Birth Order Effect on Personality - Research Paper Example

Running head: BIRTH ORDER AND ITS EFFECT ON PERSONALITY AND/OR FAMILY DYNAMICS Birth Order and Its Effect on Personality of the Organization) Abstract Birth order and its effects on personality is a topic that has been researched by many scholars. The entire research tries to explain the link between different behaviors exhibited by adults and the different behaviors learnt during their early years of life. According to research carried out by many psychologists, there is a connection between birth order and various personality traits developed later in life by different people. This research however has received many controversies from other scholars. As the scholars came up with various findings, none of the theories had a general acceptance since each of them had its own limitations. Introduction Birth order can be defined as the position one has in a family in relation to the other siblings. For instance a person can be a first born, second or even a last born. There are some people who are normally only children to their parents. All these are termed as birth orders. According to research, birth order has various effects on an individual's personality. (Adler, 1956)It is very important to study this issue because it helps to in understanding the different personalities in relation to birth order. This study is very important to educators or teachers because it helps them to understand the behavioral differences among the students. It will also help them to know how to relate to different personalities of students and also fellow teachers. (Adler, 1956) This study is very fundamental to counselors. This is because it helps them to understand the behavioral differences in their clients. This makes it easier for them to give more pragmatic solutions basing on having such prior knowledge. This study is very essential to parents as it helps them to understand the different personality traits among their children. It is also important to study this issue as it helps us understand ourselves more as individuals. This helps us to understand why we behave the way we do. This also helps people to understand each other in various dimensions of relationships. This includes relationships between siblings and marriage etc. Our ordinal positioning in the family highly affects how we develop. According to research the ordinal positioning of a child affects his or her personality traits. There are various researchers that have studied this issue concerning birth order and personality traits. Alderian theory Alfred Adler is one of the psychologists who carried out research on this issue. This was carried out in the early 1920's. According to Adler, there are various variables that contribute to the birth order theory. He explains that there are chances that a child can take his or her sibling's position if the environment allows it. Adler explains that in case a child has a physical disability for instance, then his or her sibling will automatically take part of the sibling's birth order traits. (Adler, 1956) Adler concurs that there can be other influences that can affect a child's personality. These include gender roles, social and economic position and parental attitudes. Adler's findings show that the spacing of the children has a big impact on their personality traits. There is high impact on the positioning of children if they are separated by more than three years. (Adler, 1956) According to Adler an only child will in most cases have adult like speech because he or she receives two hundred of the parent's attention. Such a child he says always prefers to be in the midst of adults than his or her peers. In most cases parents who have an only child over protect and end up spoiling the child. (Birth Order Dynamics 2007) According to Adler, the first child always feels dethroned when the second born comes along. This makes him or her to feel a bit insecure and conservative. The first born will in this case exhibit authoritarian characters and become strict. (Adler, 1956) Second born in this case learns how to share attention from the onset. He says that second born children are bound to feel more competitive. This child always likes to compare himself with others and views the first born as one who sets the pace. Adler says that most middle children feel they are not so much significant and have even tempers. Last born children have got many role models emanating from older siblings. Such children are good planners but poor implementers. (Adler, 1956) This is because the older siblings take most responsibilities such that the last born's skills never developed. Critics to this study say that other factors should also be considered in relation to personality and not just birth order only. Adler used sampling as a research method. This study relates to the topic since it shows the relationship between personality and birth order. Jungian perspective Jung illustrates the family atmosphere created by parents play a big role in children's personalities. Louis Stewart carried out research that conforms to this perspective too. (Stewart, 1970) He concurs that a child's personality is shaped by family but acknowledges that other factors play a big role too. Infants' society and world is contained in the family unit. The early years that a child spends within the family are quite informative in nature. According to