Social 7 In Detail

Gluttony in the Social Sphere

Social Gluttony manifests as a hunger for this sense of social ease and for all of the things that they believe will give it to them, predetermining their social activities. Their plans often turn to planning futures in which they finally get what they lack, gaining a sense of belonging, social acceptance, and social standing. A common misconception is that this type is truly selfless and sacrifices themselves for others, which isn't necessarily true. While the theme of sacrifice is common in the SO7, not only does this "sacrifice" have more to do with sacrificing one's desires (renounce) rather than self-sacrificing for others, but even when it is related to self-sacrificiality, it doesn't come from a background of true selflessness, but rather so that they can be seen as extraordinary and saintly by others, feeding the narcissistic ideal-self in which they take refugee to escape painful underlying feelings of inferiority, unworthiness and rejection. Once the other's look of admiration is secured, the Social Seven has already gotten what they wanted, thus they stop being serviceable and flee social contact so that a deeper bond is not created — that way their fraudulence can remain undetected and they don't have to commit on a deeper level, which as Sevens they fear. This whole strategy requires a lot of enthusiasm, idealism and social skill, but behind all of these traits lie many selfish compensations, those often being appreciation, recognition, good image, reduction of conflicts, creating debts for others to repay. All of this is achieved by manipulating through enthusiasm.

Ichazo titled SO7 "Social limitations", a person who keeps predetermining his social activities^[1], having an ideal of goodness or saintliness as a desire to not be gluttonous exploiter.^[2] Naranjo referred to people of this type as "good children", the kind who seek validation of their image as good people through performance, kindness, generosity and charm^[2], although he also observes that "behind every good boy there is a spiteful brat" that remains fraudulently hidden.^[3]

The following Trait Structure are a summarized description of the original descriptions taken from the Enneagram 7 book/ Golosos, tramposos, soñadores y charlatanes. The Book was written by devoted followers and students of Claudio Naranjo but published under his name and supervised by him.

Trait Structure^[4]

Narcissistic

Narcissism is a central trait of the social E7. We do not deal with it here in its clinical aspects, but on the level of common sense, as an expression of egocentrism.

Narcissistic refers here to a self-referential tendency in the relationship of the social E7 with reality. As if the events, experiences, and people implicitly subordinated them to his existential project.

It is appropriate to assume that the maternal function has been insufficient to install a bodily feedback system and has not facilitated contact with one's emotions. In addition, it has been accompanied by a positive expectation, a fantasy in which the mother imagines that the child can become an important and prestigious person. It is a narcissistic projection of the mother, of a substance more mental than emotional, which through a dynamic of identification of the child produces the basis for the process of idealization of himself.

This dynamic crystallizes, over time, in an automatism by which he only perceives the positive aspects, in a self-identification embedded in the superiority of someone who apparently enjoys life and does not need anything or anyone.

As we have described, the narcissism of the social E7 is hidden in a social dimension where the motivation of sacrifice stands out more. Good manners, facilitating the other, or the repression of anger allow him to put himself in superiority. The idealization of himself and others allows him to separate himself from his inner world, so that his pain, which he perceives in some way in times of difficulty, is continuously avoided.

The pain of rejection, feeling unacceptable, and abandoned, their inner value or the idea that we should do nothing are at the base of the structure that organizes the social E7, and are constantly avoided through a brilliant and captivating behavior, imbued with omnipotent fantasies and the fullness of a false self that is actually its weakness. It is like a beautiful house built on unstable ground that, over time, begins to cause problems throughout the structure. Just as Narcissus gets lost, swept away by his own beauty, the social E7 gets excited when he displays his seductive and manipulative modality, living in an ideal dimension to every circumstance that could potentially be the one that determines his destiny and that of humanity (grandiosity, omnipotence).

In short, the narcissism of the social E7 is manifested along two fundamental dimensions: self-referentiality and grandiosity, the result of identification with their ideal self.

Egotism

The difficulty of contact with the other translates into many behaviors of loneliness. The perception of a fundamental inadequacy coexists, an inaccessibility that resembles in certain aspects a social phobia, the lack of contact with others, and a certainty of rejection.

Helping through sacrifice is actually a narcissistic modality imbued with selfishness and exploitation of the other, unconsciously and with apparent disinterest. In the private sphere it is revealed in the most obvious ways where passivity expresses an expectation of care.

Envious and Intolerant to frustration

Envy, the central passion in E4, also appears in this structure, with the idea that others have an easier and more pleasant life, and can afford more things to satisfy their desire without doing anything, just like a child who has everything he wants without lifting a finger, in absolute passivity.

The underlying insufficiency, the narcissism inherent in the idea of ​​being a special person and therefore having the right to particular treatment, added to the envy of idealized people who have greater social prestige, and the attitude of going against authority, they make any frustration upset a precarious balance, in a self-destructive mix.

It is as if deep down there was an unacceptability of the present moment, which is structured from the compulsive desire to relive the excitement of vain drunkenness. It is a feeling of power that you feel when the passion of social sacrifice is realized: A very strong energetic charge suddenly gives you a deep sense of identity that, as if by magic, cleanses the weak and fragile parts, and the feeling of pain.

He lives like this, in fantasy, as if the ideal of life had been realized. When contrasted with reality, frustration comes inevitably. Unlike the E4, which tends to self-frustrate to maintain constant pain and sadness, the social E7 avoids frustration through a constant of pleasure where it ends up entering a destructive spiral in which it challenges life.

Excessive

As we will see later, this character uses his body in excess. Firstly, in sexuality, which is coveted since it creates a clash between tension and relaxation. Then, alcohol dependence, smoking, television, work... and anything else that helps you, through hypomanic emotionality, to modify what you find unacceptable or frustrating. He has to turn off the screams of a fierce narcissism inside him that reminds him that he is not what he should have become. And from there, the excess as narcotization. As if in mania he could, for a moment, disguise reality to make it more like what he would like it to be.

This can create an uncontrollable compulsion that only stops when it's too late, when the body gives major signals of difficulty. His challenge to life has the flavor of an angry protest and demand for fair compensation for having failed, after the suffering experienced by becoming a benefactor of humanity, a great guru, a powerful shaman. It is the only way, only in this way, at high levels, it is possible to match the accounts with life.

Good and Helpful

The good nature of the social E7 must be understood as a strategy to get a look of desire and completeness from the other. As often happens, he reproduces the game he learned with his mother. That look is a love with lowercase letters. A love conditioned to you behaving as I wish, to playing to complete me. In the social E7, the excessive reliance on pleasure, and the exaggerated avoidance of pain and frustration are sustained by an automatic scheme of seductive indulgence of the other to capture and receive attention. In a social dimension, this strategy is made explicit in being good and helpful, apparently sacrificed to the needs of the other.

If the trap of the social E7 is complacency, it does not manifest itself in a general sense but only with those for whom it feels an interest and for a limited time.

Good and helpful in the enneagram there are several characters, but the only one who makes a career to be a saint is the social E7. For this purpose, kindness and service to the other with an aggressive internal narcissism, which seeks extraordinariness. Who is more good than a saint? Who is more extraordinary than a saint? The saint is one who has been recognized by the community. The social E7 is not only interested in being one in private, but wants to be recognized in the public square. The image of holiness also suits this character as saints are also allergic to physical violence and genital pleasures.

Guiltiness

We will begin with the account of an episode in the life of Saint Francis in Assisi.

“Something similar had happened to him before, during the winter of 1220-1221, when, forced by one of the frequent recrudescences of his illness, he had allowed himself to eat cooked meat. As soon as he felt somewhat recovered, he ordered his vicar, Pedro Cattani, to drag him half naked, pulling him by the neck through the streets of the city of Assisi, at the end of his preaching in the cate by a rope. Arriving at the main square and the place where criminals were executed, he confessed aloud, and in front of a large crowd of people, the sin of gluttony he had committed.”

We have already seen that being perceived as extraordinary is a vital neurotic need for him and that the map to get there is drawn from the information he has collected from the world. The ultimate goal of your existence is determined by your ideal self. Freud defined the superego as one of the three instances that form the psyche, the one in charge of supervising the ego. The superego is especially relevant in this subtype because the concept of sacrifice captures a particular submission of the psyche to this inner ideal. In the psychic life of the social E7 a fierce fight is waged between his ideal self and his real self.

The social E7 is the one who has the most contact with his superego of the three subtypes, since he has relied on it to point him to the place of the Holy Grail. This split inner reality will be a source of anxiety in relationships with oneself and with the other, knowing oneself double.

The internal movement is persecutory, with a high degree of guilt. It is the effect of renewed frustration, of the inability to fully realize oneself, of being in life. This trait resembles the E6 characters, with the difference that the E7 has the ability to avoid and escape from the fear that can produce, and with which the E6 constantly coexist. In the related scene, Saint Francis transgresses (because he has real needs) and then makes a spectacle of his penance. Living guilt seems to forgive him in the eyes of God, and makes him feel superior. We find an aspect of jouissance: in the terrible guilt he feels fulfilled.

Hidden rebel and Devalues ​​authority

The social E7 will look anything but a rebel. At least not a dangerous rebel. But we must not forget that their relationship with their parental figures is tinged with manipulation, fraudulence, and a secret feeling of being above them.

Thus, the general rebellion of the social E7 occurs with everything that limits him, frustrates him, makes him put his feet on the ground, or contains him. It is a rebellion that will hardly appear directly, since he is terrified of conflict. For it to manifest, it needs a strong maternal authorization and a type of conflict in which the position of rebellion assimilates its ideals.

Paco Peñarrubia speaks of rebellion as a counterdependent reaction. From here we can specify two types: rebellion against the father and against the mother. It is an underground movement against the mother or father who have failed him, a way of returning the aggression suffered due to the confusion of roles.

The rebellious attitude, which has its roots in early childhood, expresses itself fully against authority in adolescence in an unspoken and silent manner. As with idealization, it has already taken root in the end of somewhere else to avoid what is frustrating and potentially painful in the here and now.

The social E7 harbors a feeling of rebellion against authority, a lack of discipline, and the automatism of running away from responsibility, with the superficiality that this entails. It becomes strong so that it doesn't have to be nice anywhere, and it disperses through fantasies and new projects of unlimited possibilities.

Formal obedience (instrumental and aimed at avoiding conflict) and internal rebellion coexist in this character. Overt rebellion, understood as disobedience, is not typical behavior, because the social E7 lacks the assumption of obedience in terms of recognition of authority. In addition, he lacks the aggressive drive necessary to maintain a direct contest with authority. If he enters into conflict, he will never abandon the word and the correct channels to show rebellion.

The rebellion is internal and is connected to the concepts of aporia and chaos. It is a chaotic plunge into a realm without limits or boundaries, in a personal limbic interregnum where there are interpretable rules.

The social E7 can, then, accept a rule even though it does not share its meaning, devaluing the person who embodies authority. It is a veiled and angry rebellion, which does not reach adult and equal confrontation.

In this very mental character, one of his favorite rebellions is the intellectual one. In her, the non-assumption of intellectual authorities, added to her difficulty in delving into concepts, generates a certain wandering and multi-knowledge at the service of her wanting to look extraordinary. It seems that he is more interested in impressing his interlocutor than letting himself be touched by the knowledge he acquires. The concepts acquired on the fly turn them into weapons of seduction and of rebellion. The social E7 enthusiastically welcomes new perspectives, new models and, before even chewing them, making them their own and digesting them (letting the content feed them), activates the mechanism of rebellion through criticism to identify the weaknesses of the system and imagine the reasons why you can immediately spit it out.

From this point of view, all the ideas are good and none are convincing, all the systems are fascinating and none are exhaustive. Of each model, as of each person, it sticks, like a post-it, to a superficial characterization. Devotional gluttony for knowledge is what drives you forward, pushing, in search of perfect revelation.

He lacks the intellectual sobriety to be able to stop and build knowledge in small steps, deepening, synthesizing. By becoming permeable to various types of knowledge, he limits his intellectual development. Everything that emerges again from the knowledge process leads him back to what he already knows, sometimes with extreme superficiality and synthesis, and quickly rediscusses it in a critical way. This activates in the interlocutor the perception that the mind of the social E7 can contemplate anything and the opposite, in a kind of cognitive polymorphism.

The deepening in the different models is done, in any case, with an attitude of rebellion towards the teachers; always with a clever wit, but never in an explicitly destructive way towards the person.

Intolerant of discipline and Afraid of commitment

The social 7 has no choice but to become aware of his self-indulgence when he observes his lack of discipline. The only form of discipline that he knows is that which is expressed in the passivity of renunciation. In the field of action, he fails to plan and work on the basis of predetermined objectives. Follow the spur of the moment and instrumental goals to your visibility in the relationship. It manages to keep only the narcissistic motivation stable, but not to project itself in a dimension that is authentically oriented towards fulfillment, for which it is worth committing and maintaining the agreements. He is satisfied with his intellectual planning. This aspect makes the social E7 inherently unreliable.

Regarding trust, he does not believe in his own personal worth and therefore cannot get involved in an existential project. This basic position is confirmed by their inability to respect promises and keep agreements which, although supported by excellent justifications, does not allay the feeling of defeat and indignity. This model of neurotic functioning represents one of the mechanisms of perpetuation of failure at the social level of this character.

Planner and Idealist

The social E7 lives on projects and fantasies about how he can realize his dreams, confusing the imagination with the concrete act of realization, and often remaining in the ideal illusion. It is common for you to start new projects with enthusiasm and then abandon them in the realization phase. This trend is due to two concomitant aspects. On the one hand, the difficulty of overcoming conflicts that would require the use of aggressive aspects, and on the other, that every realization implies frustration, since in the imagination more was expected from that project.

You often harbor a desire to always have plenty of options available to you and find it hard to make a real choice. Just as in affective relationships the social E7 feels caged, rarely in life do choices have the feeling that the decision could be right, with all the suffering that this could bring. He returns again and again to the place of potentiality, where everything is possible and he does not have to deal with castration, his own limits and his own humanity.

The multiplicity of options makes possible decision making difficult. Not so much because of having to face the doubt but because he knows that in all the elections he will have to go through a certain degree of frustration. The lack of discipline and the difficulty in assuming responsibilities create the budgets to remain an eternal adolescent. Thus, long-term responsibilities become unbearable obstacles.

Satisfying the neurotic need for novelty, to travel, to change jobs, to be interested in new topics, or to open the hypothesis of going to live in another city are all tricks to always have a plan B (at a mental level) on the go that allows you to fantasize about the possibility of leaving the model that creates certain difficulties when you get older. The game is beautiful when it does not last long.

The mental fugue in fanciful planning saves you from frustration and often prevents you from committing to the concrete in one direction. The resulting mental excitement is sometimes sufficient and fulfills a compensatory function for the ability to actually put oneself into play. It is therefore closely linked to the double objective of maximizing pleasure and minimizing the pain (frustration) that comes from the shock with reality.

Fantasy also represents the area where omnipotence and the grandiose identification of the social E7 can be expressed without fear of denials, and serves the gods and not men.

Skeptical of authority

We have already discussed the social E7's compulsion to appear extraordinary. What is more extraordinary, regarding power, than to renounce it?

Social E7 show their antisocial side to power in their lack of trust in authority and hierarchical structures, and in tolerating long-term commitments and taking responsibility. It is difficult for them to occupy positions of power, especially in explicitly patriarchal structures.

On a social level, however, she can create areas of influence through her work, taking advantage of her capacities linked to feminine values ​​of care and the transmission of knowledge. He does a good job as a family doctor, therapist, priest, or teacher. Likes the role of teacher, guide, or guru.

Masked competitiveness

Placing himself in the role of the anti-leader allows him to maintain an internal representation of superiority and make explicit an apparent detachment from competitive logics, with the advantage of not having to come into contact with aggressiveness and conflict. Even so, he has to feed the narcissistic beast that animates his neurosis, with which his competitiveness is voracious but never explicit. He must arrive with rewards when home and if not, he eats away inside until he manages to activate those rationalizing and idealistic defenses with which he rewires his self-image.

If he can't win, he will create a subtle narrative where the important thing was not to be first but to be second. Failure dismantles his crazy idea that he can do anything and leaves him at the mercy of suffering again the emotional pain that bothers him so much. Losing casts doubt on the character; therefore competing and winning is essential.

Afraid of conflict

The social E7 reacts anxiously to conflicting movements of individuation in groups, and compulsively activates behaviors that tend to smooth out differences and deny conflicts. His idealism supports an idea of ​​shared power, typical of communities of life. It is a type of social structure that does not take into account the political-economic-social status of people to organize interactions. All masks fall and there is only one encounter between people, without the structural aspects contemplated in social relations.

