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Psychologists have looked at the relationship of birth order to personality characteristics. Firstborn children tend to be high achievers and more intelligent than later-born children. In one study, Falbo (1982) examined college students who were born first, middle, last, or were only children. He found firstborns to be more competitive and have higher self-esteem than those born last. It has been found that only children had more of a sense of control and more self-understanding than children with siblings (Mellor, 1990).
Other psychologists have found that firstborn children tend to be more cooperative and helpful, especially in their relationships with adults. Children born later tend to be more friendly, social, and outgoing, which helps to increase their popularity among peers. Some of the differences among first- and later-born children are due to parental behaviors. Firstborn children (and only children) have more time to interact with parents, even if only for a year or two. Some research suggests that birth order may influence intelligence test scores. Zajonc (1983) reported that firstborns tend to have the highest IQ in the family, followed by the second born, third born, and so on. Zajonc argues that with each additional child, parents are spread more thinly and cannot provide the same level of attention that they gave the firstborn child. |
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