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How birth order affects a child's personality
How birth order affects a child's personality
Birth order and its characteristics
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The Birth Order Effect Growing up with two other siblings I always wondered how we could come from the same parents, yet act nothing alike. My sister, Shaylan, is the oldest, I am the middle child, and my brother, Braden, is the youngest. It was not until I took psychology in high school that led me to believe that our birth order might have something to do with our differences. I have decided to put this theory to the test using my own life experience and that of my siblings to see if the many studies that have been conducted are true. Studies have shown that the “Birth Order Effect” not only influences our personalities but also our adult lives, and the choices we make. First born children have a unique advantage. They are the “experiment” …show more content…
According to Parents.com, first born children between the ages of four and thirteen have spent more than three-thousand more hours of quality time with their parents than their siblings. This interaction leads to the different developments in personalities. Common traits associated with first born are being reliable, conscientious, structured, cautious, controlling, and achievers (BESTPSYCH). Knowing these traits, I compared them to my sisters and she fits right into the first born category. Shaylan’s biggest personality traits are cautious, reliable, and being conscientious. I have never seen anyone in my entire life be as cautious as my sister. She goes out of her way to avoid any potential problems. Shaylan now has two kids of her own and if the slightest thing is off with the kids, she is calling the doctor. Being cautious is a good thing, but she can be over …show more content…
One of the most common things about being the middle child is being over shadowed by the oldest and youngest siblings, causing them to feel ignored. General traits of a middle child are people pleaser, rebellious, thieves on friendships, social, peacemaker (BEST). I myself being the middle child can identify with all of the above traits except being social. Out of my siblings I am the least social, total introvert. I take after my mother on this one, in social situations I feel really awkward and shy. I can honestly say that I am a people pleaser. Throughout school I got good grades and excelled at basketball, not only to please my parents but to get attention. Being the middle child is rough sometimes because you are over looked and feel like you need to separate yourself from the others. I help anyone I can and I try to stay on everyone’s good side. I am also the rebellious one in the family. I pushed the envelope a bit more than my siblings, trying to bend my parent’s rules. My friendships are near and dear to my heart. I do not have many friends but my small circle of friends know me best and we have been through thick and thin. One thing that I recently noticed was the birth order of my closest two friends. I found it interesting that one friend was and only child, the other was the youngest, and I was the middle, but somehow we came together and created a great
The achievers, the gamblers and visionaries, and the undefined, this is how Jeffery Kluger describes the oldest, youngest, and middle child in his article “The Power of Birth Order” (409). The birth order is a phenomenon, studied by many scientists, that has been impacting the way siblings think and act for years. The birth order classifies the oldest child, who is the achiever; the middle child, who is a hybrid of the oldest and youngest; and last but not least, the youngest child, who is the adventurer of the family. The fact that the birth order affects the personalities of siblings is becoming more and more evident and the classifications of the firstborn, middle child, and youngest child have been proved to be very accurate.
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.
Alfred Adler’s personality theory is referred to as Individual Psychology. This theory states, “The unique motivations of individuals and the importance of each person’s perceived niche in society (Schustack, 2012).” According to Adler striving for superiority is the core of one’s personality. He felt that people are motivated to fight for superiority when faced with an overpowering sense of helplessness which can ultimately lead to a feeling of inferiority.
‘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."
Birth order is a key element in gaining an understanding of one's self as well as other people. Through birth order placement, one develops a behavior pattern as well as ways of thinking and emotional responses. This effects all aspects of living such as, expectations, mental weaknesses, marriage, and spirituality. Understanding the birth order characteristics is a simple method in determining how and what makes another individual "tick."
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.
“Most people have an intuitive knowledge that birth order somehow has an impact on development, but they underestimate how far reaching and just how significant that impact is.” Birth order describes not only what order a child is born into a family but also has an effect on an individual's personality, social skills, and success in life. If you are a first born child, does that mean you are a perfectionist, tend to be a natural leader, and are more successful than your younger siblings? Does being born last make you less able to compete in life?
Growing up in my family I was the first born of two children. For me this meant that I was the ultimate guinea pig for my parents, and therefore how I was raised was much different from how my younger brother was raised. I notice, now that I am older, there were many differences on the parenting techniques that were used to raise us both as individuals. Ultimately this caused my brother and I to be totally opposites. To this day I feel like birth order plays a large role in my family, and sometimes it is hard to watch my brother get of easy when I am living a more difficult life.
Many factors can shape a persons a personality, it could be their environment, peers, family, siblings, but one wouldn’t think that their birth order can too. The last factor will be the one topic I will be getting into more depth in this essay. Either being born first or last it will have a huge impact on your personality (Parents magazine 2006). The first to introduce the theory of the impact birth order has on personality was psychologist Alfred Adler in the early 20th century. This started a new interest in many on this research (Lesley Ogden 2013). His theory suggest the common personality traits each first, middle, and last borns have. Let me start off with the first born of the family and work my way down. The first born is the child the family “practices” on you could say. First time parents have no experience on parenting, and they want to try their best on raising a good child which causes them to be stricter. This causes them to put more pressure on the first borns to do better at everything they do. Which can make them become perfectionists and high achievers. But they want to be noticed and praised by their parents when they do well. This too however develops them to become leaders, especially if they have siblings their parents want them to set an example for (Brooks 1984). Independence, reliability, and respect for authority are other traits that this group may has. They are highly intelligent and get high qualifications in school. They can also be serious and very mature for their age. Because of this nature, this group tends to get along really well with their elders. The pressure of carrying responsibilities (and at times even being forced upon) at an early age can bring negative factors. For the reason that it c...
Numerous studies have shown correlation between birth rate and personality. Birth rate can be defined as the ratio of total live births to that of the total population, in a specific community during a certain period of time. It is usually expressed in numbers of live birth over 1000 population in a year. Birth order is believed to have a lasting effect on psychological development. On the other hand, personality refers to a set of behaviors and mental characteristics possessed by an individual that makes him/her unique, in another words, it’s the distinctive qualities of an individual, and it is made up of the way we think,
As I said, I do not believe birth order has very much to do with the personality of a person. If a last child grows up penniless and has a lousy home life, he will not act like a last child who has a rich family and a marvelous suburban home. However, multiple of the things that many people said about how birth order affects the personality do describe me. The one that relates to me the greatest is definitely the fact that I am easy going. I never really let anything get too serious and I let things go once they are in the past. Also as Jocelyn Voo claims the middle child is very social, I would have to agree with her. I would rather be out with my pals having a wonderful time than be stuck at home doing nothing. Another quality that describes be excellently is the middle child takes pleasure in having a great time. If there is chance I can have good time, I will take that chance and expect for the best.
productivity: An examination of gender, occupational status and work environments effects. Report available from The Merrill-Palmer Institute, 71-A East Ferry, Detroit, Michigan, 48202.
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...
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).