Classic older child? What the science says about birth order and personality
Mar 5, 2024
auto_awesome
Exploring the stereotypes and science of birth order on personality traits, the podcast discusses the impact of birth order on individual characteristics and age effects. Insights on birth order, personality, and life outcomes are shared, highlighting the minor impact on intelligence and potential influence on career paths. The discussion also challenges the myth of birth order's impact on personality, emphasizing the significance of external factors like school and individual temperament in shaping behavior.
Birth order minimally affects personality traits, with slight differences in intelligence.
Siblings compete for roles according to birth order, influencing career choices and creative pursuits.
Deep dives
Birth Order and Personality Traits
Studies on birth order and personality traits have shown no systematic associations except for a slight difference in intelligence. While the stereotype that first-borns are more serious and driven persists, data suggests that birth order does not significantly influence personality traits like extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The impact of birth order on intelligence is minor, with the first-borns showing slightly higher scores in intellect-related areas.
Roles Within Sibling Relationships
The niche theory by Frank Sulloway suggests that siblings compete for different roles within the family to ensure resource allocation and coexistence. First-borns often take on a surrogate parent role, being dominant and bossy, while younger siblings explore creative niches due to the established family dynamics. The impact of birth order on personality is influenced by factors like family size, age differences among siblings, and shared resources.
Career Outcomes and Birth Order
Research from Sweden indicates a correlation between birth order and career choices, with first-borns more likely to pursue managerial roles and fields like engineering or medicine. In contrast, later-born children are inclined towards creative professions such as journalism or the arts. These patterns suggest that birth order may play a role in shaping individuals' career paths, reflecting social and cultural influences beyond personality traits.
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 theguardian.com/sciencepod
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode