How birth order affect an individual’s personality and achievements is a question many psychologists have debated for years. These studies are ongoing and often inconclusive: the effect of birth order on personality is sporadic at best. Nevertheless, the public and some psychologists often believe that birth order does indeed affect personality. On the other hand, there are many psychologists who do not believe that birth order has any effect on an individual’s personality. These psychologists believe it is more likely for an individual’s parents, their environment, and their education to affect their personality. There are three different attributes of this ongoing study and debate that will be discussed in this work: how birth order studies
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Rohrer, Egloff, and Schmukle (2015) state that birth order studies began in 1874 when Francis Galton “analyzed a sample of English scientists to find that firstborns where overrepresented” (p. 14224). Furthermore, according to Bleske-Rechek and Kelley (2013), “interest in the influence of birth order on personality has been strong since at least 1928, when the psychotherapist Alfred Adler introduced a formal theory of birth order and personality among siblings” (Personality and Individual Differences section, para. 1). The birth order debate has been ongoing for over 100 years and has consistently spawned interest in the subject for both psychologists and the general public. When Adler (1928), introduced the birth order theory, it became a very popular subject for years among psychologists; however, this …show more content…
Scientists have found that it is much more likely for an individual’s personality to be affected by their genes and/or the environment they grow up in rather than the order of their birth (Harris 2000). Similarly, if a child is adopted, they are less likely to conform to the traits of their adoptive family and more likely to have the same traits as their biological parents, meaning that their genes play a key part in their personality development (Harris 2000). Comparatively, an individual’s personality is liable to change depending on the situation. An individual can be outgoing and loud in one situation, but reserved and quiet in another. Moreover, it has been found that many birth order studies show no significant effects or only small effects that do not hold up in different studies. As a matter of fact, despite constant research on this subject, the results have remained inconclusive. According to the study conducted by Dunkel, Harbke, and Papini (2009), in which 391 people were served, the data concluded that birth order has little importance in predicting an individual’s personality. In addition, Damian and Roberts (2015) also state that birth order has little effect on personality, with the exception of intellect and intelligence, in which first borns have higher scores than later borns. Of course, it is possible that parents perceive their children’s personalities
Rohrer, Egloff, and Schmukle (2015) state that birth order studies began in 1874 when Francis Galton “analyzed a sample of English scientists to find that firstborns where overrepresented” (p. 14224). Furthermore, according to Bleske-Rechek and Kelley (2013), “interest in the influence of birth order on personality has been strong since at least 1928, when the psychotherapist Alfred Adler introduced a formal theory of birth order and personality among siblings” (Personality and Individual Differences section, para. 1). The birth order debate has been ongoing for over 100 years and has consistently spawned interest in the subject for both psychologists and the general public. When Adler (1928), introduced the birth order theory, it became a very popular subject for years among psychologists; however, this …show more content…
Scientists have found that it is much more likely for an individual’s personality to be affected by their genes and/or the environment they grow up in rather than the order of their birth (Harris 2000). Similarly, if a child is adopted, they are less likely to conform to the traits of their adoptive family and more likely to have the same traits as their biological parents, meaning that their genes play a key part in their personality development (Harris 2000). Comparatively, an individual’s personality is liable to change depending on the situation. An individual can be outgoing and loud in one situation, but reserved and quiet in another. Moreover, it has been found that many birth order studies show no significant effects or only small effects that do not hold up in different studies. As a matter of fact, despite constant research on this subject, the results have remained inconclusive. According to the study conducted by Dunkel, Harbke, and Papini (2009), in which 391 people were served, the data concluded that birth order has little importance in predicting an individual’s personality. In addition, Damian and Roberts (2015) also state that birth order has little effect on personality, with the exception of intellect and intelligence, in which first borns have higher scores than later borns. Of course, it is possible that parents perceive their children’s personalities