The ideal of shared power, with its potential for organismic self-regulation, mutes his need to avoid conflict and allows him to avoid the pain of conflicting interests. Exotic trips, retreats in monasteries, infinite formations... seeking to be constantly in a ritual of passage, without participating in the structure of the world, or facing the pain and repetition of everyday life. It is that being on top of the mountain, being well, feeling alive, feeling like brothers.

We can see this in the Rule of Saint Francis that, when he creates the Franciscan rules, what he wants is to avoid contact with the social structure. And one way to do this is to avoid contact with money and property.

The social E7 is ultimately more concerned with organizing hope than with generating a practical and reproducible structure.

Theatrical

A great theatricality, an innate comical vision allows him to draw attention to himself with the linguistic ability to amplify and extreme normal behavior, making it become paradoxical and grotesque with the creation of authentic characters. The social E7 has a natural comic tempo that allows him to enter any conversation, transform it into something funny, accompanying him to do everything with a naturally congruent gesture.

The long training in the pursuit of pleasure allows his mind to be constructed in such a way that he can find comic aspects in any situation, as if he were spontaneously capable of reconstructing it in humorous terms. It is a diversion that lives first in the inner world to later become the way to get along with others. It gives her a shot of energy that reaches its maximum in situations of seduction. This modality is evident in his talent for telling stories through quick and spirited associations, and is at the same time the matrix of an excitability that in some can become manic.

Hedonistic

The social E7 identifies love with the permissiveness of its desires. Here again is the schizophrenia of the social E7, where one thing is inside and another is outside. On the outside, hedonistic permissiveness is covered by the label of hedonistic capacity. He shows his ability to enjoy, which he uses to detect, obtain, and consume pleasure, within his narcissistic display. He brags about his licentiousness and his ability not to get stuck there.

Inside, on the other hand, a hedonistic debauchery leads him, depending on his state of mind, to need huge doses of pleasure of all kinds in order to recover a minimal existential presence. This inner reality has more to do with the addiction than with the use of the pleasurable. Pleasure is the best medicine for his narcissistic pains, he believes. Or the one that works best in the short term, allowing you to go through the painful symptoms that your reality produces.

Seductive

The interpersonal strategy of the social E7 is very subtle and hidden at the same time. We could define their way of relating as the expression of a basic ambivalence, in a mechanism of seduction and withdrawal.

When he is in the vicinity of the other, the seductive game of the social E7 intensifies, and he uses his best qualities: youthful, cheerful, teasing. As if he were in the service of the other, to change his mood and do him good, so that he feels good, make an unforgettable moment, creating an anchor with good humor and well-being. It becomes essential to surprise, fascinate, amuse, do anything that allows you to reach the other in an indirect way, and even better if in that false disinterest the other can get closer. It is never a straight process; choose the other without seeming to choose it. And since he has the other in his head, he can strategically exploit any minimal opportunity to interest him and progressively approach him without showing interest.

On the one hand, the discharge of another has been delegitimized, because in the internal world of the social E7, the experience of abandonment threatens any possible encounter. Desiring and the physical sensation of being rejected become contaminated, making the expression of desire unacceptable because it puts the person at risk of pain. The fear of reliving the old pain is at the base of their avoidant thoughts and behaviors. And the conviction of being able to ride it alone of not needing anyone crystallizes, over time, in a self-referential dimension centered on his internal world.

There is a strong similarity in this to the false abundance of E2. A magnificent idea of ​​oneself can be expressed in similar behaviors in both enneatypes. Now, the E2 contacts the other with an emotional sensitivity that allows him to grasp his needs in advance and satisfy them, and this is how he earns the qualification of great seducer. The seduction of the social E7 is more oral, above all, mental. He catches more with his words than with his energy.

Withdrawal or abandonment is very important for this character because social contact, even superficial, is dangerous. It can bring back a crack in your extraordinary self-image. So contact is a short game to gain a look that confirms your self-image. Anything else is too risky. Better to retire, since in solitude you can continue to decorate your self-image without the hassles of reality.

This defense, which he shares with schizoids, makes him like to go to his cave to relax by not having to act or serve the other. The world tires him because he relates to it in a neurotic way. On the one hand, with a seduction that seeks confirmation of his ideal image. And on the other, compulsively postponing the satisfaction of their own needs to serve the other. Exhausted and disappointed, he leaves.

While in the social moment sympathy and friendliness prevail, in the private he finds the place to recharge from the energy spent in society. An infantile regression prevails that hides the inability to manage one's own feelings, with a deep desire to be cared for, or to abandon oneself to laziness and uncompromising fun. The intimate space with oneself is a refuge where the forces invested in the construction of the relationship can be replenished. It is a place of isolation and physiological recollection, a refuge from social anesthesia.

Abandoned

Sometimes the withdrawal appears when he has already achieved some narcissistic gratification. Other times, when he is exhausted by his inability to be authentically in the relationship. And finally, as a way of inflicting emotional pain.

Given that in his core scene of infantile pain there was an abandonment by the parents, real or felt, the social E7 is going to punish the other by abandoning him when he wants to avenge himself for some damage suffered. It is possibly his most aggressive way of attacking the other: abandoning him. Everything silent, swallowed, undigested in the relationship explodes in this action, often unexpected, in which he takes out all his rage in a passive-aggressive way.

Charlatan

The concept of charlatanism refers to the tendency of the social E7 to manifest its seductive capacity on the intellectual level through a skillful use of verbal intelligence. He can, in fact, present himself as a storyteller, almost a juggler of words, moving nimbly between irony, the use of metaphors, and a taste for handling intellectual concepts.

