Type 7s are playful, energetic, and talkative spirits.
Reading time: 5 minutes
Gregory Park, Ph.D.
Author
In the Enneagram framework, Type 7s — also known as Enthusiasts or simply Sevens — are playful, energetic, and talkative spirits.
Hook and colleagues (2021) describe Type 7s’ core desire as a need to avoid pain. At their worst, Type 7s’ frenetic energy leads to divided attention and an inability to persist on long-term goals. In this state, Type 7s struggle to invest the time and effort in any single endeavor long enough to reap the rewards.
This negative side emerges as a symptom of Type 7’s core fear of being trapped in boredom, pain, or deprivation.
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Others might describe Type 7s as
The wordcloud below shows the top 100 words used to describe Type 7s. Bigger words describe the more prominent aspects of most Type 7s.
Type 7s with a 6 wing, or 7w6s, take on some characteristics of Type 6: The Loyalist, including a strong need for reassurance from their relationships. Type 7w6s often channel their social enthusiasm, wit, and creative energy into humoring and entertaining others.
Type 7s with an 8 wing, or 7w8s, exhibit characteristics of Type 8: The Challenger. Type 7w8s retain the same drive for social engagement, but they have a calmer, more assertive interpersonal style. They are often less bubbly and agreeable than their Type 7 counterparts, and they excel at focusing their social skills to meet objectives in their social and professional lives.
In times of health and security (i.e., integration), Type 7s shift towards Type 5: The Investigator. One indication of this shift is a slowing down of Type 7’s typical racing mind and behavior. Healthy 7s approach situations with calm, relaxed energy, and they are more likely to introspect and reflect rather than rush on to the next opportunity.
In times of stress (i.e., disintegration), Type 7s shift towards Type 1: The Reformer. Following this shift, Type 7s’ may attempt to rein in their attention with harsh systems and self-imposed rules. They may throw themselves into an unrealistically rigid schedule or routine, only to fall back out soon after, leading to a cycle of disappointment and frustration.
Based on their distribution of personality traits, TraitLab estimates that roughly 6% of people would be classified as Type 7s.
In studies of personality structure, researchers often use a trait-based approach to describing the differences between people instead of personality types. The most well-established method is the Big Five, which describes differences along five broad dimensions:
Personality types are far less precise than getting exact Big Five measurements, but knowing your personality type can give you a rough idea of where you fall on each dimension.
In the graph below, each dot is a Type 7, placed by where they fall on the Big Five dimensions. You can see that Type 7s can vary quite a bit on any single dimension.
For example, on the Extraversion dimension, Type 7s tend to score much higher than average, so the High and Very High areas are very dark blue. However, there are still a few rare Type 7s in the middle of the Extraversion spectrum.
Below, you can see more detail on how Type 7s score on each Big Five dimension.
As a group, Type 7s are typically higher on Openness to Experience. High Openness to Experience is related to strong need and preference for novelty across all types of experiences.
Like many Type 7s, highly open people tend to have diverse tastes in food, music, art, and literature, are intellectually curious, and often embrace unconventional habits, ideas, or beliefs.
Conscientiousness describes one’s tendency to make detailed plans, be highly organized and systematic, and follow consistent, regular schedules.
The relatively low conscientiousness of Type 7s means that they more readily accept chaos and irregularity and may actively avoid what they perceive as being too organized or systematic.
Type 7s are less likely to be highly focused and dedicated to a single long-term goal. Instead, they tend to act more impulsively, happily bounce between smaller, short-term projects and goals.
Lastly, Type 7s will feel less obligated to carefully follow widely accepted social norms, rules, and regulations in several areas of life. They may opt for an unconventional or even rebellious approach.
Type 7s stand out from all other types by their unusally high Extraversion.
Like many Type 7s, highly extraverted people tend to be more socially outgoing and talkative, and they often seek out more stimulating environments (think loud, crowded, or risky and exciting situations). High extraverts also feel and express positive emotions (e.g., joy, laughter, excitement) more intensely and more frequently.
Highly introverted people are more socially reserved and quiet. They have a lower tolerance for highly stimulating environments and often retreat to calm and quiet situations in solitude. They also experience positive emotions less intensely and less frequently. For example, others may notice that introverts tend to smile and laugh less often than most.
Type 7s are not strongly differentiated by their level of Agreeableness. In other words, some Type 7s may be very agreeable, others are more demanding, and most fall somewhere in between those extremes.
Agreeableness describes your interpersonal warmth, politeness, and empathy.
Less agreeable (or more demanding) people are often less concerned with others when pursuing their own goals. They are more willing to create conflict or express disagreement across most situations and feel less discomfort during interpersonal disputes.
Highly agreeable people feel a deep need to maintain warm, friendly relationships and are naturally more hesitant to impose their will on others. They will be more considerate of how their actions impact others and try to reduce or resolve interpersonal conflicts when they arise.
While Type 7s also vary in their level of Neuroticism, most Type 7s fall on the lower, more emotionally stable end of the Neuroticism spectrum
Neuroticism describes how we react to stress and our tendency to experience a variety of negative emotions. As most Type 7s are less neurotic or emotionally stable, they tend to have steadier, more predictable moods, and can more easily adapt to life’s sudden changes and disruptions.
Less neurotic people, like most Type 7s, generally experience less anxiety, anger, frustration, and sadness. They still experience these negative emotions, but less frequently and with less intensity than their more neurotic counterparts. Likewise, they tend to ruminate less on bad experiences and are less likely to doubt and second-guess themselves, resulting in a calmer, more confident style of thinking through problems and decision-making.
Most personalities can’t be described perfectly by a single Enneagram type.
However, with TraitLab’s Enneagram test, you can see which of the nine Enneagram types is most similar to your personality.
For comparisons between Type 7s and other Enneagram types, visit any of the type pairings below:
