Summary: How Birth Order Influences Personality

How Birth Order Influences Personality
The influence of birth order plays a large significant role in determining the personality of children. In “Birth Order”, by Kelly Gfroerer and Kelli B. Ritter, Alfred Adler, the founder of the theory known as Individual Psychology, first introduced the concept of birth order. Alfred Adler developed theories of personality to understand an individual within the conditions of social environment. While “Birth Order and Personality”, by author Russell Eisenman consider the differences between firstborns and later-borns in regards to creative differences, achievement and risk taking. The importance of psychological birth order emphasizes how it can influence personality.
Author Kelly Gfroerer and Kelli B.

With regard to their first child, the birth of their firstborn is a major event in the parents’ lives and will cause the tendency to be overly anxious. In turn, many parents are inclined to be restrictive with their first-born and this anxiety may influence the personality of the child. When parents have their later-born, they are more comfortable and are more informed with caring for their children to protect their child from any imaginable harm. However, firstborns will often grow up to be anxious than later-born children.
As aforementioned, first time parents aren’t well-informed with the care and need for their firstborn. Although, parents are eventually more comfortable and are more informed with their later-born. Based on this, Emily from “I Stand Here Ironing” displays an anxious behavior growing up. Since her mother was single and nineteen with minimum support and help from anyone, Emily was left in the care of her father’s family. It took a long amount of time for her mother to get her back and by that time, her mother hardly knew her: “walking quick and nervous like her father” (Olsen

However, this appears to be untrue for Emily’s case since her sister Susan is “telling jokes and riddles to company for applause while Emily sat silent” (Olsen 227). Whereas Emily later tells her mother that it was her riddle and she had told it to Susan. Eisenman found that creative differences between firstborns and later-borns should also consider gender differences, however, “this finding could be explained by the ways in which parents treat their firstborn child as well as how parents treat their female children” (Eisenman n.