Premium Essay

Birth Order Effect

Submitted By
Words 1165
Pages 5
Effects of birth order on children and adults regarding mental instability, positional concern regarding success and willingness to cooperate with other people

Rosella Joseph
Alverno College

The effect of birth order or having siblings plays a huge role in the development of children and adult, because this topic is broad this will be focused on whether or not that birth order has a role in developing their abilities to cooperate with other people, mental stability, and “positional concerns in terms of income and success.” Significance of birth order was first introduced by Alfred Adler, he believed the order the person was born influenced his or her personality due to a “psychological situation created by the presence …show more content…
It was determined that family and background variables are important determinants of positional concern. The studies showed that siblings have the strongest “positional concern.” (Elima Lampi et al., 2010) Therefore, birth order has less of an effect than whether or not the person had siblings. One explanation that was that only children are more pressured to live up to their parents’ expectations than people with siblings and that since they were the only child they had no siblings to compete with. For those who grew up with siblings it was found that the number of siblings increases positional concern regardless of reference group. It was also found that the environment in which a child lives and how the parents treat him or affects the strength of his/her positional concerns as adult. Furthermore, it was discovered that a person cared more about “relative” position if that person thought he or she was compared with siblings during their …show more content…
Player A decides how much of this she wants to send to player B. This amount x is then tripled by the experimenter before being sent to player B. Therefore, at this stage, A has 30 and b has 30 plus 3x. Player B then has to decide how much she wants to send back to Player A called amount y. The results of the games showed that first borns were less trustful and reciprocated less than others, no differences in trust were found among later born. “Firstborn status” was a better predictor of cooperativeness than by sex, income, and religion. (Alexandre Courtiol,et al., 2009) These results established some of the first experimental proof that birth order differences established within the family can affect behavior among people who are not related to each

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Birth Order and Development of Personality

...Birth Order and the Development of Personality Student’s name Institution Affiliation Introduction Birth is the process of bringing forth a new individual from the womb into a new environment. The young one new surroundings are set to determine the growth and development of the child's personality and behavior. New children tend to ape the valuable and meaningful characters from their parents. For instance, a child is first introduced to the society's aspect of love by the mother who first accords it the much-needed love and affection. Eventually, the child grows knowing that everyone should be accorded everyone regardless of their status in the society. On the other side of the flip, birth order is the sequence in which an individual is brought out of the womb. Birth order plays a crucial role in the growth and development of an individual's, character, personality, brilliance and various decisions in the personal growth process. This task, therefore, seeks to explain how the birth order in a family relates to an individual's personality growth and development, relationships, intelligence and social attitudes. A child's personality is well nurtured and cultured by his or her birth order in a family. For, instance the first-born kid is usually perceived to be excessively burdened with a responsibility which eventually molds him or her to be a charismatic leader, hardworking, perfectionist and loving. Types of birth order The different kinds of birth order...

Words: 1601 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Intelligence and Birth Order

...Intelligence and Birth Order: Are They Connected? Abstract There have been many examinations of birth order and the effect it has on a person’s intelligence. Some researchers feel that first-born children have higher IQ’s than that of their younger siblings. It has been said that first-born children are natural leaders. Siblings of first-born children perceive them to be academically smarter. Eldest children are known to perform higher on standardize testing than younger children in the family. Other researchers have stated that family size/home life, age of mother and circumstances around the birth of each individual child determines where they are intellectually. Researchers need to look at every aspect of the child’s life before they decide which child is smarter. Intelligence and Birth Order: Are They Connected? Birth order is where a person ranks in regards to age among their siblings, from oldest to youngest and vice-versa. There is much debate on the relationship between a person birth order and how intelligent we are. Many studies have been done to determine if there is a link to the firstborn having a higher IQ in general compared to their siblings. Some people would agree that birth order has a profound influence over intelligence; however, others are in opposition to this. The opposition feels that birth order has no effect when it comes to intelligence. Does birth order cause children to have lower or higher intellect or is this caused by factors...

