Hmm, I found the Enneagram tremendously helpful. Why do you dislike it? I guess people can abuse it really easily, but I feel like it helped me to realize who I am in this world.
The basis for the numbers are really no different than the color-codings here, and the analysis of why they all tend to be circular reasoning. "I act like a red because I'm a red" is similar to "I act like an Enneagram 4 because I'm a 4."
It might be useful for introspection ("I identify with feelings this model gives to 'reds' or a '4w3' "), but it's not a scientific or testable prediction about the way people act in the world.
I agree. Circular reasoning along with self-fulfilling prophecies are definitely an issue. I still like it for introspection and realizing that other people have different "mind structures", whatever they might be.
> it's not a scientific or testable prediction about the way people act in the world.
The problem is that there is probably no scientific or testable prediction about the complexity of humans. Psychology itself seems not very scientific, so people rely on their intuition (as they should) to understand other people. However that leads to the problem of "X also wants Y, because I want Y", which from my experience is just not true at all. Humans have very different interests and goals. So these models creep up to account for that.
It might be useful for introspection ("I identify with feelings this model gives to 'reds' or a '4w3' "), but it's not a scientific or testable prediction about the way people act in the world.