Psychologists have believed for a long time that our birth order can tell us a lot about our personality. For whatever reason, the order in which we are born can shape us in many ways.
In a British study that was published by YouGov, researchers surveyed 1,783 adult siblings. Their goal was to better understand how our birth order shapes our personality, and what they found was quite interesting, to say the least.
For the study, the participants were asked to rate themselves and their siblings on responsibility, how easygoing they were, and other traits, like how funny they were.
What they found was that 46% of the younger siblings that were surveyed believed themselves to be the funnier sibling, compared to 36% of older siblings.
Older siblings, on the other hand, believed that they were more responsible, organized, and successful.
According to researchers who have worked on the theory of birth order, a reason for the differences in birth order likely has a lot to do with the fact that different siblings work to find their place in the overall dynamic. In turn, some trends begin to emerge, across the board.
One aspect of this could tie into the fact that because the older siblings find their place sooner, there are only so many positions left in the family order to assume.
Of course, because there are different family dynamics, there are always going to be exceptions.
In another MIT study, researchers observed thousands of children from Denmark and Florida and found that younger siblings were also more likely to be criminals. And this was especially so when the younger siblings were male.
But, if you asked a dozen families, it’s almost certain that some families would have found the opposite to be true.
With that in mind, it is interesting still to see how our birth order can impact our personality. What do you think? Are you younger or older? And who is the funniest among your siblings? Honestly, I am not sure what to think of this one.