Birth Order and Its Effect on Personality Research Paper

Birth Order and Its Effect on Personality - Research Paper Example Birth order can be defined as the position one has in a family in relation to the other siblings. For instance a person can be a first born, second or even a last born. There are some people who are normally only children to their parents. All these are termed as birth orders. According to research, birth order has various effects on an individual's personality. (Adler, 1956)It is very important to study this issue because it helps to in understanding the different personalities in relation to birth order. This study is very important to educators or teachers because it helps them to understand the behavioral differences among the students. It will also help them to know how to relate to different personalities of students and also fellow teachers. (Adler, 1956) This study is very fundamental to counselors. This is because it helps them to understand the behavioral differences in their clients. This makes it easier for them to give more pragmatic solutions basing on having such prior knowledge. This study is very essential to parents as it helps them to understand the different personality traits among their children. It is also important to study this issue as it helps us understand ourselves more as individuals. This helps us to understand why we behave the way we do. This also helps people to understand each other in various dimensions of relationships. This includes relationships between siblings and marriage etc. Our ordinal positioning in the family highly affects how we develop. According to research the ordinal positioning of a child affects his or her personality traits. There are various researchers that have studied this issue concerning birth order and personality traits. Alderian theory Alfred Adler is one of the psychologists who carried out research on this issue. This was carried out in the early 1920's. According to Adler, there are various variables that contribute to the birth order theory. He explains that there are chances that a child can take his or her sibling's position if the environment allows it. Adler explains that in case a child has a physical disability for instance, then his or her sibling will automatically take part of the sibling's birth order traits. (Adler, 1956) Adler concurs that there can be other influences that can affect a child's personality. These include gender roles, social and economic position and parental attitudes. Adler's findings show that the spacing of the children has a big impact on their personality traits. There is high impact on the positioning of children if they are separated by more than three years. (Adler, 1956) According to Adler an only child will in most cases have adult like speech because he or she receives two hundred of the parent's attention. Such a child he says always prefers to be in the midst of adults than his or her peers. In most cases parents who have an only child over protect and end up spoiling the child. (Birth Order Dynamics 2007) According to Adler, the first child always feels dethroned when the second born comes along. This makes him or her to feel a bit insecure and conservative. The first born will in this case exhibit authoritarian characters and become strict. (Adler, 1956) Second born in