The lack of famous INFJs: demographics or misrepresentation?

Reon

Reon

Midnight's Garden
MBTI
Questioning?
Enneagram
5w6
INFJs, widely held to be the most rare mbti type, has the smallest amount of famous people. Is this simply a work of numbers, do we not have enough INFJs in the world (other than a select few) to warrant discussion or is it that most of the INFJs that are famous are associated with another type? People seem to assume that if that person is extraverted, has any share of power, and/or has any logical ability then that person could NOT be an infj. This is untrue, I figure that being on this site we all know Infjs who are all that and are decidedly INFJ. (I suspect that some famous ENFJs and INTJS may actually be infj at heart) I find it hard to believe that INFJs, service oriented people with a lot of compassion and drive, don't seem to be as revolutionary as thought. What do you think?

(sorry if this comes off as ...well...a mess)
 
well, INFJ's are described on most profiles as being quiet leaders, meaning they like to help and show their contributions behind the scenes or in the background and they are comfortable with it, We are not your stereotypical power leader rather we are often seen as counselors or the ones who keep everything from falling. Besides we don't know for sure, no one has gone through the trouble of analyzing or making every single famous person take a mbti test, so it's uncertain.
 
What do you mean? Every INFJ is famous.

INFJs may not always get to be the ones who the media talks about. Mostly because they wouldn't enjoy it. But INFJs are usually those who people remember long after death, and people go to their funerals, even if they've never met them in person. And every INFJ has a circle of very devoted admirers who keep the memory of them like a flame. Because INFJs are so humble, it is usually fully felt how much they were needed, only after they're already dead.

I've only noticed that INFJs often have major troubles in earlier stages of life, but they overcome them, while keeping integrity, and later usually all the struggles are paid back.
 
Julia said:
They work behind the scenes making the other people famous. :m024:
Click to expand...

Was just going to say the same thing. For the majority of INFJ's the outcome is MUCH more important than the credit. There are MANY in life who are more than willing to falsely claim the credit that great, but reserved, people bring.
 
Last edited:
Moxie said:
I think, what we make up for in quantity, is QUALITY. For sure!
Click to expand...

If that was true, more INFJ's throughout history would have made it to the history books
 
Martin Luther King, Jr? Mother Teresa? Thomas Jefferson?

http://typelogic.com/infj.html

Famous INFJ's

Nathan, prophet of Israel
Aristophanes
Chaucer
Goethe
Robert Burns, Scottish poet U.S. Presidents:Martin Van BurenJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter Nathaniel Hawthorne
Fanny Crosby, (blind) hymnist
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Fred McMurray (My Three Sons)
Shirley Temple Black, child actor, ambassador
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, martyr
James Reston, newspaper reporter
Shirley MacLaine (Sweet Charity, ...)
Piers Anthony, author ("Xanth" series)
Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie)
Tom Selleck
John Katz, critic, author
Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary)
U. S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL)
Billy Crystal
Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury)
Nelson Mandela
Mel Gibson
Carrie Fisher
Nicole Kidman
Jerry Seinfeld
Jamie Foxx
Sela Ward
Mark Harmon
Gary Dourdan
Marg Helgaberger
Evangeline Lilly
Tori May
 
I would say most famous INFJ's are either unintentionally famous or people who weren't famous when they were around but became famous after their Death through their legacy.
 
Reon said:
INFJs, widely held to be the most rare mbti type, has the smallest amount of famous people.
Click to expand...

No idea what you're talking about -- there are plenty of famous INFJs. There was even an INFJ US President: Jimmy Carter. Imagine that, of all things! A lot of people hate him and saw him as weak. Figures.

Martin Luther King Jr, Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, Jesus, Mohandas Gandhi etc. Basically, a lot of the well-known humanitarians and humanists.

I reckon INFJs punch way above their weight considering how few INFJs there are in the world. Focused firepower.

There's an idiotic list circulating on the Web about how Adolf Hitler is an INFJ. Utter rubbish of course -- he's not even an intuitive.

Mother Teresa wasn't an INFJ, she's clearly ISFJ.
Jerry Seinfeld, Mel Gibson etc definitely aren't an INFJ -- where do people get these strange ideas from? Most of the actors listed as INFJ are not. Carrie Fisher is one notable exception.
 
Last edited:
44sunsets said:
No idea what you're talking about -- there are plenty of famous INFJs. There was even an INFJ US President: Jimmy Carter. Imagine that, of all things! A lot of people hate him and saw him as weak. Figures.

Martin Luther King Jr, Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, Jesus, Mohandas Gandhi etc. Basically, a lot of the well-known humanitarians and humanists.

I reckon INFJs punch way above their weight considering how few INFJs there are in the world. Focused firepower.

There's an idiotic list circulating on the Web about how Adolf Hitler is an INFJ. Utter rubbish of course -- he's not even an intuitive.

Mother Teresa wasn't an INFJ, she's clearly ISFJ.
Jerry Seinfeld, Mel Gibson etc definitely aren't an INFJ -- where do people get these strange ideas from? Most of the actors listed as INFJ are not. Carrie Fisher is one notable exception.
Click to expand...

