Birth Order Effect On Child Development

Parents’ own birth orders and children experience can impact family dynamics, such as, firstborn parents getting into “raging battle” with a firstborn child, youngest-born parents not having high expectations on their kids or seeing their children’s abilities, biases based on their own birth positions, sticking up for the children with the same birth order, and birth order affecting the children’s personalities.

There are many things that effect a person’s personality and future success. Things like gender, race, ethnicity, and economic stability are all examples of what can affect a person’s development, but what about someone’s birth-date? Can a person’s birth-order really effect someone’s future? In “The Power of Birth Order” Jeffrey Kluger writes about how birth-order can determine a person’s personality and success; throughout “The Power of Birth Order” he established three categories: first-born, second-born, and third-born.

Almost all of us are familiar of the Birth Order theory that Alfred Adler presented almost a century ago. Adler theorized that our personalities are hugely influenced by our chronological place in the family because

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

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

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,

Does birth order affect personality? Can the chronological order of which you and your siblings are born determine your fate and shape you as an adult? As many factors as there are that mold us into who we are and how we are, it's hard to believe that birth order could be one of those significant factors. Alfred Adler, founder of individual psychology, was the first to theorize and discuss how birth order affects one's personality development. Adler argued that birth order can leave an ingrained impression on one's lifestyle which is reflected on the way the person handles friendships, work, and love. Adler believed that his theory could help people understand why they are the way are so that they could improve their life as Adler put emphasis

Many researchers have questioned whether or not birth order and sibling structure play a role in dictating one's success in education. Research shows that firstborns tend to exceed their siblings in intelligence and achievement levels (Cheng, Wang, Sung, Su, & Li, 2012; Boomsma, Beijsterveld, Beem, Hoekstra, Polderman & Bartels, 2007; Cho, 2010; Bu, 2014; Akgeyik, 2013; Karwath, Relikowski, Schmitt, 2014; Horner, Andrade, Delva, Grogan-Kaylor & Castillo, 1998; Rammohan & Dancer, 2008) starting at the age of eight. (Boomsma et al., 2008). This may be due to several factors including the uneven divide of familial resources (Cheng et all, 2012; Harkonen, 2014; Rees, Lopez,

Something I learned about birth order is that many people have different personality because of birth order. Discussing with my group we agree that the first born child is the most responsible . In my group no one was the first born child but we do have our big brother/sister and we all agree that they are responsible and their personality is more matured. On the other hand , some of us didn't agree about the middle child of how they are rebellious and are the black sheep of the family ;but we do agree that the middle child wants attention and whatever to get that little attention from their parents. Also, they are creative to do things as projects and many more. I do rely to this because I'm the middle child and I dislike it because

The purpose of the study was to provide support that birth order affects one’s personality, and to challenge theorists who argue that the home environment has no lasting effect on behavior outside of the home .Data was collected by a survey of 900 undergraduates, in which their own birth order order, their best friend’s birth order and the birth orders of their parents were collected.Both romantic and platonic relationships were studied. The study concluded that firstborns, middle children, youngest children, and only children alike, are all more likely to associate with their own kind (eg. firstborns with firstborns). The study also found that family size may account for a linkage between birth order and personality. They concluded that the smaller the family, the less competition each child has for resources, the more successful the children will

The argument over the relationship, if any, between birth order and intelligence has sparked ongoing interest over the past century from both the general public as well as many notable scientists. Scholastic interest in the association between birth order and intelligence dates back to 1874 with Sir Francis Galton’s English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture. Galton, an English anthropologist and youngest of nine children, analyzed a small sample of 19th century English scientists and found the majority to be first-born children. Galton then theorized that first-born children received special attention from their parents that allowed cognitive growth. After much subsequent research and heated debate during the past century over Galton’s

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,

Debates on the relationship between birth order and intelligence have been remaining controversial. Birth order is considered as a person's ranking by age among his or her siblings. There have been numerous researchers studying about this subject to find whether firstborns generally have a higher IQ scores than their siblings. Some scientists conclude that birth order strongly influents intelligence; however, others oppose to this, claiming that birth order has no effect on intelligence. In this paper, my study deals with the birth order effects on intelligence.

The media article we picked was from an online journal called The Atlantic. The article in summary talked about how two of the studies they looked at showed no resemblance with birth order and personality traits. Beck states, birth order is similar to a horoscope because each child is classified as a specific personality trait. With this article, The Order On Personality And Achievement Within Families they did multiple studies and found there is a relationship between the two. In study number 2 they found that firstborns were ranked more conscientious and more achieving.

What would people think if a complete stranger could tell personality traits of someone only knowing the order of their birth? “Birth order refers to the order a child is born in their family: birth order is often believed to have a profound and lasting effect on psychological development” (Wikipedia). Birth order has great effects on children, and it is seen especially in firstborn, middle born, and last born children. It is an interesting concept that will be explored in more depth in this paper. First, consider some of the characteristics seen in firstborn children.