In this article, you’ll find comparisons of two Enneagram types — Type 7s and Type 8s — across four important personality domains: Interpersonal/Communication Style, Emotional Style, Intellectual Style, and Organizational Style.
TraitLab collected data about personality traits from thousands of participants who identified as a single Enneagram type.
For each comparison area below, you’ll see show the average similarities and differences between Type 7s and Type 8s. While these comparisons are useful for understanding broad trends across these types, it’s important to remember that all personality types are oversimplifications. For an assessment of your unique personality, you’ll want to use an assessment that goes beyond single personality types.
Type 7 and Type 8 Interpersonal and Communication Styles
Your particular style of communicating and interacting with others can be described fairly well by two dimensions: assertiveness and warmth.
Assertiveness describes your tendency to assert yourself, lead, and influence others in social situations, while warmth describes your tendencies to empathize and put others’ needs ahead of your own.
People with the same personality type often share some similarities in assertiveness and warmth. In the graph below, you can see where most Type 7s and most Type 8s fall along both of these dimensions.
First, take a look at where people in each type, on average, fall in this interpersonal space.
A comparison of Enneagram Type 7s and Type 8s along interpersonal dimensions. The blue dot shows the average position of Type 7s, and the blue circle shows where roughly 50% of Type 7s fall in interpersonal space. The orange dot and circle show similar positions for Type 8s.
Type 7s often manage, direct, and try to lead others. At their best, they provide guidance and leadership, and naturally command respect. Type 7s may be domineering, forceful, or overly direct. At their worst, they can be overbearing and micromanaging.
Type 8s are assertive, competitive, and like a good challenge. At their best, they are bold and confident leaders who are willing to take unpopular action. Type 8s may be overly proud, boisterous, and willing to manipulate others to achieve their goals. At their worst, they can be narcissistic, overly focused on their own needs, and lack empathy for others.
One notable difference between many Type 7s and most Type 8s is in your interpersonal warmth. Like many Type 7s, you are more likely on the warmer, friendlier, more empathetic side of the spectrum. Compared to you and other Type 7s, Type 8s’ interpersonal style can sometimes feel distant, cold, and uninterested in your wants and needs.
However, you and most Type 8s both tend to be more assertive and dominant in social situations. You are both managing, directing, and leading others, and feel comfortable taking the lead. This may lead you to butt heads with some Type 8s, because at times, you can both be domineering or overly direct.
Type 7 and Type 8 Emotional Styles
Another characteristic of your personality is your emotional style — your tendencies towards different kinds of moods. There are two dimensions that influence emotional style: arousal and valence.
Arousal describes your relative energy level across different situations. Those with high baseline levels of arousal tend to be generally more alert, active, and engaged, while those with a lower baseline are more reserved, subdued, and inhibited.
Valence describes whether these moods tend to be positive (pleasant) or negative (unpleasant). People with a more positively valenced style are more likely to experience emotions like joy, enthusiasm, satisfaction, and serenity. People with a more negatively valenced style are more likely to experience sadness, frustration, dissatisfaction, and anxiety.
The graph below shows where each type, on average, usually sits in this emotional space.
A comparison of Type 7s and Type 8s along emotional (or affective) dimensions. The blue dot shows the average position of Type 7s, and the blue circle shows where roughly 50% of Type 7s fall in interpersonal space. The orange dot and circle show similar positions for Type 8s.
Most Type 7s and Type 8s overlap heavily in their emotional style.
Type 7s and Type 8s tend to be energetic and enthusiastic across most situations. They take on new challenges with excitement, confidence, and a sense of adventure. Type 7s and Type 8s are usually more optimistic than most people, and they generally feel like they can handle what life throws at them.
Like most Type 7s, you and many Type 8s share a relatively high energy level. You both prefer to be in motion, actively engaged in something interesting, rather than sitting back and observing. In the best case, the two of you feed off the other’s energy and excitement, and there’s rarely a quiet moment when you’re together.
Likewise, both Type 7s and Type 8s are generally more positive than negative. They are more likely to express enthusiasm, satisfaction, happiness, and other positive emotions across most situations. Like everyone else, they occasionally experience negative emotions like sadness, anxiety, and anger, but they soon return to their usual pleasant state. Together, Type 7s and Type 8s tend to share an optimistic outlook and a resilience to stress.
Type 7 and Type 8 Intellectual Styles
Your intellectual style describes how you receive, process, and pursue different kinds of information. Differences in intellectual style are captured well by two dimensions: ideas and aesthetics.
Ideas describes your appetite for new information and your interest in complex, challenging material. People high on the ideas dimension have an appreciation for complexity and technical details. People lower on ideas are less interested in learning for learning’s sake, and they prefer to simplify complex topics down to the essential details.
Aesthetics captures your relative interest and sensitivity to aesthetic information and its emotional impact. People higher on the aesthetics dimension usually have strong artistic interests and a deep appreciation for beauty in many forms. Those lower on aesthetics tend to value practical application over artistic merit and usually adhere to more conventional standards of beauty.
In the graph below, you’ll see where Type 7s and Type 8s, on average, fall in this intellectual space.
A comparison of Type 7s and Type 8s along intellectual dimensions. The blue dot shows the average position of Type 7s, and the blue circle shows where roughly 50% of Type 7s fall in intellectual space. The orange dot and circle show similar positions for Type 8s.
Type 7s tend to be deep thinkers — bright, curious, and philosophical. They are highly receptive to new ideas and drawn to complex, abstract concepts. Type 7s enjoy taking in large amounts of information and typically have one or more creative outlets.
Type 8s are usually highly effective, efficient thinkers, capable of processing large amounts of complex information and distilling it down to its most useful elements. They are pragmatic and grounded and prefer to apply their knowledge to conventional, practical pursuits.
As a Type 7, you and many Type 8s share a love of learning new, challenging ideas. You both appreciate complexity and nuance, and the two of you can spend hours discussing and debating a wide range of topics. When you are together, you often elevate the conversation to a more theoretical, philosophical level.
Another difference between Type 7s and Type 8s is their relative interest in aesthetic, artistic, and emotional experiences. As a Type 7, you are more likely to value artistic expression and unconventional ways of thinking, while your Type 8 counterpart is more practical and traditional. Type 7s tend to reflect more on emotional experiences, looking for patterns and connections, and they are more receptive to eccentricity and fantasy. In contrast, Type 8s often avoid reading too deeply into their emotions, and they can be dismissive or skeptical about unconventional ways of thinking.
Type 7 and Type 8 Organizational Styles
Your organizational style describes your habits around organization and planning. Your organizational style influences how you structure your time and physical space. Differences in organizational style fall along two dimensions: industriousness and orderliness.
Industriousness describes your persistence, need for achievement, and intensity of focus. People higher on industriousness usually organize their behavior around a few important long-term goals. People lower on industriousness are usually more focused on the present and will more easily change their focus when new opportunities appear.
Orderliness describes your need for regularity, order, and structure in your environment. People higher on orderliness prefer tidy, organized physical spaces, detailed schedules, and reliable routines. People lower on orderliness can tolerate more disorganization and prefer a more spontaneous, unstructured approach.
The graph below shows the average position of Type 7s and Type 8s along these dimensions of organizational style.
A comparison of Type 7s and Type 8s along organizational dimensions. The blue dot shows the average position of Type 7s, and the blue circle shows where roughly 50% of Type 7s fall in organizational space. The orange dot and circle show similar positions for Type 8s.
Type 7s thrive in unstructured environments with fewer constraints and more room for improvisation and serendipity. They generally focus on enjoying the present rather than preparing for the future. Type 7s highly value spontaneity and the flexibility to change their mind, and they resist setting hard deadlines or rigid expectations.
Type 8s often have big, ambitious goals, and they can be unusually resourceful. Once they’ve set their mind on a goal, they often pursue it with tremendous effort. However, Type 8s often resist highly structured, tedious approaches to achieving their goals. They’d rather avoid creating detailed plans and are more comfortable improvising and moving quickly with the resources they have on hand.
Like many Type 7s, you and most Type 8 often differ in your need to achieve explicit goals and use your time productively. While you embrace the here and now, your Type 8 counterpart is often thinking about and planning for the future. When you are keeping your eyes out for new, interesting opportunities, Type 8s are usually working away with their heads down. This difference between your present-oriented mindset and their future-oriented one can create occasional tension. However, this difference also helps you balance the other out at times. Your Type 8 counterpart often needs you to break them out of their need for productivity and efficiency while they can provide you with additional focus and motivation.
However, Type 7s and Type 8s share a more intuitive, unstructured approach to most areas of their lives. Both of you take life as it comes, and you avoid overly detailed plans and high levels of organization. Compared to most people, the two of you also have higher tolerances for messiness and disorganization.
How to identify your most similar Enneagram type
Most people have complex personalities and can’t be described perfectly by a single Enneagram type.
With TraitLab’s comprehensive analyses of your traits, strengths, and interests, you can see how your personality compares to all nine Enneagram types. Start building your personality profile by creating a free account today.
Enneagram Type 7 compatibility with other types
For comparisons between Type 7s and other Enneagram types, visit any of the type pairings below:
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