The debate over birth order and personality traits has been ongoing for over a century. Are firstborns really more conscientious, and are youngest children inherently more creative? Or are these stereotypes based on outdated and flimsy evidence?
After decades of conflicting theories, some recent studies have ruled out the idea that birth order is a strong factor in determining personality. But a groundbreaking new study released on Monday claims that, after all, birth order might be an influence on certain personality traits—namely cooperation.
Middle Children Shine In Cooperation
Researchers from Canada have managed to gather data from more than 700,000 participants in what is regarded as one of the biggest studies ever on birth order and personality. The findings suggest that middle children scored higher on traits crucial for cooperation, such as agreeableness and honesty-humility, on average than their older and younger siblings.
The study also shows that people from larger families tend to score higher on these traits, which implies that growing up in a bigger family could foster a more cooperative personality. Although the differences are not dramatic, the research challenges the widely held belief that birth order and the number of siblings have little impact on personality development.
Role Of Family Size In Shaping Personality
In support of their argument, psychologists Michael Ashton of Brock University and Kibeom Lee from the University of Calgary, who conducted the study, state that such results are compelling evidence that personality traits do differ according to birth order and number of siblings. In the study, they analyzed data from two large groups of volunteers. The first consisted of more than 700,000 English speaking volunteers who gave information regarding their birth order: either a firstborn, a middle child, the youngest, or only child. A second smaller group of 75,000 volunteers provided further details on family size.
The results showed that while firstborns generally scored higher on intelligence, middle children seemed to outperform both their older and younger siblings when it came to traits related to cooperation. Middle children scored slightly higher in agreeableness and fairness, key components of a cooperative personality.
Middle Children: The Cooperative Peacemakers
This study builds on past theories regarding siblings’ roles in shaping one’s personality. Alfred Adler, a psychologist, in his work on birth orders, thought that middle children were peacemakers in the home. Firstborns and youngest children may seek their roles as responsible, capable leaders and independent and original thinkers, respectively. This was where the middle children fit in-between these types of siblings.
This new research lends some credence to Adler’s view, showing that middle children may indeed be more cooperative due to the unique position they hold in the family dynamic. They are often required to balance the needs of both younger and older siblings, fostering skills like negotiation and compromise.
Why Birth Order Matter
While the study indicates that birth order does indeed play a role in cooperative traits, the number of siblings is the most significant factor. According to Ashton and Lee, growing up in a larger family probably makes it necessary for people to develop more cooperative traits in order to survive the dynamics of a larger group. “Having more siblings tends to foster a more agreeable and fair personality,” says Lee. “But being a middle child has its unique challenges and benefits that appear to augment cooperative behaviors.”
Although the personality differences are not large, the research indicates that the environment created by birth order and family size does make a subtle yet noticeable impact on an individual’s cooperative nature.
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