Birth Order And Personality Essay

A good example of “The Power of Birth Order” are the Lee siblings. The Lee siblings are, going from eldest to youngest, Katana, Roman, and Samantha. Katana is a first-born; being the eldest of her siblings she was the first to graduate high school ranking 26th out of 2100. She strived for good grades and worked very hard to help her mother support their family. She is currently attending Trevecca Nazarene University studying to be a teacher. Her brother Roman, the second oldest, is the complete opposite of her. He is smart, but doesn’t like trying in school that much, so his grades suffer. He also prefers to slack-off rather than work. The youngest sibling Samantha is the third-born. She is always trying something new. Samantha is also an artist and likes to express herself through her work. These three siblings are a real-life example of Jeffrey Kruger three

Birth order is addressed as the arrangement of births of children in a family. The four most common positions used in the Birth Order Theory of Alfred Adler are: only child, first born, middle child and last born. Adler associated those birth order positions with different characteristics for each. He also explained that with every child that will be added to the family there will be an effect for each family member in terms of communication, tasks and duties. (Craighead 2001)

CNN news examines the theory saying, “A recent survey by CareerBuilder.com found that workers who were the firstborn child in their families were more likely to earn $100,000 or more annually compared to their siblings. The oldest tend to pursue vocations that require higher education, like medicine, engineering or law. Firstborns from the CareerBuilder.com survey reported working in jobs in government, engineering, pharmacy and science” (Zupek). The strict rule enforced by parents and competition between siblings instill pressure and determination to be better. Moreover, the leadership role that the older sibling practices in early life is also implemented in their careers as they generally exert themselves to jobs that are more prestigious. Ohio State’s Frederick T.L. Leong conducted a study along with many other doctors and researchers who found that among, “119 undergraduate students majoring in a wide variety of academic fields at a Midwestern university; one of the strongest findings was the fact that only children and first-born children tended to have more cognitive and analytical interests, while later-borns were more artistic and oriented to the outdoors” (Birth). Different sets of rules and demands are implemented on different siblings which contributes to contrasting personalities and interests of children. These varying traits carryover into their adult life and play a role in the career they

Though there are specific temperaments and personality traits commonly found in each birthplace, it does not signify that each characteristic perfectly fits a single child or adult in that order. Many variables interfere with the general traits found in each birthplace and can easily change the personalities of that specific order. A complete change in birth order characteristics can also result from these specific interferences. Both circumstances in the outside and inside world take effect and are called the variables of birth order. These variables are very important to keep in mind while looking at this subject. Dr. Kevin Leman, an internationally renowned psychologist, and New York Times Bestselling Author, lists some of the major variables found in many children and adults in his book The Birth Order Book. The spacing of up to five years or more, gender, physical and mental disabilities or difference, deaths in the family, and also spacing will interfere and alter the personality traits found in each birth placement. This list of variables can continue on, but looking at these can provide insight to those dealing with doubts towards their specific birth order or where they may fit

The object of this experiment was to determine whether or not birth order actually affected personalities and to see if oldest/youngest stereotypes were true. Oldest children are said to be bossy and rule followers while youngest tend to be ambitious and outgoing. To find out whether or not these assumptions were true, ten people were asked a series of questions about oldest and youngest children and what it was like growing up.

Is there a “personality tag” for each child, depending on their birth order? Does the family size, or even the parents’ life styles, affect anything? Birth order is more than just an old wives’ tale about predicting the personalities of each child in every family. “Birth order, put in its proper context, is a key that can unlock personalities and give you a new perspective on human nature.” (First- born?,1). Every child of every family has a personality tag, just because of their spot on the immediate family tree. Family size and birth order are factors that make the “personality tag” for the first born, middle child, last born, and only child of each family.

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.

Charles Darwin is the first to introduce the theory of “survival of the fittest” which introduced the idea that the “fittest” variations within a species were the most likely to survive and pass on their genetic traits. Darwin believed that it was the survival of the fittest that resulted in sibling rivalry (Darwin). Alfred Adler was a pioneer in the study of birth order. His research suggested that the position a child had by the order of birth significantly affected the child’s growth and personality. The fact that one child was born before the other is not

Birth order is defined as being the chronological order of sibling births in a family. There is five ways to classify birth order: first, second, middle, last, and only children. Treatment plays a large role into how strong the birth order effect is. If out of four sons, a daughter is born, even if she is a middle child she will be treated at a first born, because she is the only girl. Age gap is also a major factor affecting birth order. Large age gaps result in birth order starting over (Birth Order, pg. 1-3). Referring to birth order, Dr. Hartstein, a psychologist says, “It’s been researched since the 1920s, and they really have found that over time the things that they have found stay the same and are proven to be honest and true representations of people (1).” A child’s growth and personality are greatly affected by birth order and the effects will be carried into adulthood (Birth Order, pg.1).

There have been many studies conducted regarding the impact of birth order in multi-children families, whether it affects creativity, future success, intelligence, and overall happiness and satisfaction in life. It is popularly believed by laypeople that birth order and family size plays a strong role in the development and eventual personality type and success of each adult; however, while many studies have found positive correlations between older children and success, others have been inconclusive (Carballo, J. et al. 2012). While birth order may play a role in a child’s development, there are many other factors to consider such as socioeconomic status, parental favouritism, parental involvement, and socialization at an early age to name a few. We can go back to our ancestral days to look for clues as to why birth order may have a significant impact on the future success of a child. In ancestral humans, the most important thing was survival; there were high infant mortality rates and people were driven to pass down their genes, so parents were often left to allocate efforts to the child that would most likely survive to have their own children (Daly, M. Wilson, M. 1987, pg 93). This is especially important for fathers, whose paternity is not necessarily guaranteed, as is the mothers. Even today it is still very common for a man to leave a newborn child and the mother if it is even speculated that a child may not be his own (Schmitt, D. 2005, pg 250). Following this, we

People have distinctive traits that could be perceived of first, middle, youngest, and only children. These distinctive traits are potentially affective in relationships with friends, spouses, etc. The first born tend to have characteristics of being

There has been a Norwegian study that has found the average IQ of young men and has concluded that first born children and only children have the highest IQ. This study started with the men taking IQ tests and stating information about their age and birth order. The test results were then plotted and the average was found for each order of birth. The first child in the family was found to have an average of 100.3 IQ points. The second born child had an average of 100.2 IQ points and the third child had an average of 99 IQ points. While these scores may seem to have only minor differences, the one point difference may be the deciding factor in passing an exam or class and failing an exam or class. The explanation for this difference is rather simple; it is hard to fully understand the concept because of the variation of families. With a first or only born child, the kid has the full attention of his or her parents. The attention that the child receives is a rather large factor in the personality forming process. The parents always talk and play with the first child more than the second or third. This creates a

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.

Although no first born is the same as the later-born individual, they are still very similar to each other as the results show that the mean scores are very close. If given the full information of results there may be some differences in data compared to the mean scores. Another personality trait that can be examined could be curiosity or adventure: the results are expected to show first borns being very adventurous or more adventurous and the later-borns being less adventurous due to the first born receiving more discipline, therefore wanting to adventure off on their own, this can be shown with how firstborns in the class test are more independent. A different trait that could be tested is agreeableness to show the compassion of the firstborns and later-borns. It is expected that later-borns will have more agreeableness due to later-borns looking up to their older siblings and parents and not wanting to see them get hurt, whereas the first born will most likely get annoyed by having to share everything with younger siblings therefore becoming less

Investigation about the birth order effects first started in the late nineteenth century. Several researchers have claimed that the relation between birth order and intelligence