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Quick! Tell me what order you are in the family and what that means to you. Were you the youngest, the baby, who was taken care of, protected (perhaps spoiled) and not left to make your own decisions? Were you the oldest, who had all the pressure and demands placed on you to “set an example?” Or were you a middle, or lost child, who kind of fell through the cracks? You weren’t really special on either end of the spectrum, were you? You may have even been the peacemaker as the middle child, trying to maintain the calm in a family that was otherwise a little chaotic.
bigfatfurrytexan
Psychology is part of it.
A bigger part, however, is (in my own opinion) epigenetics. Not only will it affect you, but it also gets passed on to your children as a predilection.
soulpowertothendegree
reply to post by Lysergic
Would be more interested in knowing what your birth order is, how many siblings? What ages separate you? Do you attribute any of your personality traits that you exhibited in your testing to your birth order...or are you of the mind that it plays little part?
reply to post by Lysergic
What I find the strangest is my youngest sister is the most like me. Mannerisms, Behaviors, asker of too many questions.
n biology, and specifically genetics, epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene activity that are not caused by changes in the DNA sequence; it also can be used to describe the study of stable, long-term alterations in the transcriptional potential of a cell that are not necessarily heritable. Unlike simple genetics based on changes to the DNA sequence (the genotype), the changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype of epigenetics have other causes, thus use of the term epi- (Greek: επί- over, outside of, around) -genetics.[1]
Lysergic
soulpowertothendegree
reply to post by Lysergic
Would be more interested in knowing what your birth order is, how many siblings? What ages separate you? Do you attribute any of your personality traits that you exhibited in your testing to your birth order...or are you of the mind that it plays little part?
I am first of four.
5 yr gap, 11 yr gap, 19yr gap
Some, as first born you are expected to set the example, you are the one who has to push the boundaries for yourself(against the theoretical rules the parents thought would work). Those coming behind you will have it easier as you've pushed your way and didn't die so the next in line get it even easier when it comes to that. I do remember when my first sister was born, being five, I asked can we put her back so I can get a brother? I was thinking how when I was at a store if I was allowed to get candy, I could change my mind before we paid and get a different one. No I agree with birth order having an effect, I mean you can look at my other siblings and see the differences. What I find the strangest is my youngest sister is the most like me. Mannerisms, Behaviors, asker of too many questions.
ketsuko
Hmmm, well, I'm no narcissist. That was a 3.
In fact, I think I scored so low on that I might be the opposite of narcissist. I got blips in authority and self-sufficiency and that's it.
For the other, I scored highly in agreeableness, openness and conscientiousness with low scores in neuroticism and extroversion.
I am the first of two children. We were both girls, and my sister is four years younger.
awakendhybrid
Ah good times. I remember doing a report on birth order in high school. It is pretty interesting stuff, but now that I'll be entering my 30s here in another year I'd have to say that it all can turn on its head pretty easily (as compared to how it affected your life when you were younger).
I would also say that other major components going along with birth order are the financial stability, parental stability (like divorce or step-parents) and nutrition during certain developmental time-frames of your and your sibling's life. Also, I would add whether or not a sibling moves a decent distance away and thereby "gets away" from all the things that birth order was previously affecting.
I have examples of each of these in my family--which changed a lot while my sister's and I were growing up.