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Beatrice Chestnut

The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge

Fives and Sixes are alike in many ways. Both Fives and Sixes can be reserved and withdrawn. More phobic Sixes, in particular, resemble Fives, as both types tend to be introverted and to seek a sense of security by moving away from other people. Fives maintain a distance between themselves and others because they want to guard against being depleted, while Sixes are wary of others and withdraw out of a fear that other people might represent some kind of danger or threat. Both types are slow to trust others when forming relationships. This is because Fives and Sixes both have safety and security concerns, though phobic Sixes tend to feel more actively fearful and anxious about outside threats, while Fives excel at avoiding fearful situations well before they occur. Fives and Sixes can be vigilant when it comes to interacting with others and protecting their boundaries, and both can become angry when their boundaries are challenged. Fives have a need for clear boundaries because the want to prevent intrusions and other potentially energy-draining interactions with others, while Sixes have a regular fear of being attacked or shamed in some way. Both Fives and Sixes are analytical, thinking types who intellectualize on a regular basis, meaning they rely on their thinking function a great deal as a way of avoiding feelings—they may think about feelings, but have a hard time actually feeling them.

Fives and Sixes also differ in some of their traits. Counterphobic (Sexual) Sixes can look very different from Fives, being much more extroverted than the more introverted Five. Sixes have more apparent issues with authorities than Fives do. Sixes can be suspicious of and even openly rebellious toward authority figures, while Fives can follow authorities if they choose to (and if they don’t, they may go against the established authority in a more quiet, less noticeable way). Sixes focus their attention on questioning and doubting in the quest for certainty, while Fives pay more attention to the accumulation of knowledge, the reduction of needs, and the economical use of resources like time and energy. Fives value emotional control, while Sixes do not prioritize the control of emotions in the same way.

When analyzing a situation, Fives can be very objective in their analysis, as they habitually detach from emotions. Sixes, on the other hand, can have a hard time distinguishing their intuitions from their projections—they may confuse the reality of what they are perceiving with what they fear is true. Interpersonally, Fives withdraw from others to avoid feeling pressed to meet their emotional needs, while Sixes do not fear meeting others’ needs and can be very generous with their time and energy with people they trust.

The Enneagram Institute

Misidentifications

Fives and Sixes are both Thinking types and, when educated, can both be quite intellectual. It is far more common for Sixes to mistype as Fives, but for some easily understood reasons. Of the two types, Sixes tend to be more linear and analytical in their thinking because they are interested in troubleshooting, in prediction, and in establishing methods that can be repeated. Thus, contrary to popular belief, the world of academia and higher education is more the realm of Sixes than of Fives. Academia teaches students to work with advisors and mentors, to cite sources and back up arguments with quotes from authorities, to follow proper procedures in papers and theses, and so forth–all type Six values.

Fives are much more non-linear in their thinking. They are interested in finding out where established theories break down and in developing iconoclastic ideas that shake up structures and established methods. Fives are, generally speaking, bolder than Sixes in their positions and creativity, but also far less practical. Fives feel that they can only trust their own minds to come to conclusions–they believe that everyone else is likely to be less well-informed. Sixes get frantic trying to find something to trust precisely because they do not trust their own minds to come to meaningful conclusions. The difference between them can be seen in the difference between Umberto Eco ( a Five) and Tom Clancy (a Six), or Peter Gabriel (a Five) and Bruce Springsteen (a Six).