esents the percentages found through the study. A Comparison of Birth-Order Position and Number of Children per Family between the DSTY Sample and US Census DataDSTYCensusBirth OrderOnly16.1%19.6%Oldest48.8%31.9%Middle12.6%16.5%Youngest22.6%31.9%Number of Children116.1%19.6%249.9%40.8%324.3%24.5%47.2%9.5%51.7%3.4%*50.8%2.2%Source: Parker (1998), p.33.The table clearly points out a tendency among first-born children to be more academically gifted. However, the table also shows a higher percentage of gifted only children in the general population than in the DSTY sample. In both samples, it is evident a smaller family size is more apt to produce more academically gifted children. The high percentage in the two-child family can be accounted through the language development survey. The second-born child has a learning environment somewhat similar to the first-born, but also has the advantage of learning from an older sibling, (Oshima-Takane, Goodz, & Derevensky, 1996, p.621). In addition to these findings, the survey also found an absence of birth order affects on personality, (Parker, 1998, p.36). Also, the survey pointed out family size plays a greater role than birth order and that birth order may actually indirectly measure family size. The fewer children in a family, the higher percentage of first-born children that may explain why first-borns and children from relatively small families tend to be more academically gifted. * For the remainder of the paper, I will incorporate more information from additional sources not yet cited into the paper. Also, I will discuss whether or not personality plays a role in learning, and if so, whether or not it is affected by birth order. I will use more experiments as evidence of the findings. ReferencesBaydar, N., Hyle, P., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1997). A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of the Birth of a Sibling During Preschool and Early Grade School Years. Journal of Marriage and the...
