Birth Order Affects Firstborn Children

Among the first psychologists to consider the effect of birth order on personality was Alfred Adler. Adler espoused that birth order was determinative of the amount of attention that children garnered from their parents (Adler, 1964). The first perspective on birth order thus stemmed from a belief that individuals competed for attention and for areas of strength as a response to parental expectations.

Have you ever wondered why siblings tend to have such contrasting personalities? This essay will argue that the birth order affects the kind of person one becomes in various ways, by shaping them to acquire specific characteristics and prospects that will remain through adulthood. Particular attention will be given to the significance of family and environment, the ways that birth order affects the levels of trustfulness, reciprocation and extraversion and finally how it influences the likelihood of making or supporting new innovations in science.

Firstborn children in families develop a higher I.Q. than their siblings. The New York Times used a study that found that the average difference in I.Q. was three points higher in firstborn than closest sibling. Even though it is only three points it is significant according to researchers. While three points may not seem like a huge differences, experts say that “it can be a tipping point for some people- the difference between a high B average and a low A” (Carey, 2007). The results also show that it was because of family dynamics and not biological factors. In the study, analyze the data of Norwegian men born from 1967-1976 and found that firstborn had three percent higher than second child and four percent higher than third child. The

After reading “That Elusive Birth Order Effect and What it Means for You” by Susan Krauss Whitbourne and “How Birth Order Effects Your Personality” by Joshua K. Hartshorne, I have come to the conclusion that both authors view birth order differently. Whitbourne was against the idea that birth order affects a person’s life. She does not believe that myths about birth order should be accepted as fact. Hartshorne, on the other hand, was for the idea that birth order affects a person’s life.

Birth order can have an effect on many personality traits and even a child’s future occupation. First borns are more likely to become managers because their order in the family trains them to have more responsibility. This responsibility allows the child to have more managerial and leadership skills. For example,

Many people believe that sibling in the same family often have personalities, abilities, preferences that differ depending on their birth order. Moreover, some people feel that the birth order also affects the health, intelligence and personality characteristics of children. Many studies have been conducted to investigate this secret and scientists have discovered some interesting correlations, but also there are many controversial. Many external factors revolve around this theme such as the age of the people in the family, age distance, the total number of children, the sex of each child, environmental nurture and economic conditions social.

The first journal article I found is called “Birth Order Impacts: Real or imagined? A Review of Literature Past and Present” and this article is very interesting because it details how research has proven that this in fact it is true. “Even Charles Darwin, the revolutionary biologist who proposed the theory of evolution based in natural selection, took a stance that birth order must impact how an organism travels through life” (Govek, 2012). The author also states very good points of research that has been done with infant temperament. “Starting as early as infant temperament, researchers have posed that a child’s later personality can be determined. Where birth order is concerned, it can have an impact on personality, as it has an impact on

Bleske-Rechek & Kelley (2014) have noticed that past research on the link between birth order and personality seems to be biased in that data has been collected by only self-raters, which forces the single member to compare other members of family in relation to themselves. Bleske-Rechek & Kelley argue that birth order effects on personality operate within the family-rearing environment, thus individual differences in personalities between firstborn and laterborn siblings must be measured in responses to the environment according to each member.

Bob likes to be the center of attention. Joe feels that he has authority. Julia tries to outdo everyone and Jimmy just wants to be bigger than the others. What do these all have to do with Birth Order? These all deal with the children’s characteristics depending upon when they were born. Birth Order is the cause of each person’s personality and individual characteristics.

Birth order is nothing to take lightly. Weather being a first born child or a last born child is a prime factor in an adolescent’s maturing. Being a first born child might make you more cautious rather than a last born child may make you an attention seeking child. To few people’s knowledge, birth order determines many distinctive characteristics of an adolescent.

Moreover, the way they have been treated throughout their childhood can affect their personality dramatically. Birth order relates their difference in age, physical size, and status which can contribute to personality. Birth order is related to the roles and jobs available to offspring within the family. On average, first-borns tend to become leaders and hard-working. Later-borns are more agreeable, non-comforting, outgoing, and socially confident.There are many examples of how birth order can affect your personality. One example is, one day, my sister saw some item that she truly wanted on the internet. My mom kept saying no to her. My sister kept complaining and whining saying she really wanted it. Me being the person that doesn’t ask for anything, asks my mom to get something on the internet.

Birth Order, as in the order a child is born in their family, has been a popular topic for researchers and the general public for decades. Originally it was claimed that personality was determined by birth order and even now there are many stereotypes of the firstborn being mature and driven while the youngest child is often described as wild and rebellious (Bleske-Rechek and Kelley, 2013). Nowadays researchers find birth order and personality are unrelated. Whether or not intelligence is related to birth order is not completely clear as there have been many studies supporting both sides. However, based on the newest research the prevailing attitude is that intelligence is linked with birth order. Last of all an individual’s health seems

Through different studies like the General Social Survey, it’s clear that birth order does influence personality development and in turn social behavior. This paper explains the factors within the studies and how they proceed to showcase the correlation between birth order and personality development. These results help affirm that a person’s birth order does affect how their personality develops.

I let my thoughts scatter one by one through my mind as I waited for my Psychology teacher to arrive to class to lecture us. My Psychology teacher walked in and passed the notes out for today. My eyes rolled over the piece of paper with no interest until the bold, fine print at the top caught my attention which was the title. The title was, “Birth Order and Personality Traits.” The notes interested me because I wanted to know how being born first influenced my personality since I am a firstborn. I chose the topic of how birth order affected first-born’s personality traits and what are the parents’ expectations from a firstborn child because I want to learn more about how birth order plays a role and how it applies to me personally. Furthermore,

in correlation to the personality traits that are being developed during the adolescent stage, birth order plays a major role on the personality traits that are developing amongst each adolescent individual. Many studies have been performed to solidify the correlation between how birth order can significantly influence the personality traits of adolescents.