This chapter challenges the myth of birth order's impact on personality, exploring how external factors like school and individual temperament play significant roles in shaping behavior. It prompts reflections on the balance between nature and nurture in defining one's personality.
We all know the cliches about older siblings being responsible, younger ones being creative, and middle children being peacemakers. But is there any evidence our position in the family has an impact on our personality? Madeleine Finlay meets Dr Julia Rohrer, a personality psychologist at the University of Leipzig, to unpick the science behind our intuition about birth order. Help support our independent journalism at
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