The community based on the iPersonic personality test.

Does your country have a cultural type?

I've come across an interesting book from Brent Massey called "Where in the World do I belong?". The author claims the following:

We are all different and no country fits everyone living in it. Many people who travel or live abroad are surprised to discover countries that fit them better than their own country. Discover if your personality type differs from your culture's type. Determine your personality type and learn about it through descriptions of culture types. Find out which culture fits your type when traveling, studying, working or living abroad.

I strongly believe that such an approach will lead to the usual clichés. Anyway, the idea is kind of interesting. Do you feel at home in your culture? Or does it make you feel like a stranger sometimes? All this emphasizes the idea of iPersonic: this is about personalities, not about countries or cultures.

Unfortunately I cannot tell which country would fit my personality type - there is no culture for Analytical Thinkers. Neither there is one for Harmony-seeking Idealists. Sorry folks! ;-)

I translated the personality types used by Massey into iPersonic types and merged the cultural types into the list below. Do you agree with the cultural type of your country? I am German and I agree with Germans being Reliable Realists. And for all of you that are not ATs or HIs - how is your personality type correlating with your countries cultural type? Or is this total nonsense?

Cultural types

Tags: countries, cultural types

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jul on April 13, 2008 at 2:35am: That was interesting and I can see how being a different temperament to your culture has caused awkward times for me in the past.It would be nice to feel the social air currents going my way,although, if everyone were like me then certain things would not get done as well as by those with other temperaments. Example..My husbands eye for detail eg.measuring things properly etc.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Marcel Heyne on April 13, 2008 at 5:20pm: I totally agree when you say "if everyone were like me then certain things would not get done as well as by those with other temperaments". Different personality types within a relationship can often work as complementary types. As a result, the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. But it usually needs a good amount of communication to get that working ...

(By the way, you can check the compatibility with your husband at the buttom of this page - the result usually leads to an even better understanding of the relationship.); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jul on April 14, 2008 at 4:17am: Thankyou for that link and I will check out some of those movies to..)); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Prince of lies on April 14, 2008 at 10:30am: Hmmm, perhaps we should forward this list to the European Commission, so they will use it in the future to determine if an applicant country fits the club ;o)

The characteristics of a whole country / its people is a fascinating subject, especially in respect to what actually causes this convergence of sorts.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kuduzu on April 14, 2008 at 4:01pm: This could be a good idea..Do you mean that the turkish state would follow this? ;D; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Prince of lies on April 14, 2008 at 5:29pm: Actually I was thinking more along the lines of: Decision-making in the political arena has detached itself so much from the issues and is instead based on one's gut feeling (especially in an Europe of 27), that we might as well use this method. ;o); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kuduzu on April 14, 2008 at 4:12pm: I live in Germany too, an because of my work i travell through my country from North to South, from West to East. Some parts of Germany may fit to the list, but not the whole country. The region around Cologne is more SI than RR [ maybe the Dusseldorfers ;-))], the Brandenburgers ( included Berlin) seems more AT`s. In the Blackwood Forest you`ll find more SR`s and so on...

The Mikrocosmos of a country has more to show than just one type.
This point of view is IMHO the view from outside the country.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kuduzu on April 14, 2008 at 4:33pm: Sorry but my Connection is not so fast as I need it. ( the Allgäu has no UMTS)

The thesis of the author leads to clichés, i agree with you Marcel.

For me is Germany the correct Place to live in.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Marcel Heyne on April 14, 2008 at 5:50pm: And I agree with you: every nation is scattered with many regional personality types. I live near the border to France, and our french neighbors over there (Alsace) are closer to the personality of the people around our side of the border than the germans that live 100 kilometers from here ...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Marcel Heyne on April 15, 2008 at 4:13pm

Probably ;-)

Take the EU-countries that want to create the "Union for the Mediterranean":

France: Dynamic Thinkers
Spain: Spontaneous Idealists
Portugal: Laid-back Doers
Italy: Spontaneous Idealists
Greece: Laid-back Doers
Cyprus: Laid-back Doers

They obviously have very much in common - and they are neighbors in our iPersonic circle ...

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Permalink Reply by Prince of lies on April 17, 2008 at 2:57pm: So what determines this cultural similarity within a nation?

- Is it the “herd instinct” that makes us assimilate the standards of the group, so we fit in and have better chances to interact with one another?

-What is the role of language (its structure, usage, sound)

- Geography / climate: … some blame the long dark winters of Scandinavia and Russia for a certain melancholic aspect of their respective national characters.

- Ideology/Philosophy: They are both a bit like constitutions, set up at a certain point and over time become very difficult to change due to their central function. Americans use the term “founding” fathers for the people who set up their constitution. Just like with a house, one adds to it later on but making true changes, one might have to change the foundation and thus shies away from profound changes….

Does this make sense from your point of view or how would you explain the similarities within a country?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Marcel Heyne on April 17, 2008 at 4:37pm: Ideology/Philosophy - you may add "religion" ...

But I think that you are right about the factors that you're listing.

If you're interested in this, you should take a look at the work of Geert Hofstede:

For those who work in international business, it is sometimes amazing how different people in other cultures behave. We tend to have a human instinct that 'deep inside' all people are the same - but they are not. Therefore, if we go into another country and make decisions based on how we operate in our own home country - the chances are we'll make some very bad decisions.
Geert Hofstede's research gives us insights into other cultures so that we can be more effective when interacting with people in other countries. If understood and applied properly, this information should reduce your level of frustration, anxiety, and concern. But most important, Geert Hofstede will give you the 'edge of understanding' which translates to more successful results.; ▶ Reply to This