Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
WHEN I TELL PEOPLE I study wheth- of the latest fi ndings (“Latter-born chil- ity or behavior. Our common percep-
er birth order affects personality, I usu- dren engage in more risky behavior; tion that birth order matters was written
ally get blank looks. It sounds like study- what should parents do?”) while tossing off as an example of our well-estab-
ing whether the sky is blue. Isn’t it com- in savory anecdotes (“Did you know lished tendency to remember and accept
mon sense? Popular books invoke birth that 21 of the fi rst 23 astronauts into evidence that supports our pet theories
order for self-discovery, relationship space were fi rstborns?”). while readily forgetting or overlooking
tips, business advice and parenting guid- But when scientists scrutinized the that which does not. But two studies
ance in titles such as The Birth Order data, they found that the evidence just from the past three years fi nally found
JUDITH HAEUSLER Getty Images
Book: Why You Are the Way You Are did not hold up. In fact, until very re- measurable effects: our position in the
(Revell, 2009). Newspapers and morn- cently there were no convincing fi nd- family does indeed affect both our IQ
ing news shows debate the importance ings that linked birth order to personal- and our personality. It may be time to