Birth Order Research Paper

Birth Order in Correlation to Personality Development

Liberty University

Professor Jill Joyce, PhD

Coun 502: Human Growth and Development

February 26, 2010

Abstract

An individual’s personality is molded throughout life by more than simple chromosomes and blue prints handed down from our parents. Birth order, one’s placement within a family according to age, has been suggested to affect personality development since the 1870’s. Parenting resources, monetary funding, and sibling rivalry are contributing roles that help support this theory. Current empirical data has provided significant insight on the effects of birth order in correlation to personality definition. The Factor Five model is modernly used to define an individual’s personality using: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. However, investigators have been unable to control for extraneous environmental factors, phenotypic gene expression, and age relevance. Modern theorists are working on a cohesive model or database that would combine all relevant findings to improve reliability of findings. Despite these limitations, the growing field of research is linking birth order to diverse parenting skills, individuality definition, and contemporary perception of the Nature vs Nurture argument.

Keywords: birth order, personality development, Factor Five, adolescent development

Birth Order in Correlation to Personality Development

Birth order is a person’s status within the family based on age. This distinction is characterized in comparison to siblings and is classified as first born, middle child, last born, or only child. Birth order is a heavily debated topic for psychologists and is believed by some to effect personality development. This theory is under continuous investigation and can be traced throughout human development. Researchers concentrate on this subject matter because birth order effects have become an important test case in the...