Words: 2115 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Understanding Birth Order

...What are you? People always wonder why they have certain traits or act a certain way but never think that it is because of their birth order. The birth order of siblings can have a big effect on the traits a person has depending if they are the first born, middle child, or youngest child. If are bossy you’re most likely a first born child. If you would rather just go with the flow you’re probably a middle child. If you don’t take much serious and always up for a joke you are more than likely the baby of the bunch. First things first, there is the oldest child, the first born. This child is known to be bossy. Since she is the oldest she makes the rules. Her siblings know not to cross her because when the parents aren’t around she’s the one in charge and you don’t want to be on her bad side. She is a perfectionist. She does everything to her best ability and expects her younger siblings and friends to follow in her footsteps. Sarah Toler author of Understanding the Birth Order Relationship states, “The oldest child is often the captain of the kickball team on the playground or the math genius who request extra credit assignments” (276). As the first born she tends to be independent and more to herself. This is because her parents usually spend more time on her younger siblings. She is a natural born leader. “Rolling with the punches is the key to survival for the sibling stuck in the middle” (276). Since there is always someone before and after the...

Words: 585 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Birth Order

...Birth order is defined as a person's rank by age among his or her siblings. Birth order is often believed to have a profound affect on ones distinctive character, behavior and intelligence. For our culminating task I chose the topic of birth order because it birth order has a direct relation with the family and is vary relatable topic to everyone. I thought it would be interesting research and learn more about this theory; because it gives insight on to why people the way they are. The research question I sought to find out was: Does birth order effect the combination of characteristics and qualities that form an individual's personality, behavior and intelligence and if so, how does it affect a person's distinctive character? To begin my research I first formed a hypothesis based on my general knowledge and inquiry on the subject. My hypothesis was that the chronological placement of siblings within a family would affect the combination of characteristics and qualities that form an individual's distinctive character, behavior and intelligence. My thinking was that in General, parents are excited and anticipated about their first child and hence, tend to be overly protective and pay more attention, investment, as well as expectation on this child. However, parents’ attention, investment, and expectation vary across children. As the second child arrives in the family, the firstborn may experience dethronement and the same happens to the second born once a third child arrives...

Words: 3696 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Birth Order

...Katelyn Brandenburg Audience: People who are interested in learning about birth order and how it affects life. Purpose: To show how people how birth order effects their life. Many wonder why they act so differently from their siblings. Parents want to know why Sally is a straight A student, but little Jack cannot get anything higher than a C if his life depended on it. Who we become and what we accomplish in our lives is all up to us, nobody decides our fate but ourselves. Our birth order is the order in which are placed into this world. Everyone is born into a family, whether we come first, second or even fifth is out of our control. There are certain traits that tend to follow each one of the positions in birth order. Whether we like it or not, where we are born in the family line up has some effect on us all throughout our lives. From the time we are born, our tiny baby minds are absorbing every piece of information we can possibly find. Our personalities take shape in these early years, and one thing that surrounds us in this time is our family; they take care of us and teach us all the things we will need to survive. Our family shapes our personality no matter if we want it to or not, they will have some effect on how we act, speak and even how we present ourselves. First borns tend to be the golden children. They are the first to come and everything they do is new to the parents. They are the first to walk, talk and to make parents hearts melt. Their baby book is...

Words: 1344 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Middle Child Syndrome

...not all, middle child experiences this. This status is mainly about a child whose birth is between his or her eldest sibling and junior sibling. Sitting in the middle isn’t going to be all joy and games. It takes an allotment for a person in a family of three to overcome. This is because the wave of decrease for it feels as if no one cares and no location in this world for you because the parents would only pay attention to the oldest or youngest. Alfred Adler was one of the first theorists to use- birth order position in his conceptualization of clients. Birth order continues to inform professionals practicing from an Individual Psychology framework; however, the wealth of research on the topic can seem overwhelming. Birth order theory holds that children develop their behavioral patterns largely as a result of their position within their family, and transfer these patterns to the classroom. Introduction The research topic is regarding Middle Child Syndrome (MCS). Being psychology student, we have and we earned some background knowledge about this proposed topic. According to Montgomery (2010), Middle Child Syndrome (MCS) is an occurrence that explains how the “birth order theory” of Alfred Adler affects every aspect of child’s life. Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. Birth order theory proposes that birth order influences personality and often can leave an ineffaceable impression on the individual’s...

Words: 3823 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Birth Order Term Papers

...The result I got from the checklist was very accurate to the research prediction. As a firstborn, I am, most of the time, aggressive, driven, motivated, and authoritative. I also realized that my position in the birth order resulted into the dichotomous personalities of being the firstborn. Aside from being aggressive and authoritative, I also have nurturing and considerate tendencies. As I see it, the motivated aspect of me can be considered as the effect of my nurturing side and not just by the aggressive part. In his book, the Birth Order Book, Dr. Kevin Leman stated that firstborns are typically aggressive but at the same time, people pleasers. According to Mary Wallace, the author of Birth Order Blues, some of the personality differences...

