In 1874 Francis Galton in his book English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture found Out of 180 prominent scientists firstborns were overrepresented. The greater chance of success for firstborns was because of their Upbringing (In line with Victorian era understanding) : eldest sons had A greater chance of having their education paid for by their parents, Parents gave their eldest sons more attention as well as responsibility, and With limited financial resources, parents might care just a little bit better for their firstborns. All the circumstances in which a child comes into the world wealth end up making a person who they are. Whether they’re born male or female, in war or peace, But the birth-order effect seems to particularly enthuse and preoccupy us. Perhaps it may be a vague interplay of personality and environment, expectations and discernment.

1. Compiled by Col Mukteshwar Prasad(Retd),
MTech,CE(I),FIE(I),FIETE,FISLE,FInstOD,AMC
SI
Contact -9007224278, e-mail –
muktesh_prasad@yahoo.co.in
for book ”Decoding Services Selection
Board” and SSB guidance and training at
Shivnandani Edu and Defence Academy
Birth Order and personality
Ref- Lynn Berger
April 13, 2021

2. Introduction
 Favorite name goes to 1st Child
 1st child in the family are attributed to be
 Fearful of failure,
 Neurotic,
 Perfectionist,
 Ambitious
 May have to work harder to expand the boundaries set by
parents
 Generally greater sense of responsibility
 More persistence, and
 Emerge more self-confident

3. Introduction
 We meet with proverbs
 Second choice,
 Second place,
 Second fiddle,
 Eternal second
 My sister and my son: both second children.
 Second Child
 May not work as hard as 1st
 May be more relaxed
 May have more freedom

4. Initial studies
 In 1874 Francis Galton in his book English Men of Science: Their
Nature and Nurture found
 Out of 180 prominent scientists firstborns were overrepresented.
 The greater chance of success for firstborns was because of their
 Upbringing (In line with Victorian era understanding) : eldest sons
had
 A greater chance of having their education paid for by their
parents,
 Parents gave their eldest sons more attention as well as
responsibility, and
 With limited financial resources, parents might care just a
little bit better for their firstborns.
 One reason is Primogeniture: the right of the eldest son (or less
frequently, the eldest daughter) as heir.
 Among Portuguese nobility in the 15th and 16th centuries
 Second- and later-born sons were sent to the front as soldiers
than firstborn sons.

5. Initial studies
 In Venice in the 16th and 17th centuries
 Eldest brother was permitted to marry,
 Younger brothers would live with him and his family, dependent
and subservient.
 Except a few royal families, primogeniture is no more norm in
Western countries.
 Industrialization convinced people that love, attention, time and
inheritance should be divided equally and fairly among offspring.

6. Psychological theories and studies
 At the start of the 20th century, Alfred Adler(Freud’s follower) introduced
the birth-order effect into the domain of personality psychology.
 Eldest identifies most with the adults in his environment and therefore
develops
 A greater sense of responsibility and
 More neuroses.
 Youngest has the greatest chance of being spoiled and is also, often,
more creative.
 All children in the middle are
 Emotionally more stable and independent
 Peacemakers,
 Used to sharing from the start.
 Later it was thought that that
 Firstborn children are overrepresented as
 Nobel Prize winners,
 composers of classical music, and
 “prominent psychologists.”
 Subsequent children were more likely to have supported the

7. Psychological theories and studies
 In spite of many assumptions and research very few hard conclusions
have been drawn.
 Brothers and Sisters: The Order of Birth in the Family written in the mid-
20th century by pediatrician and anthroposophist Karl König.
 Characterizes first, second and third children.
 1st borns to be more likely to be
 Serious, sensitive,”
 “Conscientious,”
 “Good”
 “Fond of books.”
 Later on they can become
 “shy, even fearful,” or
 Become “self-reliant, independent.”
 2nd child, by contrast, is
 “placid, easy-going, friendly [and] cheerful”
 Unless they are
 “stubborn, rebellious, independent (or apparently so)” and

8. Psychological theories and studies
 Other literature on the subjects spread ideas that your place in the
family determines who you are
 Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives
and
 Birth Order Blues: How Parents Can Help Their Children Meet the
Challenges of Birth Order
 2003 survey shows
 Those born earlier had a greater chance of a prestigious career and
 Different career opportunities is related to specific birth-order and related
character traits.

9. Criticism
 Traits attributed to a person’s birth order may have more to do with
 Socioeconomic status,
 The size or ethnicity of the family, or
 The values of a particular culture.
 In 1990s, a group of political scientists observed
 Birth order had been “linked to a truly staggering range of behaviors.”
 Earlier born may be more conservative than those born later, and
 More likely to hold political office.
 Their meta-analysis failed to find consistent patterns—but did find myriad
methodological flaws.
 There are many assumptions /research, still there are very
few hard conclusions to be drawn

10. Latest trend and conclusion
 2015 publication of two studies in which the methodological shortcomings
of previous birth-order research (unrepresentative sample sets, incorrect
inferences) were largely obviated.
 1st study analyzed data about the personality traits and family position of
377,000 secondary-school pupils in the United States.
 They did find associations between birth order and personality
 They partially ran counter to those predicted by the prevailing theories.
 For instance, firstborn children in this data set might be a little
more cautious, but they were also less neurotic than later-born
children.
 2nd study looking for associations between personality and birth order
found no relationship between a person’s place in the family and any
personality trait whatsoever.
 Other recent studies, conducted mostly by economists,
 Do find an association between birth order and IQ:
 On average, firstborns score slightly higher on IQ-tests – they also tend
to get more schooling.
 May be because parents are able to devote more undivided time

11. Latest trend and conclusion
 Other recent studies…Do find an association… when they are very
small.
 It’s an effect that has less to do with innate characteristics and
more with parental treatment.
 Older children behave differently from younger children.
 There’s a good chance that a first child, when compared with a
second child, will appear more cautious and anxious.
 This difference probably has more to do with age than with birth
order.
 Children from the same family are often assigned specific roles
 Even if there are no fixed differences in personality, we might still
impose differences in behavior.
 Parents tell the eldest to be responsible, and the youngest to listen
to the eldest. (Talking into a stereotype-perpetuating role.)
 The behavior that follows from this is an expression of that role, not
of a person’s character.
 All the circumstances in which a child comes into the world wealth end up

12. Latest trend and conclusion
 All the circumstances in which a child comes into the world wealth end up
making a person who they are.
 Whether they’re born male or female, in war or peace,
 But the birth-order effect seems to particularly enthuse and preoccupy us.
 Perhaps it may be a vague interplay of personality and
environment, expectations and discernment.