Dy-Liacco 1

Martin Lorenzo M. Dy-Liacco

Annalyn R. Camacho
Reading and Writing
October 4, 2019
The Significance of Birth Order in the Family
It can be seen in families that children don’t always act the same. There is that one
child who is very smart and is a capable leader, one child is very rebellious and moody, and
one acts very spoiled. The big question is: what causes these differences in the first place?
One popular answer is birth order. It is believed that birth order is what causes personality
differences and treatment; moreover, children in a certain birth position are given stereotypes
referring to how they act. This paper aims to determine the significance of birth order by
examining theories and studies over the years, comparing findings, and forming
interpretations from these findings. Through this, the paper will attempt to form a conclusion
regarding birth order’s real effects. Birth order’s effects on personality can possibly be found
in differing personality traits in children and in differing parental treatment.

The first aspect where birth order can possibly show significance is in the personality
traits of children in the family. Alfred Adler, a psychologist who founded Individual
Psychology, theorized about the effects of birth order on personality. He characterized
firstborns as conventional and hardworking leaders, middlebrows as more defiant, good at
negotiation and competitive, the youngest are spoiled, and only children are people who seek
attention from adults (Gustafson 1-2). In Gustafson’s paper, he mentions some studies
confirmed parts of Adler’s theory. One such study is the one conducted by Updegraff et al.
(2002), wherein firstborns and secondborns had better relationships with their friends over
the siblings, who they would be more controlling over (Gustafson 32).
Following this, Frank Sulloway, another psychologist, formed a theory about birth
order’s effects on personality. Frank Sulloway argued through his Family Niche Theory that
differences in age, size and power are shown through birth order, which should then reveal
the roles that children take up in the family. It is theorized that differences in personality
come from the different roles that each child in the family takes up, and these can be
expressed through five personality traits (Rohrer et al. 1). Before moving on, the Big Five
Dimensions of Personality are: Openness which corresponds to curiosity and imagination,
Conscientiousness which corresponds thoughtfulness and organization, Extraversion which
refers to the ability to be social with others, Agreeableness which refers to trust and
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cooperation, and Neuroticism which corresponds to emotional stability (Cherry). Sulloway’s

theory suggested that the firstborn is more dominant, and the later-borns are more
extraverted. The firstborns are more likely to be more conscientious, later-borns have more
imagination, the former is said to have more intellect, a subdimension of The Big Five, and
no big difference was theorized for emotional stability, but it was found that firstborns are
easier to infuriate and later-borns are more depressed in nature (Rohrer et al. 1). One study
conducted by Michalski and Shackleford attempted to prove this theory. Although, the
findings of this study minimally support Sulloway’s theory about the five dimensions of
personality and birth order. Sulloway’s finding regarding Agreeableness is similar to the
finding in the full sample of the current study but the relationship found between being a
firstborn and Openness goes against Sulloway’s results (Michalski, Shackleford 186). On the
other hand, a study conducted by Healey and Ellis was able to gather data which supported
Sulloway’s family-niche theory (Healey & Ellis 58). Other studies such as Zweigenhaft,
2002; Eckstein, 2000; and a few others support Sulloway’s family- family niche model
(Healey & Ellis 59).

Moving on, the second aspect where birth order may show its effects is in differing
parental treatment. “The Stewart, Stewart, & Campbell (2001) study found that family
emphasis on achievement and orderliness, as well as being an actual firstborn, correlated with
higher scores on the first child scale. Firstborn children perceived greater organization in their
families than did middle children” (Gustafson 17). One study conducted by Beer and Horn
(2000), found that first reared children or children that were brought up first, were shown to
have higher agreeableness—more sociable, kind and trusting—and conscientiousness—more
thoughtful and goal-directed (Gustafson 31). Another study conducted by Keller and Zach
(2002) which found that parents were present for longer amounts of time with firstborns
rather than laterborns (Gustafson 3).
Another evidence of this is the Attachment Theory. This theory takes roots in an
experience of John Bowlby, whose work in a Child Guidance Clinic in London led him to
think about the effects of a child’s relationship with their mother on the child’s development
in the social, cognitive and emotional aspects. He found that children when separated from
their mothers caused anxiety and that the children’s anxiety wouldn’t go away when other
caregivers were present (McLeod). When linking this with the statement about the presence
of parents based on birth order, it can be inferred that laterborn children would have a higher
chance of gaining anxiety from the absence of their mothers and fathers, especially if both
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parents are working, or if their father passed or left the household and forced the mother to
shift her focus towards working to provide for the family. It was mentioned that Bowlby said
that the person the child would be attached to would act as a base for exploration (McLeod).
Without this secure attachment, the child tends to become anxious and becomes either clingy
or lonely when forming relationships in the future.

Throughout this paper it was observed that birth order’s effects on personality varies,
some effects are present and some aren’t, and that birth order has some effects on the parents’
treatment of their children which in turn, affects a child’s development. It can be said that any
effects that birth order has may be more observable within the family as a within-family
analysis since children may use themselves as a point of comparison when it comes to the
effects of birth order. With this in mind, one may be able to ask how birth order’s effects may
be seen their own family and how it prominent the effects are.
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Works Cited

Gustafson, Curtis. The Effects of Birth Order on Personality, Sept. 2010, pp. 1–39.
Michalski, Richard L., and Todd K. Shackelford. “An Attempted Replication of the
Relationships between Birth Order and Personality.” Journal of Research in
Personality, vol. 36, no. 2, 25 Feb. 2002, pp. 182–188., doi:10.1006/jrpe.2001.2350
Rohrer, Julia M., et al. “Examining the Effects of Birth Order on Personality.” SSRN
Electronic Journal, vol. 112, no. 46, 17 Nov. 2015, pp. 1–6.,
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Beer, Jeremy M., and Joseph M. Horn. “The Influence of Rearing Order on Personality
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Cherry, Kendra. “What Are the Big 5 Personality Traits?” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind,
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Eckstein, Daniel. “Empirical Studies Indicating Significant Birth-Order-Related Personality
Differences.” Journal of Individual Psychology 56.4 (2000): 481–494.
Healey, Matthew D, and Bruce J Ellis. “Birth Order, Conscientiousness, and Openness to
Experience: Tests of the Family-Niche Model of Personality Using a within-Family
Methodology.” Evolution and Human Behavior, vol. 28, no. 1, Jan. 2007, pp. 55–59.,
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Keller, Heidi, and Ulrike Zach. “Gender and Birth Order as Determinants of Parental
Behaviour.” International Journal of Behavioral Development 26.2 (2002): 177–184.
Mcleod, Saul. “Attachment Theory.” Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, 5 Feb. 2017,
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Stewart, Alan E, Elizabeth A Stewart, and Linda F Campbell. “The Relationship of
Psychological Birth Order to the Family Atmosphere and to Personality.” Journal of
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Updegraff, Kimberly A., Susan M. McHale, and Ann C. Crouter. “Adolescents Sibling
Relationship and Friendship Experiences: Developmental Patterns and Relationship
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doi:10.1111/1467-9507.00194.
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Zweigenhaft, Richard L. “Birth Order Effects and Rebelliousness: Political Activism and
Involvement with Marijuana.” Political Psychology, vol. 23, no. 2, 2002, pp. 219–
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