Psychology In Seattle Podcast Enneagram Personality Test (2019 rerun)
Nov 6, 2025
Dive into the Enneagram personality test and its rising popularity! The hosts tackle its scientific validity and how it’s viewed by skeptics. They explore whether it holds real value in therapy, despite some skepticism. Personal stories highlight how the Enneagram brings people together, especially in religious communities. Discover the curious balance between subjective usefulness and scientific backing, all while enjoying lively debates about personality testing.
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Hosts' First Encounters With Enneagram
- Humberto admitted he only heard of the Enneagram about a year earlier and confused it with medical terms.
- Kirk had been in psychology 24 years and was surprised he'd never encountered Enneagram in the literature.
Non-Scientific Claims Still Imply Tests
- Claiming a system offers insight without predictive claims still implies testable assertions.
- Dismissing scientific evaluation doesn't remove the need for evidence if the system is used to predict or explain behavior.
Scientific Validity Is Limited
- The scientific literature generally finds the Enneagram lacks validity as a personality measure.
- Yet clinicians and users may still find it subjectively useful despite limited empirical support.