Relationships Among Birth Order, Perceived Parental Expectation, and Personality

This topic submitted by Tracy Ksiazak (ksiazatm@muohio.edu) at 11:12 AM on 4/30/02. Additions were last made on Saturday, November 30, 2002. Section: Myers.

An Investigation into Relationships Among Birth Order, Perceived Parental Expectations, and Personality Characteristics

Tracy Ksiazak

April 30, 2002

Abstract:

In this study, I have examined the correlations between birth order and personality traits as predicted by Walter Toman in 100 Miami University students. I have also examined the correlations between my own predictions based upon parental expectations and actual personality traits. I found no significant correlations between Toman's predictions and actual traits, nor between my own predictions and actual traits. These results, however, may be due to a small sample size.

Introduction:

First is the worst, second is the best…So begins a taunt commonly overheard between siblings on long car trips and in playground disputes. This is just one example of our society’s tendency to make assumptions about an individual’s personality based on his or her birth order. Throughout the ages, birth order has been implicated as a significant factor in people’s personality development. This “birth-order myth” is manifested in such statements as “He’s an over-achiever because he’s a firstborn,” and “Youngest children are spoiled brats.” It’s difficult not to attribute personality traits to birth order. Birth order is an observable characteristic that all human beings possess and are capable of discussing. Frequently there do appear to be marked differences in individuals of different birth orders. Even Jane Goodall noted personality differences in the chimp siblings she studied.
Noted social scientists from early psychologist Alfred Adler to more the more contemporary Walter Toman and Judith Blake have investigated actual correlations between birth order and personality traits. Many researchers have postulated their own theories about the tendencies of individuals of certain birth orders to exhibit specific traits. However, the results of studies are not often statistically significant, nor can they sometimes be replicated.
This information leads me to believe that birth order in itself is not a significant predictor of personality traits. It is simply one factor interwoven with many others in an individual’ development. Another significant factor in personality development, which is often related to birth order, is level of perceived parental expectation. My study will examine the correlations among birth order, levels of perceived parental expectation, and personality traits in an attempt to discern whether both perceived parental expectations and birth order are equally predictive of an individual’s personality.

Relevance of Research:

Alfred Adler, a Viennese psychologist who lived from 1870-1937, established one of the first theories of birth order. His theory focused on the idea of “dethronement.” A couple’s first child is like a little prince or princess; subsequent children “dethrone” this child by taking away parental attention and affection (Ernst and Angst 85). The effects of “dethronement”, or lack thereof in the case of only children, determine such personality traits as responsibility, attitudes toward authority, self-esteem, and achievement motivation. According to this theory, oldest children are significantly different from youngest children because the first-borns suffer the effects of dethronement while the youngest children do not. Only children possess the characteristics held by first-borns before their “dethronement” occurred, and middle children hold completely different characteristics because they never had the experience of full parental attention before “dethronement” (Ernst and Angst 87).
In her study, Family Size and Achievement, Judith Blake examined the correspondences between the related variables of family size and birth order with measures of achievement in different spheres (financial, career, academic, etc.). Blake’s results led her to propose the sibling resource dilution theory, which states that the number of siblings in a family is negatively correlated with both child and adult achievement outcomes (10). Also, as birth order increases, the amount of available resources, which determines the child’s potential for achievement, decreases. According to this theory, only children are the most successful because they obtain all of the available resources of their parents (Blake 11). Oldest children are the second-highest achievers, and youngest children are the lowest achievers. The results of two similar studies by Kevin Majoribanks in 1989 and 1991 support this theory.
The most ambitious of the birth order/personality theories so far was postulated by Walter Toman, an Austrian psychologist who interviewed thousands of families in the middle of the 20th century and found that people with the same birth order and gender position tended to exhibit the same characteristics. In Family Constellation: Its Effect on Personality and Social Behavior, first published in 1961, Toman established theories concerning the personality traits that people of each birth order should exhibit. A summary of these theories is provided on the following page. Toman claims to be able to guess a person’s birth order and gender by examining a brief personality description and vice versa. Toman has released two subsequent editions of his book, which incorporate the influence of other factors upon personality.
Since Toman, several other researchers, mostly psychologists, have conducted studies attempting to find significant patterns in the relationship between birth order and other personality characteristics: rebelliousness (Sulloway, Freese), intellectual development (Zajonc), social skills, etc. These results have been inconclusive for the most part, however, as their results are frequently either statistically insignificant or fail to be reproduced in subsequent experiments. The debate over birth order and personality correlations will continue for quite some time.

The psychologist Walter Toman’s research lead him to theorize that specific personality traits appear in individuals in accordance with their birth order. The following is a summary of his theory.

