Dating all the way back to the late 1800’s, Birth order has been studied thoroughly. An incredible amount of psychologist and doctors have studied how birth order, or a person’s rank by age among his or her siblings, can affect a child’s personality. Researchers find it difficult to find conclusions due to the fact that it is hard to establish a control group that has controlled variables. Experts say that “different social status, location of the family, and size of the family can create confusion and affect the quality of conclusions” (Hartshone par. 2).
The first study done was by Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychiatrist born in 1870-1937. Adler argued that “birth order can leave an indelible impression on an individual’s style of life” (Voo Par. 2). A child’s “style of life” is one’s habitual way of dealing with the tasks of love, friendship, and work. Alfred Adler’s study concluded that birth order can affect all aspects of the developing child. According to Adler, “First-borns are forcefully taken off their throne when the second child comes along, which could create lasting controversy between them. He said, “The younger children may be pampered and spoiled” (Haines Par. 3). This may leave an effect on their later personalities. He also wrote about how other things should be considered in regards to the birth order outcomes such as the number of years between the birth of the oldest, middle, and youngest child. Experts have found that each child, depending on birth order, has certain tendencies.
Nature vs. Nurture has much to do with the way a child’s personality will be formed. “Certainly, many individual traits and tendencies among brothers and sisters are the products of a unique arrangement of genes (Renkl Par. 2).”...
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...nil.” (Education Par. 6) They did however, say that the only study which did show birth order effects apparent were the ones that were judged by their parents or siblings. The researchers were not the ones to find the effects. Therefore, this made the study result in there not being effects on birth order. This is just one example of how birth order is a very disputing and controversial study going on.
In conclusion, birth order is indeed studied very thoroughly. Birth order can be the result of a unique arrangement of genes, or it can be the way you were raised and the environment you grew up in. Birth order may not even affect your personality at all! Psychologist and doctors will continue to work on new experiments and studies. New information is released all the time. There is no doubt we will have a much better understanding of birth order in the future.
Being the middle child can be very difficult. Molly is going to learn that she is loved, wanted and can do many fun interesting things that her brothers might not be able to do. Her self-esteem will grow as she grows and the bond between herself and brothers will grow. Adler’s theory gives us much insight into birth order of children and adults and helps in developing the treatments that are needed to help them grow as individuals.
The speech “Birth Order Effect” discusses the effects of being born as a first, middle, or last child. After intense reviewing and critiquing on the online speech subject, purpose, thesis, research, organization, delivery, and presentation aids. I’ve have determined this speech to be well presented only having small errors that could have been easily avoided.
Nature vs. Nurture The relative contributions of nature and nurture are an apparent part of human development which makes us ask the question, are heredity and environment opposing forces?(Sternberg 100) The question of nature vs. nurture can be examined and can be attempted to be comprehended in many ways. Our stand on which theory is the correct one is obviously a matter of opinion and makes us wonder if only one of them is truly correct. Nurture seems to be the explanation that holds the most tangible evidence to support it as existing in our everyday life. In psychological attempts to conduct experiments of genetic influences on personality and behavior in the environment psychologists have come to the conclusion that the best way is by using identical twins. There are strong similarities identical twins show in intelligence, personality, and many other characteristics, regardless of being raised in separate homes. They leave us with the conclusion that maybe there is some truth to the theory of nature. These findings from the studies done on the twins are what I find to be coincidences. I believe from my past experiences with my development as a person compared to my older sisters, we are a perfect example of nurture. The theory that poses enough evidence through studies and in my personal experience seems to be true. My sister and I, though not twins, have a four year difference between us and are completely different people who are were raised in the same environment....
Without the results of studies done on the birth order, by people like Jeffery Kluger, the power of birth order would remain a mystery to us and we would not have as deep of an understanding of siblings. While there is still much about the workings of oldest, youngest, and middle children that we have not yet discovered, the studies conducted on birth order so far have enlightened many parents on how their children’s relationships work. However, while scientists have unraveled many mysteries about the birth order, the constant variables presented to scientists as they study the birth order does hinder the progress of their research, but there is always a hope that someday scientists will be able to completely understand the impact and function of the birth order in sibling’s
There are many theories about how an individuals’ personality develop or how different characteristics and traits are formed in people. Psychiatrist Alfred Adler was the first person to suggest that the order a person was born in had a profound effect on the development of his/her personality. He called his idea the Birth Order Theory. Adler’s work on this theory cover the oldest child, commonly referred to as the first-born, as well as, the middle, youngest, and only children. The work of other experts in the field have expanded on his theory to include multiplies (twins, triplets, etc.), step-siblings, siblings with disabilities, and siblings with more than a five years gap. So according to the Birth Order Theory, how does a person’s order of birth contribute to their personality, and what are the commonly shared characteristics in each birth position? Are there other factors that can contribute or influence an individual’s personality development in relation to the Birth Order Theory that needs to be considered? If so, than how accurate is the theory really? I will attempt to answer these question.
