Why Are INFJ Personalities Often Enneagram Type 4s?

Are you an INFJ personality type who has taken the Enneagram test? If you are, I’ll take a wild guess that your type is an Enneagram Type 4. Even though the Enneagram uses a completely different model of personality typing to the 16-type theory created by Briggs and Myers, many INFJs seem to wind up as Enneagram Fours. Let’s explore why. 

When an INFJ Takes the Enneagram Test

When I took my first Psychology 101 course in 2011, I immediately fell in love with the subject and had a heightened interest in personality theory. It was there that I first took the Big 5 test, and followed the professor’s tip to take the Myers-Briggs test as well. Learning that I was an INFJ was eye-opening. It explained everything I’d always felt to a T. But personal growth doesn’t end there.

Eventually, I would take the Enneagram test and experience similar excitement. The Enneatype 4 felt like a page out of my personal book. Here’s a chart of my Truity Enneagram result, a 4w3.

As you can see, my dominant number (the highest percentage) is 4, whereas the largest match of the numbers on either side, my Enneagram wing, is a 3.

You can take the Enneagram test for free and read all about the Enneagram system to get the full picture.

What is Enneagram Type 4? 

The multifaceted Enneagram Type 4 has a sense of uniqueness; a sense that they are different from everyone else. Of course, while feeling different can be a good thing, it also means that Type 4s will experience feelings of alienation, like they are never quite right; like they will never fit in with the bulk of society. This sense of self is both a huge strength, as well as a weakness at times. 

Type 4s are creative, authentic, and view the world through a kaleidoscope of colors. But, they find themselves wondering about their worth in a society they see as “cookie-cutter.” They are attuned to their emotions, but they also struggle with their emotional wellbeing if they fall into a period of bad luck. 

This type’s goal is to be and remain authentic; to avoid being like everyone else. The dark side is their ongoing battle with the idea that they are somehow flawed, since they are setting themselves apart from the mainstream. A healthy Type 4 can find peace in their individuality, work, and artistic inclination by using their talents to express who they are to the world.

The INFJ’s Most Common Enneagram Results Are Type 4 Wing 5 (4w5).

An Enneagram wing is a corresponding facet of our personality; where Type 4 is your core ruling personality, wing 3 or 5 is another extension of you. Your wing influences your drive and goals, and affects the direction of your core type. I’m an Enneagram 4w3, but I was so close to getting a 4w5, the difference was almost inconsequential. I scored 77% on 5 and 78% on 3, so 3 won out by a mere one percent. 

INFJ & Type 4w5

Type 4w5 means Type 5: The Investigator is the copilot to the Enneagram 4. Fives are all about knowledge, information and studying. They are analytical, withdrawn, independent, and often lost in their own thoughts. With a focus on analytical concepts, critical thinking, and research, Type 5s are somewhat uncomfortable around people. Type 4w5 may desire to understand the unknown through art, expressing humanity and the “what-ifs” through their creations.

INFJ & Type 4w3

If an INFJ happens to score a Type 4w3, then their helper is Type 3: The Achiever.

Type 3 is all about reaching goals, achieving great heights, and keeping a full schedule. You might call them workaholics, even. Type 3s aim for success and often have a lengthy list of accomplishments because of how driven they are. 

A 4w3 takes on that intense drive to succeed and charismatic ability but remains an individualistic artistic, likely more prone to approval-seeking than 4w5.

Why do most INFJs seem to get an Enneagram Type 4 result? 

Expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental. These are some of the words used to describe the Enneagram Type 4. Many INFJs might shrink away from this negative terminology. But if you sit down and compare the INFJ personality profile to the Enneagram Type 4, the differences are surprisingly few. In fact, the only differences you may notice are the terms used to describe the types. 

Uniqueness and creation is key to INFJ and Type 4 identity.

• Creativity and artistic inclination are apparent in both the INFJ and the Enneatype 4. This creativity can manifest in many ways. Both the INFJ and the Type 4 like to channel their emotions through creative endeavors. 
• Both Type 4s and INFJs often feel that they have something unique to give back to the world, and getting there is one of their lifetime goals.
• Like INFJs, Type 4s fear both failure and an inability to share their unique attributes with their peers.
• INFJs and Type 4s don’t need the mainstream media to dictate what they should wear, how they should behave, or what their tastes should be. They both march to the beat of their own drum.

INFJ and Enneatype 4s are prone to moodiness, self-absorption and fragility

• INFJs and Enneatype 4s are both moody. Their emotions play a large role in how they make their decisions, but that’s not to say it’s a negative thing: it can, in fact, be positive in the sense that these types are more attuned to the human condition than other types.
• A connection to the human condition and empathy, since they are so attuned to emotions, appears in both typologies.
• Their feelings of displacement in the world affects their self esteem for the better and the worse.
• INFJs are intensely independent, and Type 4s are  too. Sometimes, this might be mistaken for anti-social tendencies.
• The Type 4 “self-absorption” is the Enneatype’s intense focus on their goals and achieving a feeling of acceptance amongst their peers. This is also true for INFJs.

The Takeaway

The Enneagram Type 4 is an outline and a spectrum, like other personality tests. It uses more negative language than the Myers-Briggs personality system to describe a person, but remember that the negative traits are not where most people are — or ever will be — in their lives. For INFJs, it’s useful to concentrate on the similarities of the Enneagram Type 4 to the INFJ in terms that are less negative. 

Type 4s are artists, with a quirky personality like the INFJ that is both charming and enigmatic to the other personalities types. The Type 4 shares a very similar feeling of individuality that is hard to explain. They are likely to feel out of place often, and this may cause them to feel meandering. Despite this,  these unique individuals contribute much to the world with their unique outlooks.

The main caveat for the INFJ-Type 4 is to stay true to themselves, without letting their feelings of alienation make them bitter or negative.

If you’re an INFJ, you’re likely an Enneatype 4: a true individual who doesn’t need the outside world to brighten your rich, artistic inner world.