Claudio Naranjo's Social 7 Description^[5]

E7 Social – Sacrifice

The social E7 is the counter-type seven, in the sense that it is difficult to recognize in him the passion of gluttony, because he strives to hide it with an altruistic behavior that, in some way, should purify him from the guilt of feeling an attraction to pleasure or to one's own advantage. This is an attraction that he tries not to feel by pursuing an ideal of himself and the world: he sacrifices his gluttony to be better and for a better world where there is no pain or conflict.

The social seven are people who, on the surface, do not want to exploit others, do not want to be tied to their desires. They are very pure people, too pure. There are some sevens who are very concerned about their diet, about world hunger, and so on. New Age fashion was a hotbed of this seven social culture.

It would seem that the individual had the intuition that he hides a pig inside himself and said, “No! I'm going to define myself as a detached pig.” This is the social seven.

The word Ichazo used was sacrifice. But it is a sacrifice of gluttony. It is a postponement of desires before an ideal. The deception is that these people really have a great gluttony in recognition of their sacrifice. They want others to see them as very good.

Now I am going to give a bad example about the social seven, since I will refer to the life of a true saint, highly revered in the Christian world. It is obvious that I am talking about San Francisco, who was this type of person.

Saint Francis followed the kind of advice that William Blake gave: if we lived madness and followed it, then it would become wisdom. If the mad and neurotic man fully lives his madness, he would become a sage. It is a path.

So San Francisco wanted to be good. Therefore, he did all the things that a seven needs for transformation: he lived miserably, he raised stones to repair the shrine, he kissed lepers... Nothing could be more horrible. So he did all the right things to detach himself from the seven of him. But if we examine the early life of Saint Francis, we will find a very revealing anecdote. Together with his monks, the saint built a kind of tent to take shelter. Suddenly it started to rain and Saint Francis and his monks went to the shelter to rest. But when they arrived they found a farmer with his cow inside the store. And Franciscan generosity was to give priority to the farmer and his cow.

It seems to me that health, both mental and spiritual, has to do with loving what your neighbor asks of you. But when you love your neighbor more than yourself, then you are trying to be too good. This is very typical of nuns, and some social sevens can also get into that kind of stereotype of goodness, which consists of trying to be good according to a code or a social consensus.

Perhaps humans today would be tempted to think that they have more rights than a cow, but perhaps we are wrong about this too: deep ecology has something to tell us about it. But where is the limit of goodness? There is a kind of kindness by applause, very typical of the social seven.

Sandra Maitri's Social 7 Description^[6]

7+Social – Sacrifice

Social Sevens are characterized by relinquishing their personal freedom and aspirations for social ideals. They have a profound sense of obligation toward others and feel that they must sacrifice themselves to fulfill what they see as their responsibilities. Their sacrifices are in the service of a future that they imagine and make plans to realize—a future that promises to give them the sense of belonging, social acceptance, and social standing that they lack. The passion of gluttony manifests here as a hunger for this sense of social ease and for all of the things that they believe will give it to them. Ichazo (per Lilly and Hart) uses the descriptor social limitations and describes this subtype as “predetermining his social activities,” which highlights a different nuance of this subtype. It points the Social Seven’s tendency to map and plan his social involvements to resolve his social insecurity.

Beatrice Chestnut's Social 7 Description

Social 7 Subtype description (2021)^[7]This subtype cares about others and sacrifices for other people in selfless ways, as they tend to want to be careful not to exploit opportunities for their own advantage. Their gluttony gets directed toward a wish to be good and pure, and so they often focus on doing some kind of work aimed at reducing suffering in the world. They are drawn to professions in which they alleviate pain. They pay attention to the larger collective and tend to hold a Utopian vision of the world—they express enthusiasm for envisioning a better world.If this is your subtype, you tend to present yourself as a good, humble, and self-sacrificing person, but this can hide an unconscious superiority complex that makes you feel better (and more unselfish) than others. You dedicate yourself to causes that address others’ pain, but this may actually serve your need to avoid your own unacknowledged pain while proving your goodness. You help others in exaggerated ways, but this may not always be completely altruistic. It may also be motivated by your intolerance of pain generally and your need to be good—or to be seen as good (and not selfish or self-interested). You need to learn to be less available to help others, to address your own needs and desires, and to go against your taboo on selfishness.

 

Social 7 Subtype  summary (2021)^[11]
Social Seven: “Sacrifice” (countertype) As the countertype, Social Sevens go against gluttony through conscientious efforts to be of service to others. Conscious of wanting to avoid exploiting others, they have a need to be good and pure and to sacrifice their own needs in supporting the needs of others. They have a passion for being seen as good for the sacrifice of their own desires. They express an ascetic ideal and make a virtue of getting by on little. They express idealism and enthusiasm as a way of making themselves feel active and valued in the world.

Social 7 Subtype Description (2021)^[11]

The Social Seven: “Sacrifice” (Countertype)

 

 Social Sevens represents a kind of a pure character that, as the countertype of the Type Seven subtypes, expresses a kind of “counter-gluttony.” Social Sevens go against the Seven passion of gluttony in that they consciously avoid exploiting others. Naranjo says it’s as if they can sense the tendency within themselves toward gluttony and decide to instead define themselves as anti-gluttonous.

If gluttony is a wish for more, a wish for taking advantage of all you can get from a situation, there is a hint of exploitation in gluttony. But as the countertype, the Social subtype wants to be good and pure and not act on their gluttonous impulse. This is a person who wants to avoid being excessive or excessively opportunistic, and who works against any unconscious tendency they may have to exploit others.

Gluttony may thus be difficult to recognize in Social Sevens because they strive to hide it in altruistic behavior. This purifies them of the guilt of feeling an attraction toward pleasure or toward acting in their own self-interest in ways that cause them to take advantage of others.

