Alfred Adler's Theory Of Birth Order Theory

Order of Birth . In Alfred Adler’s theory he believed that everyone has a style of life: unique behaviors and characteristics. He listed the four styles as “dominant,” a ruling attitude; “getting,” the most dependent behavior; “avoiding,” meaning one does not face problems; and the most well-rounded: “socially useful.” He determined that our style of life is determined by our social experiences and our major social experiences are in our own home, depending on when you were born within your family. A first-born has their parents’ attention. That is until a younger sibling comes along. they then receive a shock that they are not in control of the house. The first-born now have to wait for attention, be quiet, and take turns. There are ways for first-born to regain power. Parents often expect the first-born to help care for the younger children. This gives them an advantage over younger. They learn to organize, be conscientious, to lead, to teach and they get to be the disciplinarian. Studies done on birth order show that first borns have “higher achievement” and “higher intelligence” “ score lower depression and anxiety and higher self-esteem” and “were more likely to become accountants,

If a child is born after the second-born, they do not feel the dethroned by the third-born. They have never had any real power. By now the novelty of being a parent has worn off. Parents are more relaxed. The second-born must now live up to the standards that the first-born set. They often feel in competition with the first-born or just give up. A study done on “major league baseball players found that those who were younger brothers were 10 times more likely than older brothers to attempt the high-risk action of stealing bases during the game. They also had higher batting averages than those who were older brothers.” (Schultz, Duane P., Schultz,Sydney E,,