The Importance Of Birth Order And Its Effect On Leadership

In the texts “That That Elusive Birth Order and What it Means for You,” and “How Birth Order Affects Your Personality,” the authors give their interpretation on the importance of birth order in siblings. The author of the first text, Susan Whitbourne, stresses the unimportance of birth order. Conversely, Joshua Hartshorne, the author of the second text, says that birth order is significant to personality, but there just has not been enough evidence until recent studies.

According to Alfred Adler, the birth order of the children in a family will largely affect how they age and the personalities which they will form. First borns enter the family as the only child. They revel in the love and full attention from their parents, that is, until the second baby comes along. Suddenly, first borns are dethroned and lose the undivided attention they are used to receiving. As a result, they tend to develop a strong sense of responsibility and protectiveness over their siblings at an early age, which often leads to them becoming authoritative adults. Moreover, when there are multiple children in the family, parents will set high

The second-born has a lot that goes against them, for example, they can go through something called de-identification. Krugar writes that de-identification happens when a sibling sees what their older sibling does and proceeds to do the opposite in order to stand out, so if a first-born were to make good grades and get a job the second-born may go down the slacker route in order to receive attention. Also, second-borns tend to act out or rebel when the parent compare the second-born to the first-born, for they don’t like to be compared to their older sibling, but who likes to be compared to another person all the time anyway

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

Birth order refers to the order in which children are born into their families. Common examples of this include the first-born, second-born, youngest and the only child. Birth order is considered to have profound lasting effects on the psychological and behavioural development of children. For this reason, it is essential to study birth order and its impacts on children within families in Canada because it reveals more about the individual in society. A child’s birth order is incredibly influential in regards to their upbringing, shaping their personality and how they grow up to be as individuals. First-born children generally have a great amount of pressure and responsibility placed on them. The youngest children of families

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

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

There has been significant research over the past century in regards to birth order, however some conflicting results have been reported. A few common items have been found. Primarily, that first borns enjoy a more favorable position within the family as opposed to later borns (Kalliopuska, 1984). This is based on the variable of maternal warmth, which is how much time a parent spends with their child (Smith, 2014). On average parents spend 3,600 more hours with first and only born children as opposed to the ones who are born later (Smith, 2014). ) This could be the factor that is noted as the perceived maternal warmth that impacts the idea of the “more favorable position.” Another key finding is that first born and only children tend

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.

Although there are a number of scientists supporting for the idea of being the firstborns is beneficial and advantageous, recent studies assert that the effects of birth order no longer are significant. The children’s intelligence depends on many factors such as family size, child spacing, prenatal factors, gestational factors, not only birth order

They tend to be charming, social, very manipulative, impatient, confident, and immature. The youngest is sometimes considered the "lucky one." They are dependent on others and worry free. They grow up knowing that whatever kind of mess they make, someone is always going to come behind them and fix everything as they are typically treated like a baby all their life. It's theorized that the youngest child's personality is mainly shaped by the lack of or reduced attention from parents who now have two kids and a baby, sometimes the baby is "forgotten" in the chaos of life. This explains why the youngest child is also attention-loving and enjoys having the spotlight on them whenever possible.(Herrera, 2003)

Some parents often wonder, what, if any, effect birth order will have on their children's personalities. Genetic factors and other influences play a significannot

“Eckstein and Kaufman point out that perceptions and beliefs about birth order may have their effects, in large part, because parents impose their own stereotypes onto their children. By assigning these stereotyped birth-order roles, which may interact with gender roles, parents create self-fulfilling prophecies among their brood. You come to feel like the leader, if you’re a first-born, because you were handed this role early in your life. Say if a mother has more than one child, the oldest (to the parents) should be the best behaved. “As explained by Stewart, using Adler’s framework, the first born (or one with the “oldest” role) would be most likely to take on a leadership position, like when people stick to rules and order, and strive toward achievement goals. The firstborn may be sensitive to being “dethroned” by younger sibs who drain away the attention of parents that the firstborn enjoyed before they came along.” (pg. 4, 30-34) “Firstborn items on the PBOI tap feelings of being powerful, important, leading, and achieving (It is important for me to do things right”). (pg. 5,

Today in class we learned about Alfred Adler’s theory about birth order. Oldest children have more expectations set on them by their parents like they have to be role models for the rest of their siblings, they are the guinea pigs as being the parent’s first child, they are responsible, and bossy. A study has also shown that first borns have higher IQs. Middle borns can fulfill many roles such as the mediator or clown of the family. However they are often overlooked and get to fly under the radar. Middle children also tend to have the lowest IQ scores. Youngest children are spoiled in that they receive more love and material things than their siblings. In my family, I am the oldest with two younger siblings, a boy and a girl.

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