Birth Order Affects Personality

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Birth order plays a major role in a person’s personality. It might seem ludicrous, but most people’s actions can be linked to the order in which they were born. Robert V.V. Hurst, a personality observer, proposed an interesting theory in his book, Life’s Fingerprint, which stated, “It’s not just a coincidence that similar birth orders have similar personality traits… each successive child in a family tries to be different, and that difference is seen in all families and crosses all cultural, racial, and ethnic lines” (Hurst 5). Every birth order has a certain personality that is caused by the influence of parents, siblings, or personal mental standards. Personalities of firstborns are mostly affected by parents and the high standards that they set for themselves, so they strive for success and perfection in everything they do. Parents play an important role in a firstborn’s life which is explained by Hurst when he remarked, “Since the parents invest a lot of their ego in the first-born, they view this child’s behavior personally” (31). This causes firstborns to desire to please their parents and it explains why many firstborns excel in school and tend to hold conservative beliefs (Hurst 29). Parents typically expect a lot from their oldest child. Their child is expected to participate in the family and be an example for the younger siblings (Leman 92). This expectation creates a sense of responsibility and reliability found in many older children (Hurst 29). However, firstborns can be taken advantage of and people rely on them to act responsible at all times. The weight of responsibility and reliability that is set on a firstborn adds up to the amount of pressure he or she feels. This leads to the unreasonably high standards that... ... middle of paper ... ...n be rebellious and yet sociable. Lastborns are typically care-free and charming entertainers. The differences in personalities that are seen in different birth order should be respected since all children are impacted by different things. Works Cited Gross, Dr.. "The Achiever, the Peacemaker and the Life of the Party: How Birth Order Affects Personality." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 23 Dec. 2013. Web. 12 May 2014. . Hurst, Robert V.V. Life’s Fingerprint. Mandeville: PBO Publishing. 2009. Print. Isaacson, Cliffard. “The Five Personalities.” Birth Order Plus- Intro to Birth Order. N.p., n.d. web. 17 Apr. 2014 http://www.birthorderplus.com/birthorder/thirdborn.htm. Leman, Kevin. The New Birth Order Book. 2nd. Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1998. Print.

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