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Birth order theory has to do with where at in the birth order of you and your siblings are and how that affects your personality. It is believed that birth order has an effect on your psychological development. It is also believed that your birth order can have an effect on your intelligence level. My parents had three children. My brother, then a year later my sister, and two years later me. As I was researching about birth order I read the traits that are most associated with the last born. I came to the realization that I did not fit most of the traits. I have picked the five traits that I thought did not reflect me. One of the more common traits I found while researching was financial responsibility. I believe that for my age I am very …show more content…
I found that the youngest children are not responsible because the parents and or siblings feel it is easier to just do the work themselves so they don’t give the youngest any responsibilities around the house. I feel that I am a very responsible person for my age. Although I went to college for a year and made some mistakes I am going back now and getting my life on track. I have gotten my foot in the door of the healthcare field by getting my CNA and CMA. I also feel that I am responsible since I moved out at 18 and have been living on my own since then. I am responsible in the way that I get my assignments done on time and pay my bills on time. My final trait was works well alone/center of attention this was a popular trait because the youngest are usually the last ones at home, and the parents may be bored from the other kids. I would rather work in a group or with another person, usually it is more productive. If you have more brains and hands it generally makes it easier. If you have more brains then you have more ways to solve a problem. I do not like being the center of attention or put on the spot. I believe I am a very secluded person,
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
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?
The study of birth order began over a century ago with Sir Francis Galton. A nineteenth century British anthropologist, geographer and statistician--- who believed that human species was ultimately improvable. In his research, he concluded that first born and only born children become well known scientists (Kluger, 2011). His findings resulted from the the fact that the nation still followed Primogeniture, when the first born son inherits the family’s fortunes. In today’s society, several families still put most, or all of, their first born son on a pedestal compared to their other children. Shortly after Galton’s discovery, Alfred Alder and Frank Sulloway came along and decided to take a deeper look into the relationship between a child’s birth order and their personality.
At times I prefer to work alone such as tasks that have deadlines or papers, but on projects or things that require multiple parts I enjoy working in a group. Working alone tends to keep me more focused but when working in a group it is beneficial because there are different ideas from each person which could give a better outcome. I think it is important to be a person who can do both group work and work alone.
A study done by A. P. MacDonald Jr. in West Virginia University about Birth Rate and Personality in 1969, investigated for birth order differences in 2 sample of undergraduate students, the first sample of students in the first investigation were 786 students from the university, with 339 males & 447 females, the sample contained 86 only child (36 males & 50 females), 294 first born (145 males & 149 female), 406 later born (158 males & 248 females). After collecting the sample, subjects were ask for short personal history which include birth order, and were measured
and make decisions about their own safety, as adults can’t protect them all the time. This can be
There are too many factors that shape a person than someone could count. However, according to many recent studies, birth order has the most to do with personality. It could make a person bold and cheerful, or shy. As I am a middle child, the attributes that describe me the best are that I am easygoing and very social. My own personal opinion is birth order doesn’t have very much to do with personality. Factors like the people they hang out with and the environment they live in have more to do with it.
There are many factors that make your personality. One that is usually overlooked is birth order. Scientists have given traits to every child based on when they were born and most of them are correct. In The Birth Order Book by Kevin Leman stated,” Your birth order-whether you were first, middle, or later in the family-has a powerful influence on the kind of person you will be, the kind of person you will marry, the type of occupation you will choose, even the kind of parents you will be.” (3). Birth order is what makes someone who they are; these characteristics apply to almost every child depending when they were born in their family, but in rare cases, the child doesn’t act like the personality given to them by science.
Kristensen, Petter, and Tor Bjerkedal. "Explaining the Relation Between Birth Order and Intelligence." Science Mag 22 June 2007: 1717. Science Mag. Web. 2 May 2014.
Birth order is a commonly discussed topic inside the realms of psychological research. Many studies have been organized to show the differentiation of personality concerning birth order. Characteristics of a personality, absent of birth order, play a monumental role in how a person reacts to social influence. A principle examination will occur concerning the view of the first-born child in comparison to the later born child for the purpose of illustrating how their susceptibility differs from one another. A related yet separated analysis will be done encompassing the characteristics of personalities of the first-born individual, as well as the later born individual focusing on the Big Five Personality Dimensions.
Not everyone’s personalities match that of their birth order. Variables can affect each family situation. These variables include spacing, the sex of the child (there are actually 12 different types of personalities due to sex coinsiding with birth- order.), the sex of the child, physical differences, disabilities, the birth order position of parents, any blending of two or more families due to death or divorce and the relationship between parents. There are many different studies that have been made dealing with birth order. Each one differs slightly from the next. Some of the studies are completely opposing each other. I have tried to compile ones that are relatively similar.
From perfectionist firstborns to demanding lastborn, we are affected by birth order. Our personality can be affected by birth order. Birth order effects personality but there are many other factors that make up a personality. I see it all over in the world today. My friend is a firstborn and he gets what he wants, but with force. My sister is a lastborn and she gets what she wants, but with whining and crying. Middle children are usually the best of the lot. That’s me. I am just perfect, I have most of the second born qualities but I have a lot of firstborn too.
Studying the correlation of birth order and personality is a topic important to me because of the relevance to my personal family life. I have witnessed the reported characteristics with my siblings, which has also led me to further investigate my siblinghood and develop my own principle. I do consider exceptions to the proposed principle because of how specific it might seem. Despite exceptions and alternatives, there is no denying that birth order plays a role in how children interact with parents, siblings and everyone else in their