The development of personality is a complex process shaped by many factors. Birth order is often regarded as one of these influential stimuli affecting people’s personalities. However, recent research shows that the links between personality and birth order are not significant. For instance, Bleske-Rechek and Kelley (2014) used Big Five personality data to assess the effect of birth order on personality in the within-family and between-family contexts.
The researchers found no meaningful relations between personality and birth order. Rohrer, Egloff, and Schmukle (2015) also identified no lasting effects of birth order on broad personality traits. The researchers explored both between-family and within-family contexts. However, Rohrer et al. (2015) noted that there were some links to the intellectual domain.
My personal experience supports the evidence mentioned above. Having an elder sister, I could be rather submissive, introvert, and passive with rather a low self-esteem. At least, it is believed that later children may have such personality traits. In my childhood, I was to a certain extent introvert, with quite a low self-esteem. However, each year I was becoming more self-confident, so at present, I have high self-esteem and believe I am a successful person who can achieve all set goals.
On the contrary, my sister is now less confident especially when it comes to her appearance and relationships with males. As for other traits, she has not changed much since our childhood. Therefore, I assume that it is early to say that birth order has a considerable effect on personality development. It may be one of the factors that have a temporary effect on people’s personality. Nevertheless, further research is necessary as my personal experiences cannot be sufficient evidence to come to sound conclusions.
References
Bleske-Rechek, A., & Kelley, J. (2014). Birth order and personality: A within-family test using independent self-reports from both firstborn and laterborn siblings. Personality and Individual Differences, 56, 15-18.
Rohrer, J., Egloff, B., & Schmukle, S. (2015). Examining the effects of birth order on personality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(46), 14224-14229.