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Synonyms

Family constellation; Sibling constellation

Definition

Birth order refers to the sequence in which children are born into a family. It has been suggested that birth order can subtly influence personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships due to potential differences in parental expectations, sibling interactions, and family dynamics associated with each position.

Introduction

Environmental factors significantly influence the phenotypes of both experimental animals and humans. A key factor in this context is the family environment, which plays a crucial role in shaping character and physiological traits. This concept is integrated within evolutionary psychology, highlighting the variance in strategies toward offspring based on birth order.

Siblings, despite sharing approximately half of their genetic material from the same biological parents, and growing up in a similar family setting, often display strikingly divergent psychological profiles and behaviors. These...

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Correspondence to Radim Kuba.

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© 2024 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Kuba, R., Flegr, J. (2024). Birth Order. In: Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_519-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_519-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-08956-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-08956-5

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