Birth Order
Birth Order And Intellectual Achievement
In addition to personality, birth order research has also largely focused on its relation to intelligence and scholastic achievement. The literature in this area reveals inconsistent results that have stemmed largely from confounding variables present in many birth order studies, including socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, and age of participants (Rodgers et al. 2000; Steelman 1985; Sulloway 1996). Additionally, much of the research in this area indicates that birth order effects are inextricably related to family size, with stronger effects appearing in larger families (Heer 1985; Sputa and Paulson 1995).
Even studies of the effects of family size have been equivocal. Joseph Rodgers and colleagues (2000) analyzed the relationships of birth order and family size to the intelligence quotient (IQ) within families using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Their results suggest that neither birth order nor family size directly affects IQ; rather, it is the parents' IQ that is more likely to influence both family size and children's IQ levels.
Several studies found achievement motivation, rather than intelligence, to be associated with ordinal position in the family (Vandergriff and Rust 1985). Later research on birth order and achievement began to focus on aspiration levels and achievement attributions more than simply on academic achievement. Firstborns attribute success or failure to internal causes and may even underestimate how their situations might have affected success, compared to laterborns (Phillips and Phillips 1994).
Toni Falbo (1981) observed a significant relationship between birth order and competitiveness. First and middle children scored significantly higher than lastborns on competitiveness. Only children did not differ significantly from any of the other groups on this variable. William Snell, Linda Hargrove, and Toni Falbo (1986) explored the relationship between birth order and achievement motivation and found a significant correlation between birth order and one specific facet of achievement motivation, competitiveness. It may be that the presence of competitiveness mediates the relationship between birth order and achievement.
See also: ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT; FAVORITISM/DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT; PRIMOGENITURE; SELF-ESTEEM; SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS
Bibliography
Adler, A. (1927). Understanding Human Nature. Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishers.
Adler, A. (1956). "The Origin of the Neurotic Disposition." In The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler, ed. H. L. Ansbacher and R. R. Ansbacher. New York: Basic Books.
Campbell, L. F.; White, J.; and Stewart, A. E. (1991). "The Relationship of Psychological Birth Order to Actual Birth Order." Individual Psychology 47:380–391.
Falbo, T. (1981). "Relationships between Birth Category, Achievement, and Interpersonal Orientation." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 41:121–131.
Heer, D. M. (1985). "Effects of Sibling Number on Child Outcome." Annual Review of Sociology 11:27–47.
Hoffman, L. W. (1991). "The Influence of the Family Environment on Personality: Accounting for Sibling Differences." Psychological Bulletin 110:187–203.
Leman, K. (1985). The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are. Grand Rapids, MI: Spire Books.
Paulhus, D. L.; Trapnell, P. D.; and Chen, D. (1999). "Birth Order Effects on Personality and Achievement within Families." Psychological Science 10:482–488.
Phillips, A. S., and Phillips, C. R. (1994). "Birth Order and Achievement Attributions." Individual Psychology 50:119–124.
Rodgers, J. L.; Cleveland, H. H.; van den Oord, E.; and Rowe, D. C. (2000). "Resolving the Debate over Birth Order, Family Size, and Intelligence." American Psychologist 55:599–612.
Snell, W. E.; Hargrove, L.; and Falbo, T. (1986). "Birth Order and Achievement Motivation Configurations in Women and Men." Individual Psychology: Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research, and Practice 42:428–438.
Sputa, C. L., and Paulson, S. E. (1995). "Birth Order and Family Size: Influences on Adolescents' Achievement and Related Parenting Behaviors." Psychological Reports 76:43–51.
Steelman, L. C. (1985). "A Tale of Two Variables: A Review of the Intellectual Consequences of Sibship Size and Birth Order." Review of Educational Research 55:353–386.
Stewart, A. E., and Campbell, L. F. (1998). "Validity and Reliability of the White-Campbell Psychological Birth Order Inventory." Journal of Individual Psychology 54:41–60.
Stewart, A. E., and Stewart, E. A. (1995). "Trends in Birth Order Research: 1976–1993." Individual Psychology: Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research and Practice 51:21–36.
Stewart, A. E.; Stewart, E. A.; and Campbell, L. F. (2001). "The Relationship of Psychological Birth Order to the Family Atmosphere and to Personality." Journal of Individual Psychology 57:363–387.
Sulloway, F. J. (1996). Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives. New York: Pantheon Books.
Vandergriff, L., and Rust, J. O. (1985). "The Relationship between Classroom Behavior and Self-concept." Education 106:172–178.
GLORIA M. MONTES DE OCA
ALAN E. STEWART
Additional topics
Marriage and Family EncyclopediaPregnancy & ParenthoodBirth Order - Birth Order And Personality, Psychological Birth Order, Birth Order And Intellectual Achievement