Three Instinctual Priorities, as Each Author Describes Them

What you'll be able to do

• Name the three instincts in each author's own terms, without blending the authors.
• Explain the third instinct in the sources' sense, and why liking one-to-one talk or concentrating hard does not identify it.
• Say that any order among the three instincts is the authors' claim.

Three instincts, in every person

Riso and Hudson, the Enneagram Institute and Fauvre all describe three instincts that everyone has, with one usually drawing more of a person's attention than the others. Riso and Hudson write that "one Instinctual variant will be somewhat more developed than the others" (PDF page 443).

How much weight this carries. In 1996, Riso and Hudson wrote that the study of the instincts "is in relatively early stages, and so far has not crystallized into a coherent picture" (PDF page 443). The Institute's page is by an organisation that teaches its own framework, so it describes the framework and does not test it. Treat everything in this module as the authors' view, to be tried against your own observation.

Who calls them what

The authors use different names. Each cell is that author's wording, not ours. Keep the words with their author.

In these sources, "sexual" is the authors' technical name for the third instinct. In this course, "the third instinct" simply means the one named third in this table. It does not mean third in anyone's order.

What they say about the first two

Self-preservation. Riso and Hudson link it to "money, food, housing, health, physical safety, and comfort" (PDF page 443). The Institute writes of "the safety, comfort, health, energy, and well-being of the physical body".

Social. Riso and Hudson describe a focus on "interactions with other people" and on the "sense of value or esteem" gained from taking part in "collective activities" (PDF page 444). The Institute says Social types "adapt themselves to serve the needs of the social situation", which fits its second name, "Adaptive".

Chestnut and Paes describe each instinct in more detail in their chapters on the nine types. This course does not teach those passages.

The third instinct, as the sources describe it

Riso and Hudson describe "a desire for intensity of experience", and give as examples "a great conversation or an exciting movie". They write that "the question is more one of the intensity of contact and the strength of the desire for intimacy", and that such people seek a powerful sense of "aliveness". They add that these people are "often neglecting pressing obligations" if they are "swept up" (carried away) in someone or something that has captivated them (PDF page 445).

The Enneagram Institute describes "an intense drive for stimulation and a constant awareness of the 'chemistry' between themselves and others", and it speaks of a "fusion" as the ideal. It adds that the instinct is "not necessarily about people engaging in the sexual act".

Chestnut and Paes name it sexual and also call it one-to-one (PDF page 16).

The authors stress different things: Riso and Hudson stress intensity of contact and experience; the Institute stresses stimulation and chemistry. This course does not choose between them.

What does not identify it

• Liking one-to-one talk. Riso and Hudson write that "almost all people prefer communicating one-on-one rather than in a group" (PDF page 445). The Institute says "all three instinctual types are interested in one-on-one relationships for different reasons, so this does not distinguish them."
• Concentrating hard on a task. None of these sources describes focused work as the sign. What Riso and Hudson describe is intensity, and being swept up so far that pressing priorities slip.

A cue for your own moments (ours)

"Was there a moment when a conversation, an idea or a task carried me away so much that other priorities slipped?" The cue follows the Riso and Hudson passage, but the wording is this course's own. "No", "not sure" and "this lens does not fit this event" are complete answers. A priority can slip for many other reasons, so a slip alone points to nothing. One moment proves nothing about an instinct.

The order of the three. Some authors say people use the three instincts in an order, such as dominant, second and repressed. Every claim about order is the authors' claim. Lesson 19 looks at it.

Worked example

Zahra supervises a returns desk. She leads the Sunday team meeting and enjoys it. She writes: "I like meetings, so my first instinct must be Social." Here is how to check that sentence in three steps.

A blend to avoid. Someone writes: "Riso and Hudson call the third instinct Attraction." They call it "Sexual"; "Attraction" is the Institute's second name for it. A sentence that mixes authors cannot be checked against any source.

Watch: The three instincts, as each author describes them

As you watch, notice:

• the different names each author uses, kept with that author;
• why the video says liking one-to-one talk does not identify the third instinct;
• how Taleen turns a possible pull into one question and checks one fact.

The lesson teaches the same points in text, so it is complete without the video.

Your turn

Do this privately, in your own record. Use the tables above.

Part A. Match the author. For each statement, write which source says it: Riso and Hudson, Chestnut and Paes, the Enneagram Institute, Fauvre, or "none of these".

1. Gives "Sexual (aka 'Attraction')" as a name and describes "an intense drive for stimulation".
2. Describes "the intensity of contact" and says people "swept up" may neglect "pressing obligations".
3. Names the three as self-preservation, social and sexual, and also calls the third one-to-one.
4. Lists "money, food, housing, health, physical safety, and comfort".
5. Uses the short forms sp, so and sx.
6. Says that people who prefer one-to-one talk to group talk have the third instinct as their strongest.

Part B. One sentence. Write one sentence on why liking one-to-one conversations, or concentrating hard on a task, does not identify the third instinct. Name at least one source.

Extra practice (optional)

Raed writes: "I choose a one-to-one over a team huddle every time, and last week I worked four hours without looking up. So my third instinct is dominant." In two sentences, say what the sources say about each fact, and what claim his notes can support.

Knowledge check

Key takeaways

• The authors name the three instincts differently. Keep each author's words with that author.
• In these sources the third instinct is about intensity, stimulation and being swept up, as each author describes it. Liking one-to-one talk, or concentrating hard, does not identify it.
• In 1996, Riso and Hudson wrote that the study of the instincts was at an early stage. Treat all of it as the authors' view.
• The course never asks about romantic or sexual life and never links an instinct to a colleague. Any order among the instincts is the authors' claim.

Sources

• Riso, D. R. with Hudson, R. (1996) Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery (revised edition). Houghton Mifflin. PDF pages 442 to 445 (the Instinctual types; the third instinct on PDF page 445; "relatively early stages" on PDF page 443, a 1996 statement). PDF page numbers are used because the printed pagination was not checked.
• Chestnut, B. and Paes, U. (2021) The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up. Hampton Roads Publishing. PDF page 16 (the three instincts: self-preservation, social and sexual, which they also call one-to-one). The printed page number is the PDF page minus 13.
• The Enneagram Institute, "How the Enneagram System Works", section on the three instincts, enneagraminstitute.com/how-the-enneagram-system-works. The Institute's own description of its framework, not independent evidence. Used for "Social (aka 'Adaptive')", "Sexual (aka 'Attraction')", "an intense drive for stimulation", "chemistry", "fusion", "not necessarily about people engaging in the sexual act" and the statement on one-on-one relationships.
• Fauvre, K. C. with Fauvre, D. W. (2013) The 27 Tritypes Revealed, 7th edition (booklet). PDF page 11 (sp, so and sx).
• This course's own design, not the authors': the by-author tables as arranged here, the cue question, the three-step check of a sentence, the fairness question, and the matching exercises. All cases (Zahra, Raed, Taleen, Anwar) are fictional.