Lecture Notes: Birth Order and Personality

Introduction

Topic: Impact of birth order on personality.
Interest: Common fascination with how birth order affects personality traits, IQ, and life success.
Disclosure: Speaker is the youngest of four siblings, claims no bias.

Foundation: Concept that family position influences personality characteristics.
Origin: Developed by Alfred Adler, an Austrian physician and psychotherapist.

Background: Adler was a middle child, the second of seven kids.
Theory: Postulated in 1927 that birth order affects personality significantly due to parental treatment differences and sibling comparisons.

Oldest Child:
- Traits: People pleasers, responsible, reliable, cautious, possibly bossy and controlling.
- Experience: Initially receive much parental attention, feel neglected when second sibling arrives.
- Examples: Winston Churchill, JK Rowling.
Middle Child:
- Traits: Often feel left out or ignored, adapt as peacemakers, adjust personality to fit family niche.
- Examples: Bill Gates, Madonna.
Youngest Child:
- Traits: Self-centered, manipulative, fun, entertaining, charming.
- Experience: Work harder for attention, aim for independence and uniqueness.
- Examples: Cameron Diaz, Mahatma Gandhi.
Only Child:
- Traits: Self-centered, independent, approval-seeking, mature.
- Experience: May exhibit traits of either the eldest or youngest child.
- Examples: Daniel Radcliffe, Leonardo da Vinci.

Frank Soloway (1996):
- Theory: Differences in personality may stem from Darwin's competition theory.
- Concept: Children compete for parental attention and investment, leading to differential personality development.
- Example: Elder siblings take a responsible role, younger ones may be more adventurous to find their niche.

Inconsistencies: Varied research results over time.
Support: Some studies affirm Adler's theory.
Contradiction: Others refute it, citing insignificant differences or attributing differences to study design.