I don't know why I get this vibe to say this, but remember that whether we like it or not, all INFJ's are not going to be essentially good. There are famous INFJ's we clearly do not want to associate with, but they are INFJ regardless. INFJ's may or may not be the rarest type, but to associate all with humanitarians is very idealistic and as Indigo pointed in a thread, it may be a sign of INFJ narcissism in which we create a perfect ideal of ourselves.
 
44sunsets said:
No idea what you're talking about -- there are plenty of famous INFJs. There was even an INFJ US President: Jimmy Carter. Imagine that, of all things! A lot of people hate him and saw him as weak. Figures.


Martin Luther King Jr, Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, Jesus, Mohandas Gandhi etc. Basically, a lot of the well-known humanitarians and humanists.
Click to expand...

I made this thread a year ago and I don't exactly know the intent I had in mind but I do know that I never said that they aren't a lot of famous INFJs. Speaking from my experience now, I can't really particularly state either way if I agree with any of the above being a certain type. It's about how I perceive the character which isn't what this whole MBTI system is about.
I reckon INFJs punch way above their weight considering how few INFJs there are in the world. Focused firepower.

There's an idiotic list circulating on the Web about how Adolf Hitler is an INFJ. Utter rubbish of course -- he's not even an intuitive.

Mother Teresa wasn't an INFJ, she's clearly ISFJ.
Jerry Seinfeld, Mel Gibson etc definitely aren't an INFJ -- where do people get these strange ideas from? Most of the actors listed as INFJ are not. Carrie Fisher is one notable exception.
Click to expand...

Hitler: For every piece of information that you have that "proves" Hilter is not a intuitive, I can find information stating the opposite. That's the problem with typing people who are dead, even from their own words. It's not so much about actions and words, it's more about the mindset you have. How you actually see reality. We're all just guessing when we say "Blah blah blah is INFJ!"
 
Moxie said:
Martin Luther King, Jr? Mother Teresa? Thomas Jefferson?

http://typelogic.com/infj.html

Famous INFJ's

Nathan, prophet of Israel
Aristophanes
Chaucer
Goethe
Robert Burns, Scottish poet U.S. Presidents:Martin Van BurenJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter Nathaniel Hawthorne
Fanny Crosby, (blind) hymnist
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Fred McMurray (My Three Sons)
Shirley Temple Black, child actor, ambassador
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, martyr
James Reston, newspaper reporter
Shirley MacLaine (Sweet Charity, ...)
Piers Anthony, author ("Xanth" series)
Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie)
Tom Selleck
John Katz, critic, author
Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary)
U. S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL)
Billy Crystal
Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury)
Nelson Mandela
Mel Gibson
Carrie Fisher
Nicole Kidman
Jerry Seinfeld
Jamie Foxx
Sela Ward
Mark Harmon
Gary Dourdan
Marg Helgaberger
Evangeline Lilly
Tori May
Click to expand...

Adolf Hitler


Reon said:
Hitler
Click to expand...

D'aww you beat me to it :(
 
i SEE INFJ BUTTRUBBING GO ON HEREBOUTS
 
Raccoon Love said:
I don't know why I get this vibe to say this, but remember that whether we like it or not, all INFJ's are not going to be essentially good. There are famous INFJ's we clearly do not want to associate with, but they are INFJ regardless. INFJ's may or may not be the rarest type, but to associate all with humanitarians is very idealistic and as Indigo pointed in a thread, it may be a sign of INFJ narcissism in which we create a perfect ideal of ourselves.
Click to expand...

Of course not all INFJs are good or kind people. Assuming that the listed "famous INFJ people" are all good -- no doubt they all had their darker sides as well. I'm sure there's a few evil INFJ serial killers operating somewhere in the world (Angels of Mercy, perhaps?).

That doesn't mean Hitler was an INFJ of course. Believe me, I've been looking at MBTI Type and Temperament for over a decade so I definitely don't have rose-coloured glasses for INFJs or any other type. I think some people (who lack the insight required to actually type people) automatically see Hitler as an Idealist because of his extreme beliefs. But Hitler was not an idealist, he was a violent extremist, a fascist fundamentalist. He wasn't interested in helping his fellow human beings. An INFJ who turned evil would manifest himself very differently.

Also I'm curious, what are some of these famous INFJs we do not want to associate with?

I bet someone somewhere is going to trot out Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and The Devil Himself as INFJs. Good for a laugh, perhaps.
 
Last edited:
44sunsets said:
Of course not all INFJs are good or kind people. Assuming that the listed "famous INFJ people" are all good -- no doubt they all had their darker sides as well. I'm sure there's a few evil INFJ serial killers operating somewhere in the world (Angels of Mercy, perhaps?).

That doesn't mean Hitler was an INFJ of course. Believe me, I've been looking at MBTI Type and Temperament for over a decade so I definitely don't have rose-coloured glasses for INFJs or any other type.

Also I'm curious, what are some of these famous INFJs we do not want to associate with?
Click to expand...

Ahh ok :). I think what I was mostly to explain is that people tend to want to associate with their positive traits and when they look at someone who is not what they expect they go like "Hey that can't be me". That's where I think most stereotypes come from...which later leads to comments like I hear in the INTP forum, "A pop star, must be an SP". Truth is we barely know information on the private lives of this individuals. I am not saying they are necessarily INFJ, but to say they simply can't be is also not valid in my opinion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top