Discussing the recent Norweigian study on birth order, scholars point out an interesting implication: middle children usually get the worst deal.
I posted on the Norwegian study a few days ago, highlighting its affirmation of the fact that firstborn children typically have the highest IQs. It's important to realize that the 2.3 point IQ difference between firstborns and second-borns is quite significant. Berkeley psychologist Frank Sulloway points out that it gives firstborns a 13 percent greater chance of getting into a good college. It's equivalent to an extra 45 points on the SAT test, which can make all the difference for an admissions committee.
While the Norwegian study focused on males, the sample size was extremely large. All 18 year-olds in Norway must register for the military and take IQ tests, providing researchers with really good data to evaluate the effects of birth order. Moreover, the study's conclusions support numerous other studies conducted on men and women in several other countries. Sulloway's book Born to Rebel summarizes this evidence.
Some critics have pointed out that other factors--such as the death of a parent, or the presence of grandparents in the home--can also affect the IQ distribution in the household. This is certainly true, but it only means that birth order is not the only factor. What everyone seems to agree on is that middle children get the least parental attention. Dalton Conley, author of The Pecking Order, says that while middle children don't necessarily have the lowest IQs, they are "25 percent less likely to be sent to a private school...and they're five times more likely to be held back a grade."
To the old adage, "Choose your parents carefully," I must add a corollary, "Choose your date of conception wisely."
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 3)
1. 45I found Extreme Britney Spears Nude video :) Enjoy..
..
http://sexy-tube-world.net/view.php?Britney_Spears_Nude
..
..
yhoryxspho at 4:43PM on Jan 23rd 2009
2. csI found real hot Britney Spears Nude video :) Enjoy..
..
http://sexy-tube-world.net/view.php?Britney_Spears_Nude
..
..
yorfcahtyg at 10:30AM on Jan 24th 2009
3. Having too much parental attention isn't always such a great deal. It can lead to self indugence a lack of independence and in some rare cases sociopathy.
The premise that IQ scores alone are a predictor of success is a fallacy as well. Ambition and determination are much better predictors of success than IQ.
A middle child may not be as indulged as an older child or an only child but they might gain much more by learning to compete vigorously and be independent self starters.
To gain any insight on birth order as a predictor of success it would be necessary to follow the siblings for life and measure overall success, not merely IQ points.
Darkmanwp at 11:29AM on Jul 19th 2007
4. DD... Are you just trying to piss ppl off or wat.... seriously cmon every day u just get flamed for offending someone else.... learn to do something useful with ur life/webspace.. and no im not a middle child...
Nontoxic at 11:32AM on Jul 19th 2007
5. Dinesh, i concur with these findings, i am a behavior therapist,working on my PhD and i have found this to remain in the majority of cases,to be true, that the middle child seeks attention so much(longs for attention-so geniunely)that these children sometimes seek attention in the most incorrect and inappropriate sources that they endup with making lifelong regrets,yet most wakeup and smell the pervibial coffee and get it together,usually with therapy,exercise,vacationing,appropriate eating and sleeping habits and last yet not least 6-8 glasses of water daily.thx gigi
gia at 1:01PM on Jul 23rd 2007
6. This type of 'scientific study' is always so subjective and time wasteful. Every little factor of family life comes into play. I am the middle child. I went to private school. I am tested smarted then my older brother, who is a twin (faternal) to my very much smarter older brother.
My younger brother dropped out of high school to go to college, and my youngest brother was in the youngest of us all to own his own home.
We were all raised in Kentucky. Try am fit those oddities into the 'findings' and see how it is squewed.
Emanon at 12:17PM on Jul 19th 2007
7. I don't really buy into this. I am the last of three children and I have the highest IQ. In nearly every instance of support in this article my family is completely opposite.
I do think many first born, second born, etc. can often share common personality traits. But even then, my family often does not fit into those pigeon holes.