Oldest Children… Youngest Children…

tend to be similar to their parents tend to be different from their parents
tend to be high academic achievers tend to be lower academic achievers
are more often leaders are more often followers
are often perfectionistic are often laid-back
are pushed harder by parents to excel are not pushed hard to excel
were often disciplined as a child were not often disciplined as a child
have above-average verbal ability have average verbal ability
are independent are dependent
are often serious are often hedonistic
are often tense are often rebellious
tend to be conservative tend to be liberal
receive a lot of attention tend to be most sociable and popular
receive a lot of parental support tend to be most athletic
are more comfortable around adults are more comfortable around peers
accept authority resent authority
mature early mature late
are abstract thinkers are concrete thinkers
tend to expect a lot from life tend to be optimistic

Middle Children… Only Children...

tend to be different from their parents tend to be most similar to parents
were not often disciplined as a child tend to be high academic achievers
tend to be good negotiators are often leaders
tend to be peacekeepers are often perfectionistic
don't often ask for help or accept it are pushed hard by parents to excel
are independent were often disciplined as a child
tend to be pessimistic have the highest verbal ability
got little attention as children are often serious
tend to be low academic achievers are the most androgynous
deal well with many kinds of people got a lot of attention as children
resent authority often expect help, receive it without asking
don't really have a niche tend to be optimistic
tend to expect little from life are highly supported by parents
are more comfortable around adults
accept authority
mature early
tend to expect a lot from life
show both "oldest" and "youngest" traits
Hypothesis:

Significant trends in relation to Toman’s theories about birth order and personality will exist. The implications of this are that there will be a significant correlation between the characteristics that people of each birth order actually display and the characteristics Toman associates with their birth order. (Please refer to the list on page four.) For the purposes of this project, I will define significant correlations of seventy-five percent or more. For example, first-borns will tend to exhibit perfectionism, be similar to their parents, and mature early.
However, I hypothesize that there will also be significant trends in correlations between perceived parental expectation and personality characteristics. Specifically, I believe that:

** High perceived parental expectations will correlate significantly with perfectionism, frequent discipline as a child, similarity to parents, high academic success, above-average verbal ability, early maturation, seriousness, tenseness, expecting a lot from life, and acceptance of authority.

** Low perceived parental expectations will correlate significantly with being laid-back, acting as a follower, infrequent discipline as a child, marked difference from parents, optimism, low academic achievement, and expecting little from life.

These trends will occur because personality is the result of multiple factors, of which birth order is only one. An individual’s personality depends upon his or her culture, family dynamics, sex, race, parental expectations, social class, and many other variables. After examining the research of many social scientists, I believe that birth order and parental expectation influence one another, as well as jointly influencing personality. Although it would be impossible to gain definitive proof for this theory, I believe that the results of my research will support it.

Materials and Methods:

I intend to study the correlations between:

1.) Actual personality trait and birth order data and the predictions of personality characteristics for individuals of each birth order in accordance with Toman’s theories. Do people really display the traits Toman attributes to individuals of their birth order?

2.) Personality traits and perceived parental expectations. Do individuals with a certain level of perceived parental expectations tend to display common personality characteristics?

I will conduct this research by administering a survey to 100 Miami University students and performing statistical analysis upon the results. I’ve selected Miami University students as my survey audience because they are a readily available test group, and, in using them, I control for the variables of age and culture. Most students here are Americans between the ages of 17 and 22 years. Focusing on this survey audience will allow me to eliminate some other major variables that may have produced differences in individuals’ personality characteristics. I’ve chosen to distribute 100 surveys because examination of this many individual cases should yield subjects of each birth order.
The following page is a sample copy of the survey I intend to distribute.
Sample Survey

Your sex (Please circle one): Female Male

Your birth order (i.e. first, only, third, etc): ___________________________

Of how many total offspring? ___________________________

Age difference between yourself and closest sibling? ___________________________ years

How do you view your parents’ expectations of you versus their expectations of your siblings?

the same more expected of you more expected of siblings no siblings

Please check all characteristics that you believe describe you:

___ Perfectionist ___ Cute
___ Most often a leader ___ Funny
___ Most often a follower ___ Adventurous
___ Laid-back ___ Don’t really have a niche
___ Often disciplined by parents as a child ___ Androgynous
___ Seldom disciplined as a child ___ Serious
___ Similar to parents ___ Low academic achiever
___ Very different from parents ___ Motivated
___ Academically successful ___ Sociable
___ Athletic ___ Supported by parents
___ Above-average verbal ability ___ Supported by siblings
___ Average verbal ability ___ Adept at dealing with many kinds of people
___ Below-average verbal ability ___ More comfortable around adults
___ Good negotiator ___ More comfortable around peers
___ Peacekeeper ___ Hedonistic
___ Tense ___ Popular
___ Introverted ___ Resent authority
___ Extroverted ___ Accept authority
___ Hardworking ___ Matured early
___ Playful ___ Matured late
___ Often ask for and accept help ___ Expect a lot from life
___ Often expect help and receive it without asking ___ Expect little from life
___ Don’t often ask for help or accept it ___ Procrastinator
___ Independent ___ Abstract thinker
___ Dependent ___ Concrete thinker
___ Rebellious ___ Optimistic
___ Liberal ___ Pessimistic
___ Conservative

Results:

Please see printed version for results.

