title: Beliefs about birth rank and their reflection in reality.
abstract: Beliefs about birth rank reflect what the society regards as social reality, and they may also influence that reality. Three studies found that people believe those with different birth ranks differ in their personalities, that higher birth ranks are likely to attain higher occupational prestige, and that the personality characteristics attributed to the various birth ranks favor the actual attainment of higher occupational prestige. In one example of such beliefs, firstborns were rated as most intelligent but least creative whereas the opposite was true of last-borns. The 4th study found that those with higher birth ranks in fact attain more prestigious occupations and actually do complete more years of schooling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stanford University, California 94305-2130, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Zajonc
authors.forename: Grazyna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wieczorkowska
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cichomski
mesh_terms: D001722:Birth Order; D002648:Child; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires