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Type Fours are connected to their own rich, inner life and are concerned primarily with proving their uniqueness and pursuing the Ideal. Fives are similarly content with their own internal experience, but pursue their curiosity without a necessary regard for its relation to the Ideal. Type Fours are adjacent to Type Fives and therefore share some behavioral tendencies. These are known as Type Fours with a Five-Wing, or Type 4w5
Type Fours are known as “Individualists” due to their desire for uniqueness, connection to their own and the world's melancholy, and their pursuit of the Ideal in life, love, and work. Type Fives are the “Investigators” - innovative individualists often seen as detached and dwelling primarily in the realm of ideas. The five-wing enhances the already considerable inner-life of a Four but, when healthy, allows them to more readily detach from their emotions, rather than identifying with them. A 4w5 is content to keep to themselves and their own internal dialogue, which often comes across as aloof, eccentric, or avant-garde. For this reason, the 4w5 is known as the “Bohemian.”
Unlike core Type Four “Individualists”, or the 4w3 “Aristocrat”, a 4w5 is more likely to cease pursuing the Ideal and fall into nihilistic defeatism. They may despair in being understood and accepted, and so retreat into themselves, appearing almost stoic, despite the swirling emotions under the surface.
Type Fours default toward an internally-focused posture, meaning they are deeply connected to their emotions, but they often desire to prove their uniqueness. However, an Enneagram 4w5 still has such individuality whilst not needing validation from others.
Here are some of the key traits to a Type 4w5 personality.
Did you know: When unhealthy and stressed, an Enneagram TYpe 4 Wing 5 will retreat even further into themselves, and fully inhabit their feelings of lack and brokenness.
Enneagram types have fears and desires - things to avoid and things to seek.
Core fear: Their silence will be taken for a lack of unique contribution to the world.
Core desire: Discover their true, unique selves through deep inner-exploration
| Type 4w5 Strengths | Type 4w5 Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| More likely to explore, rather than identify with, emotions | Often fail to produce tangible work |
| Uniqueness exists for own self-expression rather than others’ approval | Lack of engagement with others |
| Feelings and intuitions tempered by investigation | Unable to appreciate others’ contributions |
| Engages when they are sure there is something to contribute | Become self-absorbed without exterior input |
Note: A five-wing of a 4w5 helps accentuate the Four's interiority, but tempers the emotional storm by interrogating the sources of emotion. However, they often will retreat into an endless cycle of self-analysis.
Some Type 4s do not exhibit wing traits significantly enough to say they have a wing. When this happens we say they are a 'core' Type 4. Not all Type 4s have a wing, as we see in our research results below.
Figure 1: Type 4 vs Type 4w3 vs Type 4w5
What this chart shows
This chart shows that 74.1% of Type 4s do not have a wing type, in other words they are 'core' Type 4s. And 2.2% of Type 4s are 4w3 and 23.8% are 4w5.
Notes:Although people with other types find themselves in these lines of work, and those identified as 4w5 may work outside these areas, here are a few likely spaces in which this type will be successful (or not):
Journalist or Writer
Architect
Artist
Politician
Sales
Manufacturing
This is not a definitive career list. There are lots of Enneagram 4w5 Type careers that are happy and successful which do not fall into the 'recommended' category. These are just suggestions of some of the best careers for a 4w5.
Here we will list some of the famous 4w5 people you may have heard of. Are you also 4w5? Do you recognize any personality similarities you can relate to?
Fydor Dostoyevsky
Russian novelist, most famous for his work 'crime and punishment' among others. His work ponders many philosophical ideas thoroughly, you can sense how he thinks deeply about such thoughts. One of his most famous quotes 'Beauty will save the world' gives an insight into his being.
J.K Rowling
One of the most popular writers of the 21st century. Her Harry Potter series reached worldwide popularity with millions of 'Potterheads' around the world today. She has since ventured into thrillers under the pen name 'Robert Galbraith'.
Kurt Cobain
Lead singer of Nirvana, Kurt was an icon for the punk rock scene. In classic 4w5 fashion, he was a true individual and battled with deep emotiions and a sense of inferiority. Sadly, he was an unhealthy 4w5, and committed suicide when he was 27.
Vincent Van Gogh
One of the most famous painters of all time. Van Gogh never experienced his celebrity during his lifetime, he spend most of his life in poverty and struggled with mental illness. He was a deep thinker, an individual, who, in his letters to his brother, revealed his sadness and melancholy.
George Harrison
Guitarist for The Beatles, and later, a singer-songwriter on his own, George has many qualities of the 4w5. A very introspective individiual, George's 4w5 qualities are on display in The Beatles single he wrote called 'While my guitar gently weeps'
Albert Camus
French philosopher, Albert Camus was extremley popular during the 1900s and was one of the most important figures in philosophy at that time. His work 'The Stranger' and 'The Fall' have high regard in the world of ethics.
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was a poet and writer, her most famous work being 'The Bell Jar'. Depressed and struggling with mental illness, her diaries reveal the thoughts and life of a 4w5.
Our research is always ongoing so please let us know if you think we've missed a noteworthy Type 4w5 worth highlighting.
University of Chichester, Advanced Applied Psychology
Chloe Yarwood, MSc in Advanced Applied Psychology from University of Chichester. Specialist in personality type theory and developing valid personality questionnaires.
Type 4w3