The Birth Order Effect
The order we’re born in – first, middle or youngest child – is outside our control. So it can make us uncomfortable to think that our birth order can play a significant part in our success, our personality – the direction of our life. Surely, these things are not set before we even get started?
And ___ 31 ___, we all know a ‘typical middle child’ and we recognise ‘classic only-child behaviour’. And the over-achievement of the first-born is one of the most consistent findings in child psychology. So how big a role does birth order play?
The importance of birth order was first ___ 32 ___ by the Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler. Michael Grose, an Adlerian-trained parenting expert, explains the basics. ‘We’re in a Darwinian struggle from the moment we’re born, fighting for scarce resources within a family – our parents’ time, love and affection,’ he says. Through human evolution, birth order has determined who inherits power (the first-born) and who is sent to war (the youngest as he was the ‘spare’). Grose admits, ___ 33 ___, that the effects of birth order can vary according to different factors, including temperament, gender and age gap.
Historically, first-borns have been less likely to die in infancy, are less susceptible to disease and, as adults, more likely to reproduce. They are thought to be conscientious and achievement-oriented. A study of Norwegians born between 1912 and 1975 found that educational achievement was highest in first-borns and diminished the further down the birth order you got, despite little difference in IQ.
On the negative side, first-borns are the only ones who experience having their parents all to themselves, then having to share them. For this reason, they are thought to be anxious, emotionally intense, defensive and ___ 34 ___ jealous rages. Another characteristic is caution and aversion to risk.
Many theorists group only children amongst first-borns – ___ 35 ___ they never experience the frictions, fights or fondness that comes with siblings.
Anna Moore, Psychologies Magazine