Stewart, a child learns about myths in the family in these early years. (Stewart, 1970) All these are internalized in memories and the entire body. His reasons that there are mediations between multiplicity demands of the world and archetypal affects that are innate in nature. According to Stewart, the family has got inexpressible rules emanating from its intricate network. (Stewart, 1970) It interweaves bonds and kinship. Parent's attitudes on society and family system affect a child's personality. That's why many people say that a child is behaving like one of the parents etc. A parent's comparison of child personality has connotations. The connotations highly affect children's personalities. Stewart says that sibling position and family atmosphere are quite related in their effects to a child's personality. (Stewart, 1977) Stewart says that extended family falls in the horizontal positioning while vertical positioning is in line with ancestral spirits. Stewart elaborates complexity of position of sibling's influences birth order. Research was done in the 1920's where first born children and only children were compared. The hypothesis in this case was that only children had more endurance on psychological handicaps and symptoms compared to other children. The results of this study were quite non-conclusive in nature. (Stewart, 1992) There are very many studies that are contradicting this one that have cropped up ever since. According to academic establishment, this entire field of research does not exist. This birth order research was considered irrelevant and a waste of time by the academic establishment. This study relates to the topic in minimal ways since it is more focused on family atmosphere in relation to personality. Cecile Ernst and Jules Agnst studies There are studies that were carried out during the post Second World War years. All these studies were based on sibling positioning. Many of the studies carried out really focused on achievement. (Ernst, and Angst, 1983)Among the researchers, there were two of them whose focus was on birth order. These researchers carried out a study in the year 1971. The study was carried out on one thousand three hundred and eighty one 20 year old Swiss females. It also consisted of six thousand three hundred and fifteen 19 year old Swiss males. In this case sampling was used as a method of data collection. The results of these studies showed that the influence on personality and behavior by birth order was negative. In conclusion, Angst and Ernst said that birth order has no effect on an individual's personality traits. Later on when Stewart carried out a survey on ordinal positioning on world literature, he had other conclusions. This survey was based on the Swiss subjects. (Ernst, and Angst, 1983) He reported that the findings of Angst and Ernst were both a disservice and a service to their understanding on constellation of the family including its influence on individual's destiny. (Ernst, and Angst, 1983) There were also other constructive results from Angst and Ernst. This included the confirmation that a person's psychopathology or higher achievement is not influenced by birth order. Critics of their study show that it failed to understand family constellation effects on worldview and lifestyle. This study also failed to understand effects of sibling position on worldview and style of life. Surveys and sampling methods of research were used in this study. Frank Sulloway concepts According to Sulloway, niche concept is derived from ecological field where it shows the way different species make use of the resources available within their immediate environment. (Sulloway, 1996) Ideology is all about believes and ideas that are characterized by a group of people. While ecology is a scientific study of living things and the way they relate to their environment and to each other. Dr Frank Sulloway believes that birth order is a very integral issue in the comprehension of ideological variations that exist in the world today. Dr. Frank Sulloway had a quantitative study that was based on birth order. This study was carried out in approximately nineteen years. In his quantitative study, Dr. Frank Sulloway found out that social attitudes can be easily predicted by birth order than race, class or gender. According Dr. Frank Sulloway's findings birth order has got more influence on personality traits compared to its influence on an individual's IQ and academic achievement. (Sulloway, 1996) His findings show that the influence on personality is approximately between five to ten times. Later on Sulloway dedicated many years of his life to study one hundred and twenty one revolutions in socialization, religion, politics and science. In his studies he projects that birth order predicts very many things in an individual's life. This includes ones attitude towards innovation and new ideas and intellectual flexibility. According to Sulloway, birth order can also predict the alteration of views about what someone thinks. (Sulloway, 1996) Sulloway's theory was based on self determinism, adaptability, and learning and not on an individual's genetic make up. In fact he explains that his theory resembles the Darwinian theory of how human beings behave but the only difference is that his theory has got environmental implications on behavior. Sulloway reasons that the way siblings experience life could be described in two diverse