National % of INFJs?

[Krumplenump]

I was born in Holland, grew up in England and now live in Turkey, so the thought crossed my mind: Is the % INFJs more apparent in some countries compared others?

I wondered because if we indulge in national characteristics for a minute, you get the 'fiery Mediterranean' and the 'silent Finn'. I could imagine there being far more INFJs in Finland, Scandinavia and northern Europe compared to Latin, Mediterranean or Middle-Eastern countries for example.

Interestingly, side effects of my INFJness - like feeling and empathy for example - seem to have altered themselves after a prolonged period in a new culture. For example, living in Turkey now I am far less considerate of everyday people's feelings compared to when I was living in the UK. I think that must have something to do with the fact that people here generally seem less trustworthy and my experiences have led me to subconsciously tar everyone with the same brush, which is conveniently easy to do. By contrast, when visiting the UK now I see it in quite a different light to when I lived there. Certain aspects of my INFJness have, when I think back, been quite majorly distorted but can revert back to their former settings if my location and cultural company changes. Thought I'd share that since it's quite interesting.

 

[amplified83]

Hmm that is pretty interesting. I can tell you that there aren't too many INFJs here in the United States. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the national percentage is 1%? For male INFJs it's even lower. What can I say, we INFJs are a rare breed
Here in the United States, "sensitive guys" tend to be mocked because we don't fit the social mold. There may be more of us, but just not out in the open because of people mistyping as Thinkers.

 

[rainrise]

hmm i do think that our external environment has a profound affect on our personalities. considering we have an area of our personalities we are most comfortable in identifying with, how much of the deviation from this is resultant from a response to cultural conditioning? in other words, do we express more of certain personality traits as a way of coping while remaining the same person inside?

that is to say, do we take on certain traits, not because we are naturally comfortable with them, but do so in order to meet external challenges (e.g. the standards of a culture, the prevalence of difficult people, the majority perspective that may not be our own).

of course, i am generalizing since even the definition of a particular culture may be rather fuzzy and diverse, not to mention an individual's personality.

speaking of diversity in a type, perhaps you are also developing your less used functions, Ti and Se, whilst adapting to the new cultural change? that may also explain why you feel an alteration of your previous "INFJness"

 

[blueflame]

Maybe here in the usa we have more of a reason to hide because of our culture. We worship the powerful and confident.

 

[poetrygirl]

I know there are defiantly more introverted initiatives in asian countries. America is an extroverted sensing society. In order to survive (lol) I have to force myself to be more outgoing which I'm really bad at so I tend to go flock to my fellow IN's. I read somewhere that infj get along with everyone but naturally avoid S types. I tend to be too conscious when I'm around them because I always feel like I'm being misunderstood. But anyways back to the topic. I agree that environment plays a role in what traits we try to nurture in order to get by.

 

[Quinlan]

I would say an INFJ growing up in Finland would be less "fiery" than an INFJ growing up in the Med and vice versa with "silent" but relative to the rest of the population in their cultures they would still be INFJ.

 

[gloomy-optimist]

I think there's something to that. When I spent a year in Holland, I know there was a huge difference in attitudes; I don't know if that's because there were more of certain types, or if the types there were conditioned to think a certain way rather than there being more or less of them.
I'd like to see a study done on this, actually...