The Effects Of Birth Order On Personality And Achievements Research Proposal Sample

Introduction

Birth order can simply be explained as the ranking of brothers and sisters by age in a family. Birth order is mostly thought to have an intense and long-lasting effect on individual personality and behavior. The belief that birth order influences both the ultimate personal achievements and personality has sparked a significant interest in the need to research and better understand the birth order phenomenon (Pirritano, 81). However, studies in the field of Birth order has been carried out for several past years. For example, Ernst and Angst (1983) identified approximately 1,200 monographs, books and article analyzing the Birth order phenomenon over a decade ago. The information retrieved by the two authors was written in German, French and English scholarly literature. It clearly shows that research into the Birth order phenomenon has been a subject of study a number of years.
In the general scientific and common literature, birth order is linked to a genuine astounding range of human behaviors. Among the most familiar behaviors related to this phenomenon include intelligence, education, personality, traits, and career achievement. Birth order has also been associated with diverse attributes such as left-handedness, eccentricity, sports preference, honesty, marital bliss, choice of college major
It is a proposal for research aimed at analyzing the effects of birth order on personality and achievements. In order to ascertain this, the study specifically focuses on identifying theories of birth order. The study also will aim at establishing if personality and achievements are entirely influenced by birth order and the extent to which birth order influences personality and achievements.

Background of the Study

The psychiatrist from Austria, Alfred Adler and his contemporaries Jung Carl and Freud Sigmund were among the notable first individuals to propose the Birth Order Theory. Their theories focus on birth order and its influence on personality. According to Adler, birth order can affect an individual’s lifestyle. The effect on a person’s lifestyle in result affects one’s habitual way of dealing with different tasks such as work, love and friendship. The influence on behavior that is an outcome of birth order may be caused by parenting. For example, youngest and only children tend to be spoiled and pampered by their parents, which in most cases affects their later personality. Other birth order factors that can influence individual behavior include the spacing in years between the children, the changing social and economic status of their parents over time, and the total number of children (Ashton, 162).

Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study is to analyze the effects of birth order on personality and achievements. In order to address the main issue of the study, the researcher came up with three specific objectives for this study. Below are highlighted the specific objectives of this research.

Statement of the Problem

Most researchers who have studied the influence of birth order on personality and achievement totally agree that birth order has a huge significance for the two aspects. However, the researchers have not been able to explain the extent to which birth order influences personality and achievement. Most of the researches also do consider other factors affecting personality and how the factors are related to birth order.
Lack of proper documentation of birth order contemporary theories addressing personality is also an issue of concern in this area of study. Despite the lack of well-documented theories in the field of birth order, Alfred Adler gives the most significant contribution to psychology in this field. His studies on the similarities between birth order and personality development lay a foundation for further studies in the area of birth order. In his research, Adler hypothesizes that the child’s position in the family creates specific problems that are handled by families in the same way. As a result of this, such birth order experiences may reveal a characteristic personality pattern for each ordinal birth position. In Adler’s theory, he suggests that as the family group develops, different demands arise and need fulfillment is assigned to each child in order of birth. The method of copying is never the same for any two children as the situation changes (Engler, 73).

Research Questions

For this study, the researcher developed three research questions that acted as a guideline in the research. Highlighted below are the three research questions.

What other factors influence personality and achievements?

Literature Review
Birth order is an issue of great significance because it touches on every individual. The reason for this is because every individual has a birth order, whether first born, second born, third born, and last born, only child or twins. By definition in order to understand birth order in clarity, it is a kid’s ordinal position among other siblings in the family. Birth order can also be explained as the chronological order of children births in a family. As it has been explained in the preceding section of this research proposal, birth order influences personality and individual achievements to a great extent. Since this research will be focusing on birth order and its effects on personality and achievements, it is important to define personality and achievements.
According to Leman (125), personality can be defined as the combination of different consistent behaviors, characteristics and qualities that make up an individual’s temperament and character. Though the personality may also be used to refer to a famous individual that is in the public scene, the use of personality in this research will refer to the character and the set of consistent behavior among individuals. The paper also focuses on individual achievement in relation to birth order. In relation to achievements, this research will analyze the individual’s motivation, career, and social status.

Contemporary Birth Order Theories

Judging by the enormous numbers of articles and books that have been written and distributed in recent periods on the topic under analysis in this research proposal, the belief in the special value and attributes of the birth order theory are evident. Despite the widespread interest in the subject, most researchers have avoided systematic infrequent discussion regarding the reason birth order provides special qualities to personality. It is also important to note that the birth order theories have never been collected and discussed.

Theories of personality

As explained above, it is agreeable that personality is significantly influenced by birth order. However, birth order does not entirely influence an individual’s personality. It is, therefore, important to analyze the relationship between the other factors that affect an individual’s personality and birth order. According to the theories of personality, very few of the theories suggest noninvolvement of birth order (Toman, 63). For example, the biological approach to personality suggests that genetics is the main factors that influence personality. However, other approaches to understanding personality such as psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, and trait approaches heavily borrow from the birth order theory. For example, the humanistic approach to personality emphasizes the significance of free will and individual experience in character development. Individual experience is greatly influenced by birth order. The behavioral theory explains that an individual’s personality is influenced by their interaction with the environment. Therefore, birth order being an aspect of the environment; it exerts some influence on the individual. Other personality theories also show that birth order has an influence on personality.

Methodology

Research methodology includes the techniques, tools, and methods employed to obtain data and information relevant to the topic of the study. Research methodology outlines the sources of data for the study, the target population, and the methods used to collect data. Research methodology is, therefore, a systematic technique used by the researcher to collect, analyze, and record research findings. The methodology should be designed in a way that it best suits the study and facilitates the achievement of the study.
For this study, data will be collected using questionnaires. Questions will be used in this study because they provide primary data that is necessary for this research. Since this research is mainly inclined to describe the relationship between variables, it can be established that it is descriptive. Primary data would be the best approach to describing the birth order phenomenon and explaining concepts in the area of study.
 Conclusively, birth order has also been associated with diverse attributes such as left-handedness, eccentricity, sports preference, honesty, marital bliss, choice of college major. In his research, Adler hypothesizes that the child’s position in the family creates specific problems that are handled by families in the same way. As a result of this, such birth order experiences may reveal a characteristic personality pattern for each ordinal birth position.

Works Cited

Ashton, Michael C. Individual Differences and Personality. S.l.: Elsevier Academic, 2013. Print.
Engler, Barbara. Personality Theories: An Introduction. 9th ed. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
Leman, Kevin. The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are. Old Tappan, N.J.: F.H. Revell, 1985. Print.
Pirritano, Matthew Joseph. Effects of Birth Order and Older Brothers on Cognitive Abilities and Personality Traits. 2003. Print.
Toman, Walter. Family Constellation Its Effects on Personality and Social Behavior. 4th ed. New York: Springer Pub., 1993. Print.