Words: 503 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Birth Order Research Paper

...Birth order tends to effect how a person view him/herself. I stand by that firstborn is the best place in the family. The middle born, last born, and only child all have their advantages but the first child tends to have more advantages than the other. First, as a firstborn child, you get to be the center of attention for a short period. You do not get to be the center of attention for long, but its just enough time so you do not become spoiled. In addition firstborn girls are more intelligent and more advanced. “Firstborn girls turn out to be the most ambitious: they are 13% more likely to aspire to graduate school than a firstborn guy”(Dockterman) at TIME article. Next, when you are the firstborn you get to hold all the power, and tell your...

Words: 269 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Sibling Rivalry: Cause-Effect

...Sibling Rivalry: Cause-Effect Siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents. The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced by factors such as birth order, personality, and special parental treatment. Siblings may be of the same gender or opposite, they may be around the same age or ages apart, sibling rivalry among them is a commonplace; only the intensity may differ. Rivalry is different from fighting. It appears when children compete for their parents’ love and attention. When a new baby is taken into a home where an older child lives, the older sibling may become jealous of the new baby and the changes that are taking place. The time and attention of parents that was previously devoted to the older sibling is now halved and the older sibling may feel he or she needs to get that attention back. From these feeling, sibling rivalry is rooted. Depending on the severity and longevity of the rivalry between siblings, sibling rivalry could have long term psychological effects. Each child is born into a different family, even children with the same parents. The first child has a monopoly on the parents' love for some time. The second child is always confronted with someone who is older and ahead. The youngest will always be the baby. Each position is totally different and influences that child's behavior. Each child must find his own special place of significance in the family. They must compete for their parents' love and attention...

Words: 855 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Personal Growth

...Personality Theorists Assignment | Personal Growth Lab | Submitted by :Neeraja Padman (11PGDMHR32) | ALFRED ADLER – INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY Although his writings revealed great insight into the depth and complexities of human personality, Adler evolved a basically simple and parsimonious theory. To Adler, people are born with weak, inferior bodies—a condition that leads to feelings of inferiority and a consequent dependence on other people. Therefore, a feeling of unity with others (social interest) is inherent in people and the ultimate standard for psychological health. More specifically, the main tenets of Adlerian theory can be stated in outline form. The following is adapted from a list that represents the final statement of individual psychology (Adler, 1964). Alfred Adler postulates a single "drive" or motivating force behind all our behavior and experience. By the time his theory had gelled into its most mature form, he called that motivating force the striving for perfection. It is the desire we all have to fulfill our potentials, to come closer and closer to our ideal. It is, as many of you will already see, very similar to the more popular idea of self-actualization. "Perfection" and "ideal" are troublesome words, though. On the one hand, they are very positive goals. Shouldn't we all be striving for the ideal? And yet, in psychology, they are often given a rather negative connotation. Perfection and ideals are, practically by definition, things...

Words: 15787 - Pages: 64

Premium Essay

Personal Narrative

...Personal Narrative If someone was to ask me whom im more like my mother or my father? I would immediately say my mother. Im constantly told im a”mini Chrissy” and when I was much younger I would cringe at hearing that, but now I understand why were really exactly the same. From our voices to the shape of our noses I am clearly my mothers daughter. And don’t even get me started on our personalities it’s like having a clone or looking in the mirror, scary to think how similar we are. But that shifted quickly of course we still had the same little button nose and our voices were identical but her fun side seemed to go out the window. It was July of 1999 and God seemed to have another plan for my family. A plan that none of us were on board for. Today when I think about the month of July a million things instantly come to my mind. I could make a list of all the good and an even longer list of all the bad. Lets start with the bad, why not just cut to the chase? July 19th 1999 I could remember this day in my sleep. We were at Westchester Country Club and it felt like I had the world at my fingertips. And for a four year old that was pretty grand. I was wearing my favorite green Lilly Pulitzer bathing suit with a matching green cover up I felt like the coolest chick around and no one was about the bring me down. Until my Aunt came running down to the baby pool pointing her finger at me, making me feel as though she was accusing me of doing something wrong, but that wasn’t...

