Attitudinal Psyche

Checking My Attitudinal Psyche

In my explorations of various systems of typology, I encountered a new one (to me) on Facebook. It is called Attitudinal Psyche and is the “brainchild” of Rob Zeke Collopy. The system and its components are described in depth on the Attitudinal Psyche website and discussed in the “Attitudinal Psyche” Facebook group, but I will summarize the basics here.

Theory

Aspects of Reality

Attitudinal Psyche identifies four main aspects of reality:

Aspects of Reality and the Focus of Each

Positions

Attitudinal Psyche also identifies four positions, each expressing specific dispositions toward the self and others. Two of these disposition pairings have a results orientation (wanting to achieve desired results); the other two display a process orientation (wanting to engage in the journeys one desires while processing related information). These unite to form a holistic portrayal of the psyche.

Attitudes

When a specific aspect of reality is placed into one of the four positions, the result is an “attitude.” There are sixteen total attitudes in Attitudinal Psyche, which are the cornerstones of the personality types.

The 16 Attitudes

Types and Sextas

The attitudes can be combined to form any of twenty-four unique types. Furthermore, each type is part of a grouping of types that share the same orientation toward specific aspects of reality. These groups are called “sextas” and contain four types each.

Subtypes

Rob has recently been exploring variations that are evident within the types. These subtypes in Attitudinal Psyche are patterns of surface-level behaviors that give each attitude in one’s type a specific “flavor.” He notes that

Accentuation appears to be the most common subtype and the truest to the type on a descriptive level, as there are no variable strategies on the surface that oppose or manipulate what is happening at a deeper attitudinal level.

Rob Zeke Collopy, AttitudinalPsyche.com

Other subtypes vary, depending on the position occupied by the attitude.

Application

So where do I fit in this system of typology? Rob developed an online test, which has now been through at least six versions. I believe I have taken every version to date. My early results were not definitive. Am I ELVF, The Poet? EVLF, The Catalyst? VELF, The Campaigner? Or LEVF, The Visionary?

I also took a psychosophy test online. What is psychosophy? It is somewhat similar to Attitudinal Psyche.

Psychosophy (or psycheyoga) is a theory of personality created by a Russian writer A. Afanasyev in his book “The syntax of love”. There the author suggested that there’re 24 types of people. Each type has its own features and, according to a certain logic, interacts with other types, society, has certain habits. Thus, it’s possible to give recommendations about what is the best activity in his life, which people are convenient and he can trust them, which personal sides are strong or weak, etc.

Alexander Khlebushchev

My result was EWLP, or EVLF in Attitudinal Psyche.

Pinpointing My Attitudinal Type

Type Consultation

I determined fairly early on that I was 4F. A bit later, I homed in on 2E. What I could not decide was whether V or L occupied the “Confident Position.” As with my exploration of my type in Socionics, I decided to schedule an online interview with Rob Zeke Collopy. This two-hour type consultation was conducted on December 6, 2020, via Zoom. The session was partly a discussion. The balance involved viewing and reacting to images. Rob identified me as an LEVF.

Questionnaire Analysis

I later submitted answers to a written questionnaire that Rob had constructed. On March 24, I received the report of my results. I am 1L and 2E, accentuated or without subtype. Both my 3V and 4F have a 1 subtype, labeled “Facade” for 3V-1 and “Self-sufficient” for 4F-1. The written report is available here.

Caveat

I enjoyed my conversation with Rob during the type consultation and, for the most part, in Facebook interactions about Attitudinal Psyche. However, if you are a Christian who approaches life with a biblical worldview, be aware that Rob does not. While he says, “I 100% respect your religious beliefs,” he also makes clear that anyone who approaches an issue like abortion from a biblical point of view is “pretending to channel the word and intention of their God with no doubt or adherence to reason. Keyword: pretending.” When I challenged his use of the word ‘pretense,’ he responded, “Yes, all magical thinking is pretense. It’s the definition of the word itself.” To me, this does not sound “respectful” of my religious beliefs. If you are looking only for typing in this system, Rob is the “go-to” person, but avoid discussions related to God.

Typing Interview by AP’s Rob Zeke Collopy

An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse

As a member of the Attitudinal Psyche group on FaceBook, I immediately spotted a post by the group’s founder and administrator, Rob Zeke Collopy. In it he offered to give a free typing analysis for anyone who responded by the deadline, providing a video in which he/she answered a set of questions he provided. Naturally I had to participate. I got a copy of the questions and wrote out my answers. Then I created a video of myself answering the questions, uploaded it to YouTube, and provided Rob with the link.

A number of people responded to this offer; there were so many that Rob had to move up the deadline. Eagerly I waited for my turn to come, and finally it did.

An Analysis Both Expected and Surprising

My Reactions to the Typing

I first want to express my deep appreciation for the opportunity to have Rob analyze my video to identify my AP and Enneagram types. I was very impressed with his insight and the relaxed, friendly demeanor he exhibits as he provides commentary. The overlay which shows the emergence of different elements of the typing is helpful, too.

I should mention as well that Rob has typed me before, with both an online live interview and his AP-QAI test based on my written answers to several questions. I have also taken several versions of his online tests available on the AP website. As a result, some of his findings in this recent typing video were not surprising: my 1L-1 and 3V-1 have been consistent across the various tests. What was new to me was the idea that accentuated types can access all of the various subtypes for that element to some degree. That makes a lot of sense to me. It also helps me understand how Rob typed me as 4F-4. The AP-QAI had me as 4F-1 and recent online tests typed me as both 4F-1 and 4F-2. Even in my video I can see the truth of the statement that 4F-4 types “can fall into patterns of carelessness about the physical world” (disgust with dusting) and are “strongly secure in what they have and how they currently feel physically.”

What was a surprise was that I turned out to be a 2E-3. In the AP-QAI and online tests, I was pretty consistently a 2E-2 (and possibly once a 2E-1), so this was a change. I can see the “strongly opinionated,…usually artistic” character of the 2E-1 in myself, as well as the person who “discusses learned lessons of life and how their relationships have affected them”; other elements of this subtype I don’t see as much of in myself.  As for the 2E-2, I can see myself as able to “withstand nonstop emotional pressure and anger,” but not as “most talkative…and emotionally open.” I am usually able to “notice emotional manipulation with ease,” but not always. Sometimes it takes a bit of time. I am still considering how well the 2E-3 fits me and will contemplate that for a while. In view of previous testing, I am tempted to conclude that I am a 2E-2, who is able to access more than one E subtype.

The Enneagram analysis was also very insightful and accurate. The one surprise was how little of the 5 showed up in my video. I have taken two recent Enneagram tests online. The most recent one was through a Facebook group over a period of about a month; in that one I turned out to be 1w9 5w4 4w5 sx/sp. The other was Katherine Fauvre’s test, followed by an online interview with her to analyze the results. Although that test came out 145 sx, Katherine identified my type as 146 sx, based on a 7 card in my Enneaspread. It is interesting that Rob found some 7 in my answers. The 1 lead type was no surprise, nor was the 2 wing attached; these are typical for me in previous tests. I would assume, based on Rob’s analysis, that my 4 has a 5 wing, since there was no 3 at all. I will have to contemplate, however, whether the 7 he found is my 6 wing or an indication of a healthy 1 moving to 7.

The instincts results are unique to this typing, since Rob does not use the standard sp/sp/sx categories. The new categories originated with a friend of Rob, and Rob fleshed them out with subtypes. These categories are:

  • Self-Survival (SS)
    • Security (SY)
    • Fortitude (FD)
    • Self-Management (SM)
  • Interpersonal (INT)
    • Community (CY)
    • Sex (SX)
    • Bonding (BG)
  • Purpose (PUR)
    • Existentialism (EX)
    • Self-Significance (SS)
    • The Unknown (UN)

I approve of the new set of categories and feel that Rob was accurate in determining mine as Self Significance, then Bonding, and finally Self-Management. I also note that my scores for Existentialism and Community were higher than my Self-Management score. I was surprised that none of the interview questions really drew out my deep longing for intimacy of ALL types with a partner (soulmate?). I don’t know whether that would have influenced the results, had such a question been included.

Final Scores Revealed