One of the many things that affect’s who we are, and how we relate to the people in our family, is "birth order." This means whether our parents had us first, second, last, or as an only child. Birth order is defined as a person's rank by age among his or her siblings. Birth order is often believed to have a profound and lasting effect on psychological development. This assertion has been repeatedly challenged by researchers, yet birth order continues to have a strong presence in popular psychology and culture. Birth order is very important in a person’s core personality (Eckstein).
Eckstein has studied the different views of people perspective on the issue of birth order .In his findings he explains how the birth order plays a crucial part in one’s personal characteristics. He points out Freud and Adler as having different views on family status because of birth order. Freud was first born therefore took the place of eldest and favorite son. On the other hand, Adler was second son in his family therefore, did not have the characteristics of the first child. Adler’s approach on birth order and relationship amongst siblings is unique because, it explains the psychological effects on a child (Adler). He explains that most of us would think that just because children are raised in same household that they should have similar personalities. Adler says this is not correct children are all different they have individual characteristics that are derived by birth order. When looking at the common personality traits for your birth order, ask yourself why certain ones fit you and others don't. Adler also points out that birth order also impacts they way that adults deal with life and how they interact in society. Birth order plays a role in how we develop relationships whether is love, friendships or work related relationships. All these aspects of one’s personality come into play when we look at birth order (Adler).
For a therapist I...