FAQ

Collage Typing FAQ’s

1. “Isn’t it impossible to type people from collages?”

Yes, every new idea is controversial until it’s widely accepted. This is one of many typing methods that may reveal something about you. It’s experimental, it’s new. But most importantly, it’s a conversation starter to talk about the material.

2. “What if the collages I created don’t represent me or my type?”

The very act of making a collage of images you’re drawn to represents some aspect of you. It’s a non-verbal pre-cognitive exercise, much like the unconscious nature of instincts and type. You don’t know how or why you’re drawn to those images, but it’s revealing something we have little control over.

3. “What if you’re wrong about what you’re seeing in my collage?”

The collage exercise is more art than science. It’s an intuitive understanding linking instincts/type and image style. It’s not law. So take it with a grain of salt. Try not to be surprised/upset if people don’t see the type you think you are. See it as an opportunity to discover if others are seeing something about yourself you missed. Even as an “art,” the exercise is quite accurate.

4. "What about context? Can someone’s background, gender, personality etc influence their choice of images?"

We can’t control instinct. Circumstantial factors and background have an influence but instinct is so pervasive that it shows up no matter what your background or personality is. There's a wide range of different expressions, but the energy remains the same.

The collage exercise is effective because it’s largely unconscious and without context. Instincts are moment to moment pre-cognitive drives. Rather than talking about your instincts you have to catch yourself in the act, and that's what the collage exercise does.

5. "What about these other collages I made, are they also the same type?"

The magic of the collage exercise is that everything you make is a demonstration of instinct. It doesn’t matter how many times you make collages, each one has your stacking’s fingerprint. It isn’t about the content, it’s that you have a consistent image style that reflects your stacking. People often keep making collages in the hopes others will see something different. That’s like trying on new clothes and hoping people don’t recognize you. Our instinct stacking and image style don’t change.

6. "But I relate most to another type other than the one my collage shows"

The idea in asking for feedback is getting to see things about yourself you hadn’t seen before, not to convince people of what type you most relate to.

“I most relate to —insert type—” is how every single one of us mistype. That is why we practice evidence based typing and get feedback. We examine ourselves with video, collages, social media posts, lifestyle and career patterns. The point of these exercises is the same reason we study the enneagram — we can’t see ourselves accurately. We all have blindspots about who we think we are. You constantly have to seek out new insight and explore what you hadn’t considered. Being sure you know is the end of curiosity, and how we stay stuck in old patterns.

7. “What happens if I purposely try to choose images to represent another stacking? Or choose images I hate?”

Your stacking will still show. It depends on how forcefully you're going against your own natural choices. But just the act of making a choice at all would imply some preference. Even a preference to what turns you off.

8. “But I took x test and I got this result!”

There is no verbal test for instincts. In terms of enneagram type, the Enneagram Universe type test is the most accurate out there in the way that it catches 3-6-9 more clearly, but I recommend that mostly to people who are new to the enneagram as a way to start narrowing things down. Once you’re already acquainted with the material, answering someone else’s questions will only lead you to verbalize what’s conscious to you. The more accurate way to do a psychological test is to find what's already just there. This means doing a free-form exercise with the subject choosing the material themselves rather than being directed by the tester. This includes making a collage, or just speaking in a typing video about things unrelated to the enneagram. All the accidentally type patterns will slip out this way.

9. “What if you're confusing x type for how you type my collage?"

After receiving hundreds of collages, we've found that each stacking's image style remains the same regardless of type. The differences between each stacking aren't subtle and are very distinct, it's why we've able to see a direct link between instinct stacking and collages. If you're interested, it's likely we have in the archive examples any type+instinct collage for comparison.

If you’re willing to have our experts examine your lifestyle and habits, their observations might show you things about yourself you are not aware of.
Collages are one of several typing methods we implement as part of our typing services here at Universe. An in-depth examination and analysis would include supporting evidence from your video, lifestyle, and career that paints a full and detailed picture. We recommend that you make multiple collages for more data.

Either way have fun with this :)