Social Sevens avoid focusing on their own self-interest or advantage by pursuing an ideal of themselves and the world. They sacrifice their gluttony to become a better person and to work for a better world in which there is no pain or conflict. As Naranjo explains, they defer their own desires in pursuit of an ideal.

In their efforts to work against gluttony, Social Sevens can actually be too pure. Their efforts to attain purity can extend to worrying about their diet, their health, and their spirit.Interestingly, Naranjo notes, these Sevens are often vegans.

In striving for purity and anti-gluttony, they express a kind of ascetic (or Five-ish) ideal. They make a virtue of getting by on less for themselves. In trying to prove their goodness, they typically give others more, and take less for themselves, as a way of going against their gluttonous desire for more. Even though they might want the biggest piece of cake, they go against that impulse and take the smallest one instead, leaving the larger portions for others.

Social Sevens take on a lot of responsibility in the group or the family. In doing this, they express a sacrifice of gluttony for the benefit of others. They postpone their own desires in order to enact an ideal of service. As the name of this subtype suggests, “Sacrifice” means a willingness to be of service.

But where is the ego reward in this seemingly pure, unselfish personality strategy? Part of the ego strategy of this subtype is that they want—crave—to be seen as good for their sacrifice. They have a hidden gluttony for the acknowledgment of their sacrifice—are hungry for love and recognition—and this hunger can be insatiable. These Sevens use their sacrifice to cover up defects and shortcomings and to invite recognition and admiration or love, because they don’t feel right legitimizing and acting on their desires and whims. Their sacrifice and service is the price they pay for their neurotic need for admiration.

In addition to inspiring appreciation and recognition in others, Social Sevens want to have a good image, to reduce conflicts, and to create debts in others. However, these motivations can lead these Sevens to enter into relationships that are relatively superficial.

In line with their need for recognition of their sacrifices, there is a tendency in this Social subtype to adopt the role of helper, to be of service, and to be concerned with the alleviation of pain. But while they are drawn to alleviate others’ pain, they don’t like to feel it themselves, and so helping others may also be a way for them to project their pain somewhere outside themselves and try to relieve it at a safe distance. They are always “being” for the other. This is an indulgent and generous character capable of managing projects and mobilizing energies for a particular purpose. They tend to deliver the services they provide with a lot of dedication.

Social Sevens experience an inner taboo on selfishness and want to be seen as the “good child” or the “good person.” They experience repressed guilt for hiding their self-interest in the guise of good, and they may project their disowned guilt for their unacknowledged gluttony onto others, then judge them for not being committed or dedicated enough. These Sevens may also distrust themselves because they know they mix up altruism and self-interest; they may judge their own deeper motivations as “bad” or “self-interested.”

Social Sevens are very idealistic, but their idealism is a mix of illusion, good intentions, and ingenuity that function together as an “intellectual drug” that motivates action. They’re very active, moved in an ongoing way by the ideals they want to translate into life to improve the world, but they need their idealism to help them to activate—they invest a lot in altruism, idealism, dedication, and sacrifice to make them feel more acceptable. They also tend to use the defense of rationalization to support the things they do in the name of altruism and idealism. Their idealism is in part based on rationalizing ideologies so that if any of their beliefs are proved wrong, they can simply replace it with another rationale and then explain this change as evolution. Given this, they may have an underlying sense of panic about losing their idealism, as they fear that would ultimately lead to apathy and emptiness.

Social Sevens’ focus on motivating themselves through idealism can take the form of a feeling of being on a mission—they may want to be “The Savior.” They may at times criticize themselves for being naive and unrealistic, for wanting too much of mankind— and the Social Seven does have some youthful or adolescent qualities: they are provocative, enlightened, can be simplistic, and can get lazy when the task becomes too demanding. And in addition to this, they may not be conscious of their own laziness, love of comfort, and narcissism.

Naranjo explains that enthusiasm, idealism, and social skills are the three pillars of the Social Seven personality. These Sevens are also visionaries: they imagine a better, freer, healthier, more peaceful world. (New Age culture is a Social Seven culture.) They often express excessive enthusiasm about their visions and may have fantasies of a perfect future. They have a tendency to manipulate through enthusiasm. On the surface, they appear very joyful, and they avoid dissonance and conflict.

In relationships, Social Sevens may feel challenged when they get caught between their strong desire not to cause another person pain and their fear of commitment. In keeping with their desire to be pure and maintain their idealistic stance, they look for a kind of romantic love that is pure and perfect. They unconsciously put themselves in an arrogant position of being “better” or more pure than their partners and then expecting them to evolve toward perfection. They may also have difficulty navigating the deeper emotions that get stirred up by intimate relationships.

Because of their enthusiasm and joyfulness, as well as their prominent desire to help and be of service, Social Sevens can look like Twos—but while Twos focus primarily on others and don’t have as much of a connection with their own selves, Social Sevens are still primarily self-referencing, not other-referencing, so they will usually know what they need, even if they decide to sacrifice it. Their desire to help is born of the need to go against a sense of self-interest, not just a desire for approval, so they have a more direct experience of their own needs and wants despite their tendency to make efforts to serve others or a higher good. These are people who are very pure—and in this way they can also look One-ish—but theirs is a goodness for applause, a desire to reach an ideal of perfection or purity that’s based on social consensus (as opposed to Ones’ internally generated sense of what is “right”).

 

Rusty, a Social Seven, speaks:

The easiest thing to forget about Sevens is that fear drives us and safety is what all the options are for. We are practiced at not showing our desperation on the surface. As a Social Seven, “Sacrifice” plays out without too much trouble for me, because in the vast array of possibilities, any treasure is expendable as long as there is some other nugget to gloat over. This goes for any cause or endeavor, no matter what the seemingly altruistic reason or the secret self-reward.

