: 8 and 9 are both gut numbers, and the heart centre has none.
Part B, one good answer. "Fauvre says each person uses three types, one from each centre, in a preferred order, and presents this as the result of her own research. Chestnut and Paes do not use the idea in their main book."
Part C. 1 type (a motive across settings, held as a hypothesis); 2 instinct (the arena that draws attention over a month); 3 sequence (an order among instincts, a guess); 4 tritype (Fauvre's idea); 5 mood (a feeling with a cause and a start day); 6 Level (a step word put on a person, which the course never supports); 7 tritype (an order of types claimed for a colleague, which the course never supports); 8 mood.
Criteria. Each centre is right and the first number is in charge. The 27 is explained by 3 × 3 × 3, with order ignored. Part B attributes Tritype to Fauvre and states the main authors' position without proof, disproof or a side. Each statement in Part C gets one kind, from what it says. No colleague is classified.
Not yet: naming 3 or 5 as in charge; "yes, it has three numbers" for 8, 9, 5; "Fauvre is wrong" or "Chestnut and Paes have disproved it"; statement 3 as tritype (it orders instincts, not types).
Optional, in your record. You may note a tentative reaction to this lesson, with no numbers and without typing anyone, yourself included. "Not sure" is complete.
Extra practice (optional)
The invented numbers are 7, 1 and 2, in that order. Name each centre and say which is in charge. Then: which set follows the rule, 2, 3, 7 or 6, 1, 4? Finally, a colleague says, "That booklet proves everyone has a Tritype." Reply in two sentences without taking a side.
Key. 7 head (in charge), 1 gut (next), 2 heart (last). 6, 1, 4 follows the rule (head, gut, heart); 2, 3, 7 does not (two heart numbers, no gut number). Reply: "The booklet is the author's own account, and no independent study of it was found, so it is not shown. The main authors do not use the idea, but that does not disprove it either."
Knowledge check
Why does Fauvre's Tritype system have 27 groups of types?
Which statement about the evidence for Tritype fits this lesson?
A manager's note says a colleague takes over every meeting, so her three numbers must start in the gut centre. What is the best response?
Answers explained
- C is right: one of three types from each centre, order ignored. A is a real count of something else (a type with an instinct), not Tritype groups. B and D do not follow from the centres.
- A is right: the sources are the authors' own booklets, articles and tests. B is untrue. C mistakes praise for a test. D overstates: the main authors do not use the idea, which is not a disproof.
- D is right: the course never types a colleague, so the note keeps to what happened. A fails because this course uses none of Fauvre's tests. B turns a guess into a note. C swaps one label for another.
Key takeaways
- Tritype is Katherine Fauvre's idea, written with David W. Fauvre: three types, one from each centre, used in a preferred order.
- Gut 8, 9, 1; heart 2, 3, 4; head 5, 6, 7. One from each gives 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 groups; counting order gives 162 (our arithmetic).
- The claims rest on the authors' own work; no independent study was found. The main authors do not use the idea. The course takes no side, and "not sure" is complete.
- Type, instinct, sequence, Level, mood and tritype are different ideas. Keep them apart, and never type anyone.
Sources
- Fauvre, K. C. with Fauvre, D. W. (2013) The 27 Tritypes Revealed, 7th edition (booklet). PDF page 1 (the cover endorsement), PDF pages 7, 9 and 10 (the introduction and the three centres), PDF pages 13 to 16 (the two ways of counting, the order, the tests and the origins of the term) and PDF pages 63 to 66 (the six orders of each group). The booklet's copyright page (PDF page 4) bars reproduction, so this lesson quotes only short phrases and copies none of the archetype names, descriptions or fear lists. PDF page numbers are used.
- Fauvre, K. C. and Fauvre, D. W., "Exploring Enneagram Tritype: theory and practice" (journal article, updated 2024, hosted on the authors' own website). Its abstract, methods and list of references were read. It is the authors' own account, not independent evidence.
- Chestnut, B. and Paes, U. (2021) The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up. Hampton Roads Publishing. PDF page 16 (the 27 combinations of a type with an instinct). A word search of the book's text found no use of "tritype"; a word search is not a full read.
- Riso, D. R. with Hudson, R. (1996) Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery (revised edition). Houghton Mifflin. A word search of the book's text found no use of "tritype".
- Tritype® is a registered trademark of Katherine Chernick Fauvre (USPTO Reg. No. 6474587). USPTO record.
- This course's own design: the plain wording of the centre table, the count of 162, the table of six ideas, the optional record prompt, the sorting task, and the cases of Taleen, Leen and Rasha (fictional). This course is independent of Katherine Fauvre and Enneagram Explorations.