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Birth Order
Birth Order Word Count: 3284 Does birth order have an effect on personality? Does being first born make people more responsible? If someone is the middle born child, are they going to be more rebellious? If people are last born are they more likely to be on television? Are first born children inconsiderate and selfish or reliable and highly motivated? These, and many other questions are being thoroughly studied by psychologists (Harrigan, 1992). In 1923, the renowned psychiatrist Dr. Alfred Adler, wrote that a person's position in the family leaves an undeniable "stamp" on his or her "style of life" (Marzollo, 1990). Research has shown that birth order does indeed affect a child; however, it does not automatically shape personality. If it did, life would be much more predictable and a great deal less interesting (Marzollo, 1990). Yogi Bera, a famous baseball player, said "Every now and then a reporter who thinks he is Freud asks me if being the youngest is why I made it (playing professional baseball). I almost alw ays say yes, but I don't think it had anything to do with it" (Harrigan, 1992). Birth order doesn't explain everything about human behavior. Personality is affected by many different factors, such as heredity, family size, the spacing and sex of siblings, education, and upbringing. However, there is an awful lot of research and plain old "law of averages" supporting the affect of birth order on personality (Leman, 1985). There are four basic classifications of birth order: the oldest, the only, the middle, and the youngest. Each has its own set of advantages, as well as its own set of disadvantages. While the birth order factor isn't always exact, it does give many clues about why people are the way they are (Leman, 1985). If there is one word that describes first born children it would be "perfectionist" (Harrigan, 1992). First born children tend to be high achievers in whatever they do. Some traits customarily used to label first born children include reliable, conscientious, list maker, well organized, critical, serious, scholarly (Leman, 1985), self-assured, good leadership ability, eager to please, and nurturing (Brazelton, 1994). Also, first born children seem to have a heightened sense of right and wrong. It is common in most books about birth order that first born children get more press than only, middle, and youngest children. This can be explained by the fact that the first born child is typically the success story in the family. They are the ones that are extremely driven to succeed in "high achievement" fields such as science, medicine, or law (Leman, 1985). For example, of the first twenty-three astronauts sent into outer space, twenty-one were first born or their close cousin, the only child, which we w ill discuss later on. In fact, all seven astronauts in the original Mercury program were first born children (Leman, 1985). Also, first born children tend to choose careers that involve leadership. For example, fifty-two percent of all U.S. presidents were first-borns (Lanning, 1991). Researchers say that, in general, first born children tend to have higher IQs than younger siblings. This is not because they start off more intelligent, but because of the amount of attention new parents give to their first child (Marzollo, 1990). Experts claim that a first born's will to succeed begins in infancy (Lanning, 1991). The extraordinary love affair that many new parents have with their first child leads to the kind of intensity that can probably never be repeated with a younger child. In the first few weeks, a new parent imitates the baby's gestures in a playful game. A rhythm is established by mimicry of vocalizations, motions, and smiles. Think what this cycle of action-reaction might mean to an infant: "I'm pretty powerful, aren't I? Everything I do is copied by someone who cares about me ." After a couple of weeks of game playing the infant develops a sense of "I recognize you!" (Brazelton, 1994). This special parent-child interaction helps to inst...This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Electronic References. Please register below now! Get This Full Article After Registration
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