Idealism and the desire to be seen as a good person rather than a greedy person has led me to join a long series of philanthropic groups. I love the feeling of safety and certainty I get in groups, even though I generally join groups in which I don’t exactly belong. No matter how committed I was to breathing life into the touring theater company, in the final analysis it was the fact of hating to perform soliloquies that allowed me to leave that safe haven for something else. While we Social Sevens can look like Twos, my deep impulse to stop nodding and agreeing (along with not having a truly deep need-anchor of my own) is what has allowed me to leave just about as many groups as I have joined, no matter how devastating the wreckage left behind. Or how still the pond without a ripple.

Grappling to own the Four-ish/Seven-ish fact of narcissism, I balked until it clicked that seeing too much of both goodness, virtue, and beauty and wickedness, evil, and inadequacy in my reflection ultimately leads down the same rabbit hole of overexamining myself. So, in many efforts to get outside myself, for my own good, serially joining and leaving has put me on many peaks and in many corners. With myriad projects, plans, and escape hatches comes that ability to illuminate and stitch together odd similarities and unique insights, always from way out of left field: for instance, I have been the only person at the logging camp carrying a dulcimer, the guy fresh from Wyoming managing an A&D showroom on Madison Avenue in NYC, the Quaker in a Presbyterian church choir, the token straight man in a gay men’s chorus, and so on. I like to sneak in the side door, stir things up, make contributions large or small, grab several magpie points for virtue, and then I’ve gotta go.

Specific Work For The Social Seven on the Path from Vice to Virtue^[11]

Social Sevens travel the path from gluttony to sobriety by making the motives behind the things they do more conscious. If you are a Social Seven, try to be more aware of the desire to be recognized for your sacrifice or helpfulness-for being “good”-without judging yourself for being selfish or self-centered. Observe and work with the glutton/anti-glutton polarity within you, and try to be open to seeing what fears and needs might underlie that internal dynamic. Watch out for feelings and motives you might not own that drive you, and support yourself in accepting all your needs and feelings as valid and important. Allow yourself to see how you might criminalize selfishness and avoid internal conflict and darker motives. Challenge yourself to be honest about the ways in which you may confuse altruism and self-interest. Surface the truth about your deeper motives while at the same time making an effort not to judge yourself as “bad” for any self-interest you uncover. Don’t let your fear about not being seen as “good” get in the way of being more conscious of what’s really true. Recognize how you may manipulate through enthusiasm and use your idealism as an intellectual drug. And allow yourself to see how you might cling to your idealism and your ideals of service to the group as a way of staving off an inner sense of emptiness. Support yourself in feeling and being with any fears you might have about your worth or your essential goodness. Give yourself credit for your good intentions, and make room to see all your intentions and your limitations with compassion.

 

Haiki Social 7 Description^[8]

Social Seven: Sacrifice of their own Gluttony

Social Sevens tend to have grand ideals, and differently from other Seven subtypes, they exchange their passion for gluttony into a passion for sacrifice. They dream of a world where pain and conflict don’t exist. In fact, they think they can escape their own desires and become a sort of angelical being that escapes having the worldly needs the rest of people have. New Age culture was plagued by Social Sevens, very pure people who tend to primarily see the positive side of life. Their sacrifice is not like the masochism of some Nines or Fours, as the sacrifice is of their own gluttony. Gluttony that they do feel but they sacrifice it in favor of an idealized image of themselves. And if as a byproduct, others see them as a sort of saint, great! We could say that even if it is in an overly optimistic way, the Social Seven wants to love the other more than themselves. Obviously, goodwill should not have limits; but, in the Social Seven, their goodness has a strong weight of neurosis and a search of recognition for their goodwill.

Many times, when we talk to Social Sevens, the thought “too nice they’re dumb” comes to mind. Inside a single type, we find one subtype’s excess of innocence (the Social) contrasting starkly with another’s excess of manipulative craftiness (Self-Preservation).

Saint Francis was an example of the true saint that Claudio Naranjo placed as an example of a Social Seven.

Social Sevens feel that they have to turn themselves into greater causes with a big component of social commitment. They have a clear tendency toward spirituality. Many times, they don’t seem like Sevens, because they forget about worldly things. It is as if this world was not enough for them and they aspire to connect with something greater.

Some members of this subtype, especially boys, have a sort of verbal incontinence that makes them talk and talk without really saying anything important.

Outwardly, they are the least Seven Sevens and we could even say that they are a counter-Seven; in fact, they can even be confused with Fives. However, it is also very common for this subtype, especially women of this subtype, to type themselves as Twos and Nines.

They tend to exist on another plane and they seek alone time (albeit intermittently). This being said, their fear of pain and suffering is always present and it is exactly that which makes them embark on epic crusades provided they will not have to connect with what is going on in the here and now. Their mission is to ensure that no one finds out that they are not really the good boy or girl they have set out to be. They have difficulty understanding their own behavior and why they do what they do. Even when they do type themselves as this type, they still think that they are truly good, saintly, and pure. It is hard to make the curtain fall when the performance is so well orchestrated. In contrast with their neighbors, Eights, who are the bad boys of the Enneagram, Social Sevens are the good boys.

All of this being said, climbing down from their cloud and beginning to act more like a mortal is what will save them, They will never lose this core desire to save the world, but saving themselves is all they need. The behavior that could serve as a good example for everyone else, too much of one, harms them in the long run. Therefore, they must learn to love themselves truly, start being a little naughtier, and connect with their real needs. In doing so, they will lower the volume of their mental chatter and make true contact with their emotions.

