There was a study done by Montpelier University that indicated that

1. 85

   gmwilliamsposted 10 years ago

   
   oldest siblings tend to be MOST SELFISH of all siblings.The study further explained that oldest siblings are dethroned at the births of succedent siblings.These oldest siblings who were once the center of their parents' universe, feel displaced, hence distrustful of their parents.This distrust translates into they becoming wary of other people's motives.
   
   Many oldest siblings become dominance in order that others do not usurp their preeminence that the way their parents did.  There are oldest siblings who are quite leery of having their control taken away by others. There are oldest siblings who are absolute control freaks.  They want IT ALL and really do not care how they coerce to have power. Many oldest siblings are not adept at the art of compromise and playing well with others.  It is THEIR way or NONE.  Do you agree with this study? Why? Why not?
      
   

   replyreport
   1. 74

      Quilligrapherposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi there, Ms. Williams.
      
      I am not sure how to agree or disagree with a study you do not identify. Can you provide a link to the study?
      
      In general, the operative word in the OP is “selfish” and that particular characteristic is rarely mentioned in birth order literature. “A Review of 200 Birth-Order Studies: Lifestyle Characteristics” published in 2010 found “selfish” to be among the statistically significant personality factors of an “only” child in just 3 of the 200 studies analyzed. It seems this attribute is not observed as often as “Highest academic/intellectual success” found more than 13 % of the studies. {1}
      
      Furthermore, placing too much emphasis on the birth order of siblings may be intellectually shortsighted. Shulman and Mosak (1977) had  two different definitions of birth order. {2} They defined “ordinal position,” which refers to the actual order of birth of the siblings, and “ psychological position,” which refers to the role the child adopts in his or her interactions with others. Consequently, they downplayed the importance of ordinal position. Alfred Adler, the first theorists to use birth-order position in his work, emphasized psychological order as the more important of the two. "It is not, of course, the child's number in the order of successive births which influences his character, but the situation into which he is born and the way in which he interprets it." {3}
      
      In addition to psychological position, several other influential factors are not considered in strictly ordinal birth sequence studies.
      
      Age gaps between siblings.
      The existence of physical or mental disability
      Gender of siblings
      Family sexual dynamics
      Blended families
      
      Age differences greater than 5 years often create distinct subgroups that shuffle and rearrange the characteristics associated with strict ordinal positions. {4} For example, a first born who has started school before the arrival of the next sibling is much less likely to have their psychological profile affected by the new addition.
      
      Studies also suggest that a physical or mental disability in one child may alter psychological roles, as may the death of a sibling. These situations illustrate another skew in the research conclusions that over emphasize a strictly ordinal perspective.
      
      Gender has been found to influence behavioral patterns particularly during the changing trends of the last 80 years. In the sexual dynamics of some families, the profile of a third born child who is the first male can easily resemble that of a first born than a third born. In like fashion, considering females develop faster than males, a first born son followed closely by a second born female may find himself struggling to maintain superiority while, on the other hand, the female must deal with feelings of inferiority.
      
      Finally, overly rigid ordinal positioning theories take a big hit when applied to blended families where one can not be analyzed as a first born and a forth born at the same time.
      
      Focusing on “selfish,” a relatively rare and minor birth order characteristic, appears to be over simplifying a much bigger and far more complex picture.
      
      {1} http://familyservices.us.com/pdf/A%20Re … istics.pdf
      {2} Shulman, B. H., & Mosak, H. H. (1977). Birth order and ordinal position: Two Adierian views. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 33, 114-121
      {3} Ansbacher, H. L., & Ansbacher, R. R. (Eds.). (1956). The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler. New York: Basic Books.
      {4} Carlson, J., Watts, R. E., & Maniacci, M. (2006). Adierian therapy: Theory and practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

      replyreport