Words: 888 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Water for Chocolate

...Ivy Hackett Water For Chocolate Summary Water for Chocolate is written by Laura Esquivel's which tells the deep and personal story of Tita De La Garza. This book is organized by showing how to prepare a recipe while telling an exciting and romantic story of Tita's life. Tita's family is living in Mexico in the time of the revolution. She is forbidden to marry because of the families’ tradition of the youngest child to take care of the mother in her old age. This tradition has a profound effect on Tita’s life throughout the story. In January her recipes are Christmas rolls and sausages she says that preparing sausage is a family tradition for them so everyone has a role one day while they were preparing the sausages she tells her mother that Pedro Muzquiz would like to ask for her hand in marriage. Mama Elena tells Tita that it is useless for Pedro to ask for her hand in marriage because Tita, being the youngest, is obligated by family tradition to care for her mother until death. Pedro and his father show up at the ranch to ask for Tita's hand in marriage, and Mama Elena refuses and offers Rosaura her sister to him instead. Pedro takes her sisters hand in marriage because he claims he is doing it to get closer to Tita. In February the recipe is for a Chabela Wedding Cake. This is the wedding cake that she is going to use for her sisters weeding. She was mad at her sister for marring Pedro so she missed the engagement party because of a "headache". Mama Elena punished...

Words: 1268 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Grave of Fireflies

...Synopsis Grave of Fireflies is the animated movie between two orphaned children, fourteen year old Seita and his young four year old sister Setsuko who managed to survive during the Kobe fire bombings in the end of the World War two. Themes Every movie is based on some or the other real life instances and movies mainly focuses on a particular point similarly this movie reflects about the result of war or effects on the people due to war, lot of people were dead and many people lost their families. The relationship between Seita and Setsuko is the key theme of the movie. This tells us about how brother Seita took responsibility of his sister Setsuko in spite of the way his aunt treated them after they lost their mother who was badly injured during the fire bombings. The sacred love between brother and sister continues. Characters Seita: The responsibility taken by Seita at a very young age towards his little sister was apparent throughout the movie. His commitments towards his sister even more increased after his mother’s death and the way they were treated by their distant aunt. The caring love he showed to his sister was ultimate; he even carried her on his shoulders when she was unhealthy in spite of fire bombings and difficulties he faced during the bombings. He always tried to give his best to her. He lonely took his sister to the doctor for the treatment but he could not keep her alive as he was not having enough money and the doctor was also not so kind. If he...

Words: 616 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Psychosocial Try Lang

...Psychosocial Report I. Identifying Information Name: KP Age: 21 Sex: Male Education: 2nd year college Religion: Roman Catholic Status: Single Birth order: Youngest among the 3 siblings. Occupation: Students Location: Angono Rizal Living with: Relatives and siblings II. Referring Person The person who referred KP to me is his mother. His mother notices that KP has been going home late very often and is even drunk when getting home. They always fight because of that. She stated that she can’t handle her son anymore, he listens to no one. His mother thinks that he needs someone to talk to, someone to guide him so he was referred to me. His mother also added that she wants to know the reasons why KP is doing such things that are bad for him. His family is concerned about him that his doings affect his studies. III. Presenting Problem According to the client everything started when he was in high school. There was a certain someone, an ex-girlfriend who got into a car accident. So because of the incident he started drinking and it just got worse and worse. Another cause of his drinking problems is the people around him. He stated that the relationship is mutual: his friends influenced him in drinking and sometimes he is the one influencing them to drink. Alongside his drinking problems blossoms his smoking habit. He says that he started smoking because of his peers and he is curious about smoking. Up to this point in time he still smokes and his average sticks...

Words: 807 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Rabbits

...Rabbits – by Dorothy Nimmo The short story is about to sisters who are sitting in the orchard garden and having a tea party. Both of them Katy and Ellen has been given a china rabbi by their uncle. Kate who is elder by two years has gotten a blue rabbit; Ellen has gotten a brown one. Kate Manipulate her sister to give her the rabbit she had been giving. Then Katy wants her own rabbit back, and somehow gets it again. Settings The text “Rabbits” take place in a summerhouse orchard (frugthave), the story is not real but could be something happening in real life. In the text, the girls are not only in the summerhouse but also some other place ex. The shed. We do not hear about the social environment in the text. The text is describe detailed and we get a sort of an imagination of the place the two sisters are staying in. Their surroundings makes the story peaceful and idyllic. (Does it reveal anything about the characters’ feelings? Not answered yet). Characters In the story, there are two characters involved two sisters, Kate and Ellen. We know that Kate is two years older than her sister Ellen is. Kate is the dominating sister, who is able to manipulate Ellen. From Ellen’s point of view, Kate is described as a Clever, naughty, pretty, talkative, lovable and most importantly older then she is (Page 1 line 16-17). We do not get the age of the two girls, but I would say that Kate is 8-9 years old. Kate is very aware of herself and manipulative against her little sister Ellen...

Words: 512 - Pages: 3