Carmen Durán and Antonio Catalán's Social 7 Description^[9]

SO7: Sacrifice -> Enthusiasm

In this subtype, although it is commonly called Sacrifice, we find that sacrifice does not correlate to a motivation, which we believe the instincts should describe. We understand that the search is related with enthusiasm, while we have been able to verify the subjective feeling of sacrifice and effort in the 7, when they are unable to be excited, when their illusions are broken, and they have to continue a task from their own will and discipline. In reality, there is an avoidance of effort not connected to enthusiasm that after losing this hope, they degrade their previously accomplished work. Enthusiasm allows great effort to be done in a natural, almost manic way, but they cannot be maintained when the interest fades. Sacrifice, suffering, is the paradoxical consequence of maintaining the illusion of a happy world, where achievements are obtained without effort. This doesn’t allow them to appreciate the gifts of reality as they are focused voraciously on the desire for a future that is purely present. Naranjo did not consider “sacrifice” super appropriate either, and inclined rather for “narcissism.” But the word narcissism may be wrong also at times, given that we tend to use this word in a wide sense, but we use it in a restrictive sense, in the sense that it is a sacrifice placed at the service of their own self-esteem, a great energy at the service of their passion.

La Mirada Libre's Social 7 Description^[10]

E7 Social: Sacrifice

This is the counter passionate subtype because it camouflages and justifies its gluttony via voluntarily "suffering" for the good of others. That is why it is called "Sacrifice". Self-indulgence manifests in giving, commitment, difficulty engaging in aggression, pacifism, difficulty in contact and managing emotions, an image of joy and absence of problems, fraudulence, and honesty.

But beware, next to some subtypes of 9 or 4, the social 7 is only a beginner in the art of sacrifice!

The social 7 recorded his childhood, placing maximum pleasure as the highest good. He wants, as an adult, to continue to feel "extraordinary" in this sense. The free bohemian and brave artist is the extraordinary being that he idolizes.

Even as a rebel (like all 7), he usually sells his intelligence to the patriarchy in exchange for being extraordinary in a seemingly ordinary place. He cannot channel his criticism towards the action of change, yet tries to transcend the "father" in another world and another dimension, through the yearning for holiness. He tends to easily sin from spiritual ego for this reason.

His solution is to hide from authority and do things clandestinely. He is the Robin Hood of the Enneagram! A social who is tired of the world because he seduces in search of confirmation of his ideal image and postpones his own needs to serve others. In the end, he wears himself out and withdraws (schizoid traits). He likes that short contact with society that restores his extraordinary self-image and then withdraws so as not to suffer the discomfort of reality that a more lasting contact would entail.

In love, he is quite desolate and has a formal obedience (instrumental and aimed at avoiding conflict). Internal rebellion coexists within it.

Curiously, neither men nor women of the social type adhere to the aesthetic and behavioral clichés of gender, tending to be androgynous. This is the result of amplifying masculine characteristics in social 7 women and the heightening of feminine characteristics in social 7 men.

In the social 7 we see a balance between failing to set limits to his greedy functioning and not falling into the narcissistic tension produced by the difference between his everyday self and his dream self. By postponing or denying his own needs, he enjoys an intimate sense of superiority. A man disguised as a good and accommodating boy.

Of the three subtypes is the intellectual-intellectual character.

Riso and Hudson Social 7 Description[12]

THE SOCIAl INSTINCT IN SEVEN 

Missing Out. In the average range,Social Sevens often cultivate a group of friends and "advisors" who share enthusiasm and interests with them.  These people keep the Seven Informed of new possibilities and provide the stimulation and variety that Sevens enjoy.Idealistic people,they like getting involved with social interactions and causes,finding these activities exciting.However,once involved in projects with other people,Social Sevens can become frustrated and feel bugged down by others slower pace.At such times,social responsibility begins to feel burdensome—they are caught in a conflict between the desire to fulfill their commitments and the desire to go of and do their own thing.Moreover, Social Sevens are always on the lookout for a more stimulating setting ("This NewYear's gathering pretty nice,but I bet Ted's party will really be jumping after midnight!").Social Sevens also resent authority,seeing it as arbitrary and unnecessary—yet another source of social restriction. 

 

Less healthy Social Sevens tend to scatter their energy and resources,to half commit.They make sure to fill their calendars and date books,but also"pencil in "back-up plans,so that they are not trapped in any particular course of action.They tend to have many pokers in the fire,but are too distracted to get white-hot about any of them.They are friendly and engaging,even charming,but easily feel trapped, and may cancel appointments or dates with little or no notice if anxiety or a more promising social engagement presents itself.

 

In the unhealthy range,Social Seven tend to dissipate their force and talent in endless successions of meetings,social gatherings,and "planning sessions"that are never brought to a conclusion.They leave a trail of loose ends and broken hearts,never alighting anywhere for long.They are unsettled and unsettling since flight from anxiety renders them irresponsible and leads them into potentially dangerous and destructive "social scenes."

References

[1] "The Arica Training according to John C Lilly and Joseph E Tart"

[2] Naranjo, C. (2017). "Ensayos sobre psicología de los eneatipos"

[3] Naranjo, C. (1994).  "Character and Neurosis: An Integrative View"

[4] Naranjo, C. (2019). "Golosos, tramposos, soñadores y charlatanes" (Translated by Yara)

[5] Naranjo, C. (2012). "27 personajes en busca del ser"

[6] Maitri, S. (2001). "The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram"

[7] Chestnut, B. (2021). "The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up"

[8] The Haiki Enneagram Website (Link To Subtype Translations)

[9] Durán, C. and Catalán, A. (2009). "Los engaños del carácter y sus antídotos"

[10] Psychology of Ennea-types Volumes by Claudio Naranjo Interpreted by La Mirada Libre

[11] Chestnut, B. (2021). "The Complete Enneagram"

[12]Riso and Hudson(1999),The wisdom of Enneagram:The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types