Type One
The Ethical Perfectionist

Center of Intelligence: Gut
Motivation: To uphold their inner standards of ethics, morality, diligence, and goodness
Core Fears: Being wrong, bad, corruptible, evil, or without integrity

Ones are ethical, measured, rational, detailed, and judgmental. Ones are motivated by their need to live by their sense of morality, ethics, and what they believe is right. They are responsible and often feel it's up to them to maintain a sense of decorum, standards, and appropriateness in their family system, work environments, and relationships. Ones have a robust ethical code and must adhere to their convictions of correctness. They report having had very early convictions about right and wrong and expressed those beliefs about their moral or ethical worldview, even as children.

Firm Convictions, Standards, and Ethics
Ones are stubborn about what they believe is the correct way to behave in the world. They want to guard against their inappropriate, libertine, or wild impulses because they believe those impulses will expose an innate wrongness or corruption. This defense was coined sublimation by Sigmund Freud. Sublimation is the process of channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable behaviors, ideas, or thoughts. It is as if Ones possess a natural propensity toward the philosophy of “original sin." They feel they must atone for inherent rottenness through striving for perfection, prudence, and reason. They fear being bad or wrong and seek above all else to be above reproach and incorruptible.

They project their fear of being wrong out into the world and focus their need for inner perfection into efforts to improve upon or reform the world around them. They can be exacting, critical, demanding, and uncompromising in executing their standards. This worldview makes them discerning arbiters of ideal standards, procedures, and rules. They can be incredibly wise, balanced, and value fairness and equity.

A Fair Judge & Trap Doors
Others often turn to the One to offer moral and ethical guidance and act as a fair judge of truth and morality. Ones can struggle with restrictiveness and often feel at war with their desires and beliefs, bringing about "trap door" behavior. Their strong superegos can become oppressive, and Ones often feel the need to indulge themselves in behaviors, habits, or activities they might ordinarily deem inappropriate, wrong, excessive, or imprudent. The trap door could be as simple as cheating on a stringent diet or, to the extent that the One has demonized their desires or impulses, they could engage in more outrageous or otherwise inappropriate behavior. For example, they could condemn infidelity, engage in extramarital affairs, or be conservative and rigidly opposed to homosexuality while secretly engaging in clandestine same-sex encounters. The trap door allows the pressure of their natural human impulses some relief, while externally, they continue adhering to their convictions and the intention of rightness or purity.

Righteous Anger and Resentment
Ones can become incredibly punitive and increasingly rigid and inflexible when very stressed. They hold onto codified beliefs about the right way to be and can become righteously angry at violations of what they see as the appropriate, correct way to behave. The more restrictions they put on their desires, the greater their shame and disgust grow, and the more likely they will become hypocritical, scolding, and cold. They can be stubborn about relinquishing resentment of others' past indiscretions or mistakes, believing they won't be afforded the same grace or forgiveness.

When Healthy and Balanced
Healthy Ones are in tune with their emotions and value empathy and emotional expression as integral to balance. When healthy and self-aware, Ones teach others how to balance responsibility with one's desires and the necessity for occasional spontaneity and playfulness. Healthy Ones inspire others to do the right thing by staying true to their moral and ethical codes and standards without being punitive or punishing and recognizing that there may be other ways of viewing what is right. At their best, Ones help to guide others toward self-improvement. They allow themselves to integrate the often messy emotional truths of the human experience and the necessity for joy, frivolity, and freedom to make mistakes. This shift in their perspective loosens their fear of making mistakes and allows for greater peace in the present moment.

Exemplars: Puritans, Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews, Miss Manners, Al Gore, Hilary Clinton, Hermione Grainger, Christian Bale, Eleanor Roosevelt, Michelle Obama, Joan of Arc, Emma Watson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ayn Rand, The Inquisition, Martha Stewart, Gloria Steinem, Wolf Blitzer, Don Lemon, David Koresh, Greta Thunberg, Kourtney Kardashian, Ralph Nader, Leonard Nimoy, Nelson Mandela, Sidney Poitier, George Harrison, Katherine Hepburn, Nina Garcia, Natalie Portman, Vanessa Redgrave, Colin Powell, Lawrence Fishburne, Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, Margaret Thatcher, Harrison Ford, Emily Post, Switzerland, Mike Pence