Only Child Personality traits:
 Pampered and spoiled
 Socialises well with those older or younger
 Reliable, conscientious
 Difficulty relating to peers, self-centered
 Feels unfairly treated when doesn't get own way
 May refuse to cooperate
Work traits:
 Plays "divide and conquer" to get own way
 Perfectionists, will go beyond boundaries
 Serious and mature
Typical Careers:
 Same as a first born, except to a greater extent often prominent in chosen
field (science, law, accounting)
Strong belief:
 Only children can feel shame about their status as a result of the negative
stereotypes
First Child Personality traits:
 Is only child for period of time; used to being centre of attention
 High achiever, highly motivated, in control, goal-orientated, well organised,
self-reliant, tolerant,
 Compliant, but if ignored may behave aggressively
 Legalistic, overbearing, stubborn, sees things as “black or white”, holds
grudges
 Strives to please, protect and help others
 Strong mental discipline, analytical, serious, critical, scholarly
Work traits:
 Scores higher in intelligence tests
 Perfectionistic, reliable, conscientious, punctual, list maker
Typical careers:
 Science, medicine, law, accountancy, secretary, engineering, computer
science
 Go on to positions of leadership or high achievement (52% US Presidents
first-borns)
 Overrepresented amongst university professors
Strong beliefs:
 Believes must gain and hold superiority over other children
 Being right, controlling often important
 Law and order, authority, loyalty and protocols
Middle Child Personality traits:
 Completely unlike first-born
 Mediator, negotiator, independent
 Prone to embarrassment, misunderstood, secretive
 Feels left out within family
 Acts as if in race, trying to catch up or overtake first child
 If first child is "good," second may become "bad"
 If first child successful, may feel uncertain of self and abilities
Work traits:
 Avoids conflict, extremely loyal
Typical careers:
 Career path almost always in start contrast to that of first-born
 Managers, leaders, jobs involving negotiation
Strong beliefs:
 Never has parents' undivided attention
 Relationships, people

Swedish research scientist Lars Orstenberg (see 'Younger Children, Brighter Futures', May
2009, Bazar Förlag Press) suggested that past research focuses too heavily on early life.
There is a distinctly higher rate of success among second-borns later in life in the areas of
career as well as wealth.
Youngest Child Personality traits:

Charming, show-off, people person, precocious, affectionate, vivacious
 Temperamental, impatient, impetuous, blames others, absentminded
 Expects others to do things, make decisions, take responsibility
 Remains "The Baby"
 Becomes boss of family in getting service and own way
 Develops feelings of inferiority and may overtake older siblings
Work Traits:
 Gets others to ‘serve’ or ‘work for them’
 Responds to praise and encouragement
Typical Careers:
 Sales, professions that require the ability to be “on stage”
 Show business
Strong beliefs:
 “Do it now and worry later”
 Short-term rewards
NOTES:
1. The middle child of three is usually different from the middle child of a large
family. The middle children of large families are often less competitive as parents
don't have as much time to give each child and so the children learn to cooperate
to get what they want.
2. Only children usually want to be adults, and so don't relate to peers very well.
When they become adults, they often believe they've finally "made it" and can
now relate better to adults as peers. During their formative years, only children
live primarily in the world of adults. They must learn how to operate in the big
people's world as well as how to entertain themselves. Thus they often become
very creative in their endeavors.
(Adapted from Don Dinkmeyer, Gary D. McKay, and Don Dinkmeyer, Jr., Parent
Education Leader's Manual Coral Springs, F:; CMTI Press, 1978)
3. Alfred Adler (1870-1937), an Austrian psychiatrist, and a contemporary of
Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, was one of the first theorists to suggest that birth
order influences personality. He argued that birth order can leave an indelible
impression on an individual's style of life, which is one's habitual way of dealing
with the tasks of friendship, love, and work. According to Adler, firstborns are
"dethroned" when a second child comes along, and this may have a lasting
influence on them. Younger and only children may be pampered and spoiled,
which can also affect their later personalities. Additional birth order factors that
should be considered are the spacing in years between siblings, the total number
of children, and the changing circumstances of the parents over time.
4. Some of this information is adapted from the works of Robert Zaronc and
Susan Newman
“Which piece of evidence seems the most vague to you?”
T-Chart (on the way to expository essay)
What the research says
(It says)
Evidence showing accuracy/inaccuracy
(And so)
Charming, show-off, people person,
precocious, affectionate, vivacious
Gets others to ‘serve’ or ‘work for them’
I’ve always been described as ‘bubbly’
Responds to praise and
encouragement
Every time I manage to get to the staffroom for
a break someone exclaims, “you’re here!” or “I
never see you in here!” because I so rarely
stop working at school. As HOD I am hopeless
at delegating.
I never know what my credit card bill is up to. I
will buy first and not consider the price and
whether I can afford it.
Appraisals and observations are occasions I
dread
What the research says
(It says)
Evidence showing accuracy/inaccuracy
(And so)
“Do it now and worry later”
In a five-paragraph essay, explain how accurately birth order research
describes you. Use evidence from your own life to support your thesis.
Class created scoring guide:
Excellent writing:
 Sophisticated thesis
 Focused throughout on thesis
 Insightful discussion in Body paragraphs
 Lots of specific evidence
 Skillful transitions
 Formal tone and vocabulary
 Varied sentence structure
 Proof of successful editing
Very good writing:
 Strong thesis
 Generally each paragraph links back to thesis
 Some insightful discussion
 Use of specific evidence
 Effective transitions
 Mostly formal tone and vocabulary
 Generally free of editing mistakes
Good writing:
 Clear thesis
 Most of the essay links to thesis
 Adequate discussion in Body paragraphs
 Most evidence is specific but writer should include more OR enough evidence, just not
specific enough
 Adequate use of transitions
 Sentences need to be varied more
 Some editing mistakes but generally successful in an adequate essay
Potentially good writing: (amber dot)
 Unclear thesis
 Discussion wanders from thesis
 Needs more reflection/explanation in SEX paragraphs
 More specific evidence needed from the writer’s own life
 Inconsistent, incorrect or repeated transitions
 Some slang or colloquialisms
 Several paragraphs require further editing
Required rewrite of essay: (red dot)
 Missing thesis statement
 Only restates research without writer’s opinion
 Or only writers opinion without stating research
 No transitions
 Lots of slang or non-academic language
 Run-on or incomplete sentence fragments
 Some paragraphs difficult to understand due to lack of editing of mistakes