Today with David McCullagh
Birth order: what does it mean and does it really shape who we are?
30 Apr 2026
Chapter 1: How does birth order influence personality and behavior?
Now, how important is our birth order? Can it shape your personality? Can it shape your career path? Can it even shape your relationships? Are firstborns really more bossy and responsible and youngest children more rebellious? Or is that just something we tell ourselves? Here to tell us all is Dr Emma Farrell from the Department of Psychology at Maynooth University.
Chapter 2: What characteristics are commonly associated with firstborns?
Morning, Emma.
Morning, David.
Is there anything in this?
Well, these stories are certainly very compelling, I'm sure. We were just chatting about birth order and our birth order. It's something that many families will talk about. And it's an idea that goes back a long way. So the first person to propose what's now known as birth order theory was an Austrian psychologist called Alfred Adler.
And over 100 years ago, he asked that question that many of us ask, which is, How is it that children who are born into the same households, the same parents, same environment can be so different from each other? And his theory was that it's the birth order and the kind of corresponding amount of time and attention that parents can offer that shape the child's personality.
And since then, researchers have been adding all sorts of characteristics to various birth order positions to try and support or develop this theory. So, for example, as you mentioned, firstborns are often considered quite bossy, but they're also seen to be responsible, reliable, quite cautious people. But yeah, I think bossy and controlling are words that are often bandied around.
Absolutely, and deservedly so as well. But I suppose the other point is if you have the reputation for being the one who will organise everything, you get left doing all the organising.
Absolutely. So many of these roles are just storylines that we often step into. And so while it is true that eldest siblings do tend to be asked to look after younger siblings a little bit more, which is a very responsible position, really there isn't much to support this idea.
OK, the middle child then.
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