No significant correlations were found between Toman’s predictions for first-borns, only children, youngest children, or middle children. In fact, there was only one correlation above 70%, which was the correlation between Toman’s prediction of abstract thinking in only children and the actual report of this trait.
In addition, there was only one significant correlation found between my predictions based on parental expectation and the actual traits. This was a 77.27% correlation between lower parental expectation and being a follower.

Discussion:
I reject my hypothesis because the data clearly contradict it.
Tables 3-6 show the actual number of individuals manifesting each trait predicted by Toman based upon their birth order. It is clear that very few of the correlations between Toman’s predictions and actual traits approach significance. Figures 7-10 show scatter plots of the percent correlation between Toman’s predictions and the actual traits of individuals of each birth order. In these diagrams, a lack of a pattern in the correlations is evident. For the group studied, Toman’s predictions range in accuracy from 9.09% to 72.73%. For this reason, I believe that these predictions are unreliable. Figure 11 shows a complete scatter plot of the frequency of correlations between Toman’s predictions and the actual traits.
Tables 7-8 show the correlations between the traits that I predicted for individuals based upon their parental expectations and the actual reporting of these traits. My predictions, like Toman’s, fail to show significant correlations. The single correlation that appears significant, a 77.27% correlation between lower parental expectation and being a follower, is most likely due to chance, according to the tests I performed using Statview. Overall, there was a greater correlation between my predictions and actual traits than between Toman’s predictions and actual traits, however.
I believe that many of my results may be due to chance because my sample size seems very small after completing analysis. In my study of 100 students, I had only 11 respondents who were only children, 24 who were middle children, and 22 who were youngest children. The birth order with the largest number of respondents was oldest, with 43 students who fit this category. Even this number seems insignificant in comparison to the total population of Miami University, however.
If I were to repeat this study, I would survey at least 400 students. Of these students, I would want to survey at least 100 students of each birth order so that I can obtain the results from a larger and more random population. I would also like to survey people of different age groups and compare the results among individuals of the same birth order but different ages. This would yield results that are more telling about the general population.
I realize that another problem in this experiment is that the subjects surveyed were Miami students. Most Miami students are white, upper-middle class individuals from relatively small families. Variables such as socioeconomic class, race, and family size may have caused these results to be different from the correlations that Toman predicts for the general population.
This study has led me to conclude that personality is a complex phenomenon that cannot be accurately predicted upon the basis of birth order.

Bibliography

Blake, Judith. Family Size and Achievement. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989.

Bornholt, L.J., and J.J. Goodnow. “Cross-Generation Perceptions of Academic Competence:
Parental Expectations and Adolescent Self-Disclosure.” Journal of Adolescent Research.
14.4 (1999): 427-447.

Ernst, Cecile, and Jules Angst. Birth Order: Its Influence on Personality. New York: Springer-
Verlag, 1983.

Freese, Jeremy., et al. “Rebel Without a Cause Effect: Birth Order and Social Attitudes.”
American Sociological Review. April (1999): 207-231.

Green, Ernest J. Birth Order, Parental Interest, and Academic Achievement. San Francisco:
R & E Research Associates, 1978.

Goodall, Jane. Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1990.

Jurkovic, Gregory J. Lost Childhoods: The Plight of the Parentified Child. New York:
Brunner/Mazel, 1997.

Leman, Kevin. The Birth Order Book. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1984.

Majoribanks, Kevin. “Ethnicity, Sibling, and Family Correlates of Young Adults’ Status
Attainment: A Follow-Up Study.” Social Biology. 36 (1989): 23-31.

Majoribanks, Kevin. “The Sibling Resource Dilution Theory: An Analysis.” The Journal of
Psychology. 125 (1991): 337-346.

Nyman, Lawrence. “The Identification of Birth Order Personality Attributes.” The Journal of
Psychology. 129.1 (1995): 51-59.

Paulhaus, Delroy L., Paul D. Trapnell, and David Chen. “Birth Order Effects on Personality and
Achievement Within Families.” Pscychological Science. 10.6 (1999): 482-488.

Richardson, Ronald W., and Lois A. Richardson. Birth Order and You: How Your Sex and
Position in the Family Affects Your Personality and Relationships. Bellingham, WA:
Self-Counsel Press, 1990.

“Social Skills and Birth Order.” Psychological Reports. 64 (1989): 211-217.

Stewart, Louis H. Changemakers: A Jungian Perspective on Sibling Position and the Family
Atmosphere. New York: Routledge, 1992.

Toman, Walter. Family Constellation: Its Effects on Personality and Social Behavior. 2nd ed.
New York: Springer, 1969.

---. Family Constellation: Its Effects on Personality and Social Behavior. 3rd ed. New York:
Springer, 1976.

Zajonc, R.B. “The Family Dynamics of Intellectual Development.” American Psychologist.
June/July (2001): 505-510.

Zweigenhaft, Richard L., and Jessica von Ammon. “Birth Order and Civil Disobedience: A Test
of Sulloway’s ‘Born to Rebel’ Hypothesis.” Journal of Social Psychology. 140 (2000):
624-627.

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