Adler’s birth order plays a significant part in how we perceive our lives. Birth order is defined as “is not a deterministic concept but does increase an individual’s probability of having certain set of experiences” (Corey, 2013, p. 108). When we are born there is an automatic label that is placed upon us. We are the oldest or youngest or somewhere in between. Society fosters the idea of birth order and treats us accordingly.
Does birth order really affect who we are? Sigmund Freud was the first psychotherapist to say, " a child's position in the sequence of brother and sisters is of very great significance for one course of his later life." The type of person that we become stems from many things including birth order position, gender and the genders of the other siblings. Although personality is affected by many different factors, such as heredity, family size, the spacing and the gender of other siblings, education and upbringing, birth order plays a very important role and gives many clues as to why people are the was they are. Dr. Alfred Adler, a renowned psychiatrist, wrote that a person's position in the family leaves an undeniable "stamp" on his or her "style of living."
Toman, Walter. Family Constellation: Its Effects on Personality and Social Behavior. Springer Publishing Co. 1992
For every child born there is a different set of characteristics set for them. First borns tend to be the leaders of the family. They are the ones that turn out to be newscasters or presidents (Neal,1). They are well organized, scholarly, and usually perfectionists (leman,27). Also, parents tend to favor the first born over the others because of their achievements and hardworking attitude (Vowels,1). The first and second child will become complete opposites (Vowles,1) A second child is the trouble maker of the family. They feel less important than the rest of the children (Neal,1). They have strong relationships with their friends because they feel they cannot share things with their family members and are not valued in the family (kelger,). Second children help avoid conflict and keep the family members out of fights (Leman,28). They are expected to live up to the oldest which to have self esteem issues and makes it hard for them to open up to anyone (Kluger). This child has the most varied char...
When an infant is born determines in large part the emotions of his or her parents and relatives. Moreover, whether or not the infant is the first child, has older siblings, or is the youngest child to be born to the family impacts the environment he or she is to grow up in. These three different scenarios are descriptive of birth order. A persons rank by age among his or her siblings is called birth order (Sulloway, 2001). Birth order thus determines the environment into which a child is born and the responsive and adaptive responses of the child. This cycle of interaction extends all the way up to adulthood (Stewart, Stewart, & Campbell, 2001). Thus, one can reasonably infer that birth order determines the relatively constant pattern of personality observed in individuals. Birth order therefore significantly affects the personality of the individual.
‘Birth order theory can help explain why children raised in the same family environment with a strong genetic relationship can have such different personalities’ (Drysdale, 2011). The birth order theory says that ‘first-borns are leaders, the drivers and the responsible type. They love to feel in control and feel uncomfortable with surprises or feeling out of their depth. They are conservative in their outlook’ (Grose, 2013). The personality theory says that last-borns are majorly different to first-borns in their characteristics and traits. It states that last-borns are ‘the
Throughout life, people often look at their older years when thinking about what shaped them into the person they are today. Often times, looking at their prenatal care and childhood can provide enlightenment to certain attributes and habits they may have. This autobiography will look at various stages in my life, and see how differing psychological theories may shed a light to my development. Unfortunately, due to certain life circumstances, I am unable to obtain information regarding my prenatal development and reasons behind certain actions my mother may have done. Thus, the prenatal stage and ages 0-2 will concern my younger brother Joshua.
Birth order affects everything from personality and character traits to future relationships and career choices. The difference in birth order combined with how parents treat their causes the children to grow and develop differently from the siblings they may or may not have (Voo, Jocelyn). Family is the greatest influence on children growing up, and in what order they were born determines how their family treats them (Leman, Kevin). There are many contributing factors that cause children to grow up and become who they are, but birth order is considered to be one of the most crucial (Gross, Dr. Gail).
As for myself, I’m an only child and according to Adler, only children tend to feel more at ease around adults, be more mature, and do well in intellectual activities. I think that’s a pretty accurate description for myself. I think that the birth order theory can be a useful tool for people like teachers or school counselors to maybe help give an idea why certain children act the way they do.
Undoubtedly, humans are unique and intricate creatures and their development is a complex process. It is this process that leads people to question, is a child’s development influenced by genetics or their environment? This long debate has been at the forefront of psychology for countless decades now and is better known as “Nature versus Nurture”. The continuous controversy over whether or not children develop their psychological attributes based on genetics (nature) or the way in which they have been raised (nurture) has occupied the minds of psychologists for years. Through thorough reading of experiments, studies, and discussions however, it is easy to be convinced that nurture does play a far more important in the development of a human than nature.