What Does Birth Order Affect Personality Development?

The order people are born in, whether oldest, middle or youngest, can have a major effect on their personality. The dynamics of birth order have long been debated in the scientific community. Some researchers are hesitant to assign and label specific traits to each family positon. However, most agree that birth order influences and factors into the adults we become. Birth order affects people in ways they are unaware of. It can form personalities and affect behaviors. Also, as a result of birth order, relationships and perspectives on life can be rather different between family members despite siblings having been raised together. Alfred Adler, a psychologist, believed that a child's position in the family greatly determines the child's personality

After Frank Sulloway published his popular studies on how birth order affects individuals (1996 & 1999), many researchers delved into the field to determine how personality is affected by birth order. General hypotheses state that most first-born children are more intelligent than those born later, and that the youngest children are more social. Many more similar hypotheses exist in the field, and through several researches, more information on the actual relationship between birth order and personality is available. These researches and experiments give insight into the psychological significance of birth order.

1a) In the research article “Personality Predictors of Successful Development: Toddler Temperament and Adolescent Personality Traits Predict Well-being and Career Stability in Middle Adulthood” by Marek Blatný, Katarína Millová, Martin Jelínek, Terezie Osecká. The problem that these researchers identified was the relationship between personality and psychological functioning and well-being, or the relations between personality and social functioning. The authors conducted this study mainly to determine whether ones’ personality affects his/her satisfaction with their quality of life in adulthood. They believe that personality traits play a major role in who/what you become in the future and they wanted to see if they could predict it. If yes, they wanted to know how early? – As early as childhood, adolescence or early adulthood.

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.

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

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.

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.

If researchers hypothesis are supported and birth order affects first born children then, they will score high in Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, low in Openness to Experience, and Extraversion. Middle children score low in Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and high in Neuroticism. While youngest children will score high in Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Extraversion and low Conscientiousness. Current research will support the fact that birth order certainly plays a role as it pertains to personality and findings by Saroglou & Fiasse (2002) as well as Healy & Ellis (2006) supports the fact that parents expectations and treatment shape a child’s temperament.

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 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.

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.

Birth order can no longer be the scapegoat for misbehavior. While many people would like to blame birth order for certain personality traits as well as behavioral patterns, birth order can no longer take responsibility. Sometimes birth order can have correlation with specific behaviors that are exhibited, but it is not a big deciding factor in the grand scheme of things. A writer for the Huffington Post recently explained that “These links between personality and birth order ring true for many people. But decades of research have failed to show any consistent and substantial association between birth order and any personality trait” (Haslam). As children grow up, they tend to have a bend toward a certain personality type. Many factors are involved in shaping who people will become, however, birth order

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