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Type Five - The Investigator

Type Five: The Investigator

Often called Investigators, Fives are motivated by a need to gain knowledge, conserve energy, and avoid relying on others. Analytical, detached, and private, they collect knowledge and hoard information in order to be as independent and self-sustaining as possible. This withholding and self-sufficient attitude can often unwittingly lead to holding back love and affection from others. They relate to the world through the mind and reside in the Head Triad.

At their best, Fives are self-sufficient and great listeners, capable of true neutrality and measured, logical thought. At their worst, Fives are bad at opening up with others and find it hard to get on board with things that do not interest them, which can make relationships feel one-sided to others.

Fives at a Glance

  • Basic Desire: To be independent and capable
  • Biggest Fear: Being incompetent or helpless
  • Deadly Sin: Greed

Wings

Your wing is one of the two numbers on either side of your main type. You may lean in the direction of one of these types and pick up some of its characteristics.

  • Fives with a Four wing are creative, empathetic, and self-absorbed, needing to process their feelings on their own. With access to the Four’s depth of emotion, they are more connected to their feelings and less emotionally guarded.
  • Fives with a Six wing are more relational yet also more aware of their fear, which can make them cautious, skeptical, and apt to challenge authority.

Stress & Security

  • In Stress: Fives take on qualities of Sevens, clinging to things more tightly and focusing solely on their own need for safety. They also become more frivolous, disorganized, distracted, and condescending, living completely in their heads without thinking of others.
  • In Security: Fives take on qualities of Eights, making a dramatic shift towards spontaneity and confidence. They become much more talkative and energetic in this space.

You’ll Know You’re a Five if You’re:

  • Curious
  • Emotionally Detached
  • Independent
  • Secretive
  • Researcher
  • Critical
  • Modest
  • Analytical
  • Innovative
  • Focused
 

Content adapted from The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile. Type names also appear at The Enneagram Institute®.

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