What good does it do to know this? Really? Seems like much of it is common sense. Of course a first child would be more confidant, they have had both of their parents undivided attention and all the goos and gahs over every first time experience. Makes sense that that first born would be more confidant than a third born child who often was ignored or who had to fight for their parents attention while being teased and put down by older siblings. The math ain't hard.
So now that we see that a higher percentage of first born's have higher IQs, what do we do next?? Only send the first born off to college? Hire based on the pecking order one was born into? What good is it to know the more common random occurrence? It still is random and certainly subjective.
k at 12:22PM on Jul 19th 2007
8. k, your particular case does not invalidate the study. They tested 241,310 individuals and averaged the results. It's amusing how you and so many other people that posted on the previous article don't seem to get that.
But on the other hand, I claim that a difference of 2 or 3 points on an IQ test is NOT very significant. I suspect that if you tested the same individual twice, the results would differ by about that much, on the average. I'm looking, but haven't found anything to prove or disprove that claim yet. Anybody know?
Joe Bob at 12:38PM on Jul 19th 2007
9. As I recall, my two childhood tests were 18 pts apart.
I don't really believe in tests.
mw
michael white at 1:43PM on Jul 19th 2007
10. Per Notoxic in post 2. "DD... Are you just trying to piss ppl off or wat.... seriously cmon every day u just get flamed for offending someone else.... learn to do something useful with ur life/webspace.. and no im not a middle child..."
Well, you might not be a middle child, but you sure sound like a grouchy child!
; )
Ken Berg at 1:23PM on Jul 19th 2007
11. OK, I've said this before, and I'll say it again. When you are posting a comment specifically about your own intelligence, you would all do well to check your spelling and maybe even grammar. A middle child who has gone to private school doesn't really make his case well when his post makes him sound like an idiot.
That said, as a firstborn, I will say that my younger brother definitely has strengths and talents that blow me out of the water. We've never had our IQs formerly tested. The study doesn't really tell me much I need to know as an adult sibling. We are already on our own paths.
As a parent however, with two children and one more on the way, I hope it opens the door to more findings related to how to bridge the potential gaps for the younger siblings. My poor beautiful baby boy is about to become a middler, and perhaps just being more mindful of these findings will help me assuage the "raw deal" he could otherwise be getting.
Sarah at 2:00PM on Jul 19th 2007
12. Just FYI, having a high IQ doesn't necessarily mean automatic success as an adult. My oldest son was tested to skip kindergarden, however, although the tests showed that he had an IQ of around 167 at that time, they said that his maturity level was still that of a 5 year old (he was 5-1/2). His younger brother was always the younger one in his class (having a July b-day) and he was always one of the oldest. The younger son always had struggles due to being ADHD/Bi-polar. Yet today, the youngest at the age of 24 has been in an IT job earning close to $90,000 annually while his older brother who was coddled by my ex more and went to college and graduated Magna Cum Laude (and also top 15 in his HS class)still lives with his dad and works for minimum wage because he's scared to try to make it on his own. His higher IQ has not given him more drive and confidence. IQ is just one of many measures of what will or won't make a person successful. And I'm not even saying that he won't be successful some day. He aspires to be a screen writer and is trying to write. I hope and pray he will succeed because I love both my sons. I do know, however, that because my younger son had to work harder to get what he wanted (my older had more handed to him by his dad), he has achieved more at a younger age despite the fact that he was never tested and told he was a "super brainiac."
Julezee at 2:44PM on Jul 19th 2007
13. gee, Sarah, maybe you should look at your own spelling if you are going to criticize others...last time I checked, students were formally tested, not "formerly".
mary at 2:46PM on Jul 19th 2007
14. I think what you are saying is true. I am the middle child. I have one older brother and one younger brother while I am the only girl. One of the factors of me getting less attention from my parents is that I am the only girl. I will never amount to what my brothers do. Has I call it the "Middle Child Syndrom" is apparent even in the rules of our house hold. I was never able to do half the things that my brothers did.
Alli at 3:02PM on Jul 19th 2007
15. The Leftists must be the red headed step middle children of their families. That is why they are screwed up like that.
Fernando at 3:00PM on Jul 19th 2007