Birth Order and Its Effect on Personality
Birth Order and Its Effect on Personality
Reed Hooks
1868-8453
Adolescent Development & Cognition
Dr. Ken Springer
Spring 2006
On my honor I neither gave nor received any aid on this work. Birth order affects the human personality, mind and path of life from infancy through emerging adulthood. Depending on one 's placement, first, middle, or last, a lot can be understood. Dr. Kevin Leman, author of The Birth Order Book, says he could pick out an oldest child nine out of ten times by just looking at them. Often but not always, the characteristics of a person 's birth order match them very well. But this is not to say that there are not exceptions. No person is bound to certain traits just because of their placement. Yet in the psychological field, doctors are discovering more and more that most people connect remarkably to the behaviors of others in their same birth order. The first, middle and last child have characteristics that grow and develop due to their placement, and this shapes their personalities. Birth order cannot explain everything about the human mind and behavior, but it can give people a clue as to how environments are altered by the order of birth and contribute to personality in various ways.
The firstborn child adolescents are one of the easiest to pick out. They are often "perfectionist, reliable, conscientious, list makers, well organized, critical, serious, and scholarly" in an academic setting (Leman, 1984, p.11). "In their role as surrogate parents, firstborns may overemphasize the importance of law and order" and they often "understand better the importance of power and authority" (Sulloway, 1996, p.55). Chances are the firstborn: feels guilty easily, is placating, believes justice is people getting what they deserve, asks questions to orient self, is emotionally unexpressive, [and] displays a shaming type of humor, avoids offending others, daydreams about accomplishing things, is out of touch with self, is
Reed Hooks
1868-8453
Adolescent Development & Cognition
Dr. Ken Springer
Spring 2006
On my honor I neither gave nor received any aid on this work. Birth order affects the human personality, mind and path of life from infancy through emerging adulthood. Depending on one 's placement, first, middle, or last, a lot can be understood. Dr. Kevin Leman, author of The Birth Order Book, says he could pick out an oldest child nine out of ten times by just looking at them. Often but not always, the characteristics of a person 's birth order match them very well. But this is not to say that there are not exceptions. No person is bound to certain traits just because of their placement. Yet in the psychological field, doctors are discovering more and more that most people connect remarkably to the behaviors of others in their same birth order. The first, middle and last child have characteristics that grow and develop due to their placement, and this shapes their personalities. Birth order cannot explain everything about the human mind and behavior, but it can give people a clue as to how environments are altered by the order of birth and contribute to personality in various ways.
The firstborn child adolescents are one of the easiest to pick out. They are often "perfectionist, reliable, conscientious, list makers, well organized, critical, serious, and scholarly" in an academic setting (Leman, 1984, p.11). "In their role as surrogate parents, firstborns may overemphasize the importance of law and order" and they often "understand better the importance of power and authority" (Sulloway, 1996, p.55). Chances are the firstborn: feels guilty easily, is placating, believes justice is people getting what they deserve, asks questions to orient self, is emotionally unexpressive, [and] displays a shaming type of humor, avoids offending others, daydreams about accomplishing things, is out of touch with self, is
Cited: Arnett, Jeffery Jensen. (2004). Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River. Ernst, Cecile & Angst, Jules. (1983). Birth Order. Germany: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Isaacson, Cliff & Radish, Kris. (2002). The Birth Order Effect. Massachusetts: Adams Media Corporation. Kassin, Saul. (2001). Psychology. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Leman, Dr. Kevin. (1984). The Birth Order Book. New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company. Putter, Phillip. (2003). The Effects of Birth Order on Depressive Symptoms In Early Adolescence. Perspectives in Psychology. (Spring 2003). Sulloway, Frank J. (1996). Born to Rebel. New York: Random House. Thurstone, L.L. & Jenkins, Richard L. (1931). Order of Birth Parent-Age and Intelligence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Wallace, Meri. (1999). Birth Order Blues. New York: Henry Holt and Company.