ways. (Sulloway, 1996) He explains that there are very many experiences which a child has far away from the home environment. This could be at school or even at relative's places. Sulloway goes on to explain that there are also influences which are systematic in nature that emanate within the family set up. In his research he has incorporated terms such as niche. This is used in the illustration of diverse roles of family members in the entire family system. He reasons that just as this term is used in ecological fields, then family niches can also be used in the same manner also. Sulloway reasons that when siblings are found in a particular niche, they are bound to have conflicts. This plays a big role in the establishment of family system security. Sulloway reasons that within the family niche, the children therein will automatically develop different roles. The roles developed are normally subject to very many factors. These factors include temperamental aspects, physical traits and birth order. Every child in this case normally grows in line with desires of parental dyad. In this case different behaviors are developed by the children such that they gain the parent's approval. (Sulloway, 1996) The younger children's niche is normally less parent identified. It is normally more inclined to wards sociability than towards conscientious behavior. There are high chances that siblings can be more diversified in their various niches as different people acknowledge their various abilities and activities in the home set up. According to Sulloway, the ordinal positioning of the child is very important in the differentiation of the immediate family environment into a niche. (Sulloway, 1996) In this case, he explains that children's personalities can be linked to the various differences within his or her family niche. He explains that personality does not have much influence from idiosyncratic experiences. According to Dr. Frank Sulloway, the theory of birth order gives a firm basis for most of the basic principles that govern the family niches of the children. (Sulloway, 1996) This study was carried out using surveys. This study is closely related to the topic as it links personality to birth order. Only children Only children show personalities of confidence since they never shared parental attention. They are normally very articulate and clever. In most cases they feel too important because of the attention from parents. (Forer, 1976)A planned only child shows maturity and is normally dependable. They are never afraid to make decisions and sometimes are self centered. Sometimes they end up being perfectionists later in life. First born children Due to upbringing of first born children they end up being responsible and social. They normally feel pushed to respond to other people's expectations. Their self esteem is normally based on getting other people's approval. (Forer, 1976) Second children Second born children tend to be very caring, tender and quite supportive. Their relationship with everyone is unique. They learn from the on set to share parental attention (Forer, 1976) Third born children Most third born children sometimes show trouble in negotiating in most of the social situations. Such a child is always striving for independence in the family. They are responsible for bringing balance in most dyadic relationships. They always need help in making choices. (Hoopes and Harper, 1987) Fourth born children Fourth born children find it easy to make people at ease in social situations. Their identity is normally associated with stability of their family. They always tend to feel burdened by problems in the family set up. These children look at things as a whole first before they look at them in bits. (Hoopes, and Harper, 1987) Conclusion According to the findings of the various studies carried out by scholars, ordinal positioning of a child in the family has got big impacts on the child's personality. There are also other factors that play a big role in influencing a child's personality. This includes spacing of the children and their immediate environment. These studies are very important as they help people understand why they behave the way they do. It is very important for counselors. For instance marriage counselors can give pragmatic advice if they have prior knowledge on such findings. References Adler, A. (1956): The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler; New York; Harper & Row Birth Order Dynamics and Response to Stress; Retrieved 2007-08-09 from http://members.mail,au/ilanit/birthorder.htm Ernst, C., & Angst, J. (1983): Birth Order; Its Influence on Personality; New York; Berlin/Heidelberg Forer, L. (1976): The Birth Order Factor; New York; David McKay Inc Hoopes, M. and Harper, J. (1987): Birth Order Roles & Sibling Patterns in Individual & Family Therapy; Utah; Brigham Young University Stewart, L. (1970): The politics of birth order, Proceedings of the 78th Annual Convention of the APA, 5, 365-6, Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association Stewart, L. (1977): Birth order and political leadership; A Psychological Examination of Political Leaders; 206-36, New York; Free Press Stewart, L. (1992): Change makers; A Jungian Perspective on Sibling Position and the Family Atmosphere. New York: Routledge Sulloway, F. (1996): Born to Rebel: Birth Order; Family Dynamics & Creative Lives; New York; Pantheon Books Read More