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The influence of birth order on personality
The influence of birth order on personality
The influence of birth order on personality
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The Effects of Birth Order on the Personality of an Individual There are many things that can alter the personality of an individual; some of these are voluntarily inflicted, while others are uncontrollable. Among the uncontrollable altercations, birth order is perhaps the largest influence on a person's disposition. Personality is influenced by the "place" a person has in their family as well as the family situation. It is important whether an individual is an only child, first born, second born, third born, a boy among girls, or a girl among boys, and so on. 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." An only child is one that has no siblings; they are in fact the "only" child in the family. They are classified as a special case of a first born. Because an only child has no siblings to play with, they have to overcome feelings of loneliness and often times, boredom. To combat their solitude, only children make up imaginary playmates and games to amuse themselves. They also become resentful of adult intrusion and cope with intrusion in one of two ways. They either go into fast mode to avoid the intrusion altogether or they use slow mode, accepting the intrusion and trying to see the help in it. Only children also tend to be extremely selfish. Growing up with 200% of the parents' attention, they hold much resentment for anything t... ... middle of paper ... ...birth order is a simple, informative, and entertaining method of realizing your true nature. Bibliography: Bibliography Leman, Kevin. The New Birth Order Book. Self-Counsel Press Press. New York, New York. 2000 Richardson, Ronald. Birth Order and You. Fleming H. Revell Co. New York, New York. 1998 Sulloway, Frank, J. Born To Rebel. Pantheon Books. New York, New York. 1996. Toman, Walter. Family Constellation: Its Effects on Personality and Social Behavior. Springer Publishing Co. 1992 Wallace, Meri. Birth Order Blues: How parents can help their children meet the challenges of birth order. Owl Books. New York, New York. 1999 http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/hyg-fact/5000/5279.html http://www.ncn.net/~cliffi/index.html http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/psychology/birtho.html http://www.tesm.edu/writings/moorbrth.html
Goldstein, Jennifer. "I didn’t look for my birth parents": being adopted can raise a lot of question." Cosmo Girl Nov. 2005: 100. Print.
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
Adler’s birth order rings true for many people. As I was reading over the different birth orders, I started thinking of different family members and friends. I wanted to see how they measured up to Adler’s concept of birth order. I found myself stereotyping my friends and family, which is hard
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.
A layman would define personality as an individual’s characteristics in terms of how they think and behave. Many theorists, however, interprets personality differently resulting in various personality theories. Personality is determined by traits which are behaviours displayed by a person in most given situations. How a person reacts to common circumstances may also be used to foresee future behaviours. Traits are then categorized into types that allow easier comparisons to be made between each individual’s attributes. The focus of this paper would be on the biological aspects of personality whereby traits are thought to be inheritable through genetics and associated with the central nervous system. Behavioural genetics are research that makes use of results from studies done on family, twins and adoptions. The findings of how both genes and environment influences personality from the studies will be discussed. Some researchers found possible issues with the representativeness of such studies. The outline of Eysenck’s biological model of personality and arousal, Gray’s BAS/BIS theory and Cloninger’s biological model of personality will further explain the biological effect on personality.
Papalla, Diane E., and Sally Wendkos Olds. “The Family and Personality Development.” Human Develpoment. 5th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 1992. 155-169, 172. Print.
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.
Butler, J. F. (2008). The family diagram and genogram: Comparisons and contrasts. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 36(3), 169–180.
Gasking, Elizabeth. A. -. Investigations into the Generation. Baltimore: The John Hopkins.
Turgenev, Ivan Sergeevich, Constance Garnett, and Fritz Eichenberg. Fathers & Sons,. New York: Heritage, 1941. Print.
Personality involves a blend of characteristics that make one unique. In reviewing personality, we consider the influence of the interactions that one is engaged in, the nature or the environment of one's upbringing and genetics. The characteristic traits may change over time while some of them becoming a lasting part of a person’s personality. In this essay will analyze the theories that relate to the character and the various stages that children undergo during development. We will use the same theories and developmental stages in analysis my progress from childhood up to date.
Hartshorne, Joshua K. “How Birth Order Affects Your Personality”. Scientificamerican, 22 June 2002. Web. 30 April 2014.
The Biological approach to personality places emphasis on the genetic influences related to the development of an individual’s personality. Some may believe that children and their parents can have very similar personalities, for example a young boy having his father’s anger (Stelmack, 1990). Though this approach has often been questioned by psychologists, it is not disregarded all together. Some believe that genetics do have a role in an individual’s personality development; however environments, as well as personal experiences all work in forming personality.
First of all, an only child is much more demanding than a child that has siblings. The only child wants to have things done right away. When my friend tells her mom that she needs clean clothes, she expects her mom to wash them right away. Her parents do not know how to say no. If her mom would not wash her clothes right away, then she becomes very upset.
Sulloway, F. J. (September 1997). Birth order and personality. Harvard Mental Health Letter, 14, 5-7