For many years, people as well as researchers have been intrigued with birth order of a family and how one can be raised the same but differ in terms of personality and outlook of academics in school. Determining how people interact and why the individual acts a certain way has always been an issue that is seeking to be solved in the world of psychology. When thinking about individual’s behavior, the key factor is to know that the way parents act in many situations can result in the child’s influence to daily activities including school as well as the order in which they were born. The study done investigated the relationship between birth order and academic achievement dealing with a third variable of parents attention towards the individual and their siblings. There has been multiple research conducted and numerous different outcomes dealing with the aspects of birth order and academic achievement. There has only been a few of those studies done with adding in the factor of parental attention. Previous research stems all the way back to Francis Galton (1874) who studied that first borns tend pursue high level of education more so than other siblings. His research geared toward the different academic success in the household and found the older sibling had more success and reached a higher level of education than his or her siblings. Galton’s research also indicated that the younger the sibling the lower level of education and academic success was achieved. After Galton’s studies other researchers began to develop the same type of studies only adding in other manipulating factors. Alfred Adler (1932) conducted a study that branched off of Galton’s findings and looked past the basics and focused on family size and the subject’s... ... middle of paper ... ...or first. The participants were asked to signed a consent form that was attached to the questionnaire in order to participate in the study. Students were briefed on the overall purpose of the study and then completed to fill out a series of questions. The survey was directed to college-aged individuals whose families had two or more siblings and looking to succeed in school performance. The main focus of the results for the survey was on the questions where the participants were asked to rate each parental attention on a scale of 1-5 (1=very little, 5=too much) and the last two questions where the student self-reported their average grades and the type of student they perceived to be. The completion of the survey is estimated around 10 to 15 minutes. Responses were collected during a week time span. Descriptive statistical analyses were computed with Microsoft Excel.
Gennetian, Lisa A . “One or Two Parents? Half or Step Siblings? The Effect of Family Structure on Young Children 's Achievement”. Journal of Population Economics , Vol. 18, No. 3 (Sep., 2005), pp. 415-436. Published by: Springer . Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20007969. Web. November 10, 2014
In the first part of the article, parental influence on the student’s educational attainment is explored. According to the authors, parent educational level can determine the child’s educational attainment. This is due to highly
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.
‘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
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."
The patterns of birth order have been seen for centuries, although it was not studied exclusively until around the 1980s. There are many factors that play into a persons personality, such as their genetics, the way they are raised, and their environment. Birth order looks at a persons place in their family—if they are the oldest, middle, or youngest child—and provides commonalities between them and others in the same location in other families. While there are many variations, the general traits do apply. Research shows that the first born is typically a leader in the family and in other areas of life. The youngest child is usually light hearted and social. The one that is hardest to put a type to is the middle child. He or she will frequently try to blaze their own path, straying from the one that their older sibling made. I believe that birth order plays a part in a person’s personality, but that the way they were raised is also a very important variable. A child’s birth order, along with the way they were raised, is a major factor in the way they interact within their family and other groups.
Deplanty, Jennifer, Duchane, A Kim, Kern-Coulter Russell (2007). Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Academic Achievement. The Journal of Educational Research. Vol 100, No. 6, 361
There are many distal influences than can affect a child’s educational success, from the neighbourhood they live in to the children they choose to be friends with. Another influence is the child’s parents, they can be seen to influence how well their child does in an academic setting in many ways, whether it be their own personal academic success or their current job and thus their income and socioeconomic status. A common finding in studies related to parental influence suggests that the more engaged a parent is with the child’s studies and the more knowledge they have, the more success a child experiences in school. Nevertheless, it is important that we do not overlook wider distal influences when studying academic achievement of children
Since I am interested in birth order, and the differences between my brother and I, I chose to read an article entitled What Parents Learn From Experience: The First Child as a First Draft? Shawn D. Whiteman wrote this article, with corresponding research by Susan M. McHale, and Ann C. Crouter. This particular article explains the differences in parenting between two children within the same family that are about two years apart in age. The words describe what many parents learn the first time around with their first-born child, and how their parenting styles change with the second child. Parents tend to be more easy going with the second child, and therefore discipline is seen less towards the younger child compared to the older child. Also, this article explains that most parents are less worried about the older child when they are out of the house, compared to the younger child one. Younger children tend to be checked up on more then the older kids, but older children tend to have less opportunities then the younger ones do.
Fan, X., & Chen, M. (1999). Parental Involvement and Students' Academic Achievement: A. Arlington: National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA.; National Center.
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).
Sulloway, F. J. (September 1997). Birth order and personality. Harvard Mental Health Letter, 14, 5-7
Parents must have sense of ownership in their child’s success. Parents must know what is going on with their child at school and in their personal life. If there are negative indicators, action must be taken to correct these issues. A child’s success is affected by the interactions of the parents. If there are distracters in the personal life of the child it can be detrimental to their education; therefore, these distractions need to be minimized if not removed.
There are many benefits to teachings having a good relationship with the student’s family, guardian, or parents. Teachers should begin the school year with building positive relationships with the student’s families. In the book it mentions that there is ongoing research that indicates the benefits of family involvement in children’s education. Some of these benefits mentioned were children earning higher grades, tend to have better attendance, have higher rates of homework completion, and are more motivated and have positive attitudes towards school. Through the reading it also emphasizes on the increase in family involvement in children’s education will result in a decrease in students participating in substance abuse and violence. Students