Middle Children Are More Agreeable and Honest, New Study Suggests

 Summary:
A new study suggests that middle children and those from larger families score higher in traits like honesty, humility, and agreeableness. Using the HEXACO personality model, researchers found small but notable differences based on birth order and family size. However, these findings contradict earlier studies, which showed little to no correlation between birth order and personality, highlighting the need for further research.

A new study suggests middle children and those from larger families are more agreeable, humble, and honest than their younger, older, or only-child counterparts. However, the findings contradict previous research and highlight the ongoing debate over birth order and personality.

Stereotypes vs. Science

Pop psychology stereotypes often portray firstborns as overachievers, middle children as peacemakers, and the youngest as spoiled. Yet, many studies over the years have found inconsistent results about birth order’s impact on personality. Two large-scale studies in 2015, for instance, found little to no correlation between birth order and traits measured by the Big Five personality framework.

A Fresh Perspective

The new study, published in *PNAS*, used a different personality model called HEXACO, which includes honesty/humility alongside traits like agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotionality. Data from over 710,000 individuals revealed that middle children scored the highest on honesty/humility and agreeableness, followed by youngest siblings, oldest siblings, and only children. Additionally, people from larger families tended to score higher on these traits, possibly due to the cooperative dynamics of growing up with more siblings.

Context Matters

Religious families, often larger, explained some of the findings, but family size and birth order remained significant factors. Researchers speculate that the forced cooperation in larger families may foster traits like agreeableness and humility.

Ongoing Debate

Despite the intriguing results, these findings are unlikely to settle the debate. Past research, including studies from 2019 and 2020, found negligible differences in personality and narcissism between children with and without siblings. Future studies will likely further explore these nuances.

This study adds a new dimension to the discussion on birth order, but its conclusions remain one piece of a much larger puzzle.