How does birth order affect psychological and social development?Birth order and its effects on psychological and social development is a controversial topic that has been studied by many researchers (Skinner & Fox-Francoeur, 2010; 2007; Holmgren, Molander, Nilsson, 2006; Researchers have hypothesized that birth order influences many developmental characteristics such as personality (Skinner & Fox-Francoeur, 2010; Dunkel et al., 2009; Sulloway, 1996), intelligence (Iacovou, 2007; Holmgren et al., 2006; Rodgers, 2001; Kessler, 1991), creativity 2005) and relationship formation (Hartshorne et al., 2009). Trying to find support that birth order can be used to predict future traits is common in studies of birth order effects, but since Many factors other than birth order can influence personality, intellectual, creative, and relational development (Santrock, 2011), it is difficult to study the effects of birth order. Confounding variables are common in birth order studies, making it a questionable topic (Hartshorne et al., 2009). How does birth order affect personality? Personality is a coherent but flexible pattern of behavior and emotion that varies from person to person (Comer, 2010). An individual's personality, or temperament, is evident from the time they are a child and continues to expand and develop throughout their life (Santrock, 2011). Personality can be influenced by a number of factors, such as genetics, learning, experience, or a combination of these (Comer, 2010). Birth order and its effects on personality...... middle of paper ......1), 67-77. doi:10.1207/s15326934crj1701_6Rodgers, Joseph Lee. (2001). What causes birth order patterns of intelligence? The mixing hypothesis revived. American Psychologist, 56(6-7), 505-510. doi: 1O.1O37//O0O3-O66X.56.6-7.5O5Sulloway, Frank J. (1996). Born to rebel: Birth order, family dynamics, and creative lives. New York, NY, USA: Pantheon Books.Kessler, Daniel. (1991). Birth order, family size, and outcomes: Family structure and wage determination. Journal of Labor Economics, 9, 413-426.Galton, Francis. (1874). English men of science. London: Macmillan.Santrock, John W. (2011). Lifespan Development (13th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Comer, Ronald J. (2008). Abnormal Psychology (7th ed.) New York: Worth Publishers.Kirton, Michael J. (2003). Adaptation-innovation: in the context of diversity and change. New York, NY: Routledge. ID: 278229