(Case need domain: Marital and family) The fundamental principle of Sulloway is that first born children have a propensity to relate firmly with their parents and generally use a policy of trying to be like them and compliance to take the advantage of parental notice. (Book Review: Born to Rebel: Birth order, family dynamics, and creative lives) Firstborns always attempt not to get implicated into disagreements
The birth of siblings can be upsetting in case of the first-born, while the concern for the parents all of a sudden transfers to some other child. (Gershaw, Birth Order) Diplomacy runs within the middle children
Alfred Adler, initially a part of Freud's inner-circle and thereafter a scholastic outcast, would nonetheless experience great success in his lifetime, which endured from 1870 to 1937. (Boeree, 1) It may be said that it was some good fortune that the Jewish born physician and psychotherapist died of a sudden heart attack during a lecture tour in Scotland, as the sensitivity and emphasis on social justice which distinguish his ideas would have been deeply affronted by the unfolding of horrors in World War II
Generally, first-borns are slightly larger, more physically robust, and healthier, and possess a continuing advantage competing with their siblings for resources. When resources become scarce, firstborns often become the sole focus of parental attention and in many species (particularly among birds), they may push their younger siblings from the nest, peck them to death, or even eat them for nourishment (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008)
As a result, middle children tend to seek attention more than either first borns or last borns, even to the extent of criminal deviance (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008; Kluger, 2007). The Theoretical Basis of Birth Order Influence The three main explanations for the influence of birth order on human personality development are (1) physiological factors, (2) better access to parental resources, and (3) the cognitive effects of their experiences as only children first and then as surrogate parents (in many respects) to their younger siblings (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2007)
First borns are more likely to have higher IQs, to adopt parental values, and to exemplify societal expectations in their choices and professional career paths. Meanwhile, later borns tend to have slightly lower IQs, to rebel more against family values and expectations, and to violate social rules of conformity in their behavioral choices and career paths (McWilliams, 2004)
Behaviorists report that first born children receive greater parental attention and nutrition than later born siblings. Finally, psychologists suggest that first borns tend to have higher self-esteem because of their experiences as surrogate caretakers for their siblings and higher intelligence because of the cognitive effects of having to supervise and teach younger siblings while helping parents care for them (Travis & Kohli, 1995)
As for various birth orders Adler and others describe, and their effect on personality, an older child (of two children) may feel "dethroned" (Adler; Stein). Further, among firstborn children, "Positive interactions with an older child may diminish, especially if the birth interval is short and the mother adopts a more controlling parenting style" (Baydar, 1997)
My own birth order is that of an only child. According to Adler, an only child: "Likes being the center of adult attention; often has difficulty sharing with siblings and peers, and prefers adult company and uses adult language" (Stein)
This multiple 'act' criterion has been fruitfully applied to communicative behavior by Hewes and Haight (1980)." (Bostrom, Prather, and Harrington, 2007) Bostrom, Prather and Harrington state that Hewes and Haight (1980) demonstrated that "
One, extraversion, moves toward objects, people or things; the other, introversion, moves toward the subject, one's own mind, and inner being." (Cranton and Knoop, 1995; p
Jerome Kagan on birth order: "The child's ordinal position in the family has its most important influence on receptivity to accepting or rejecting the requests and ideas of legitimate authority." (Kagan, 1998; p
These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that some mothers develop antibodies either to the hormones responsible for masculinizing the fetus or to one of the male-specific minor histocompatibility antigens. Such immunological responses, Blanchard and his colleagues have argued, prevent male fetuses from being fully transformed from female to male (Blanchard, p
Conley responds to Sulloway's data with the claim that it is quite selective, relying on cases that support his claims and ignoring those that don't. "Early death of a parent, timing of economic shocks to the family, gender expectations and roles in the family, you name it," it claims, "outside influences, random events -- birth order is basically at the bottom of that list" (Conley, p
Less academic, they are better at using social intelligence and humor. Second-born children may take on first-born attributes if there is a high degree of conflict between the first-born and the parents or if the first-born is disabled or extremely shy (Dattner, p
He argues that firstborns to be more conscientious, more socially dominant, less agreeable, and less open to new ideas compared to laterborns. However, critics such as Fred Townsend, Toni Falbo, and Judith Rich Harris, claim to have refuted Sulloway's theories (John, p
Lamb, Brian Sutton-Smith, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates make the point that sibling relationships often last an entire lifetime. They point out that the lifespan view proposes that development is continuous, with individuals continually adjusting to the competing demands of socialization agents and endogenous tendencies (Lamb, 1982)
He says it's his job to help parent his younger siblings. "You have to watch over them when the parents are gone," he said (Stossel, 2007)
Sulloway claims later-borns often can't do what their older siblings do, so they tend to rebel and trying to find other ways to get attention, even dangerous ways. "Younger siblings are more inclined to try these experimental, sometimes dangerous things," said Sulloway (Sulloway, 1997, p
Sulloway claims later-borns often can't do what their older siblings do, so they tend to rebel and trying to find other ways to get attention, even dangerous ways. "Younger siblings are more inclined to try these experimental, sometimes dangerous things," said Sulloway (Sulloway, 1997, p