Birth Order Theory: Adler's Research

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‘Adler's desire to understand how social factors influence personality extended to child development. His birth order theory described how the family environment shaped a child's thoughts and behaviors.

Tiffi looks over the list of traits for the first born and last born. She does recognize a lot of those first born traits in Kimmy and hold on! …………….. she can see a lot of those last born traits in herself. She will have to check with Mr. Toffee to confirm if these traits hold true for her and her sister. She goes back to reading the article.

What Birth Order Theory Is Not - Birth order personality traits are not necessarily present when a child is born into a family. For example, the first child is not born with particular personality traits ingrained in his or her psyche. Instead, in birth order theory, Adler illustrates how family environments and dynamics play a role in shaping personality during a child's formative years. Though every family is different, there are many similarities between the interactions of parents and children, as well as siblings, as a family grows and develops.

The Family's Role in Birth Order Personality Traits - Most researchers agree there are several influences shaping personality. Common factors include:

• Biological: Children inherit many traits and features from their parents. These include intelligence, courage, and physical features.

• Social: By interacting with others in an individual's social circle, children learn behaviors and thought patterns from their experiences.

• Cultural: A child growing up within a culture consciously or unconsciously adopts traits consistent with the culture's beliefs and norms.

• Physical Environment: An individual's surroundings often impact the development of personality. For example, the personalities of those growing up in a rural area are often very different from those living in an urban environment.

• Situational: As a child grows, they face different situations, which help them adapt and change aspects of their personality. This could be meeting new friends, experiencing a trauma, or, of course, welcoming a new sibling.

When looking at these factors, we see family life can incorporate all of these. Since most children's lives are, at first, shaped by everything going on in the family, it is no wonder birth order theory has remained relevant throughout the decades. ’ (Source)

Let’s continue - Traits of birth order

Start at the beginning – Tiffi learns all about birth order