Many factors can shape a person's personality, it could be environment, peers, family, siblings, but you wouldn't think that it can do so too birth order. The last factor will be the topic I will delve into in this essay. Being born first or last will have a huge impact on your personality (Parents magazine 2006). The first to introduce the theory of the impact of birth order on personality was the psychologist Alfred Adler at the beginning of the 20th century. This has sparked a new interest in this research among many (Lesley Ogden 2013). His theory suggests the common personality traits of every first, middle and last born. I would start with the eldest in the family and work my way down. The firstborn is the child that the family "practices" one might say. First time parents have no parenting experience and want to do their best to raise a good child, which makes them more strict. This causes them to put more pressure on firstborns to do better at everything they do. Which can make them become perfectionists and have great results. But they want to be noticed and praised by their parents when they behave well. This, too, however, develops them to become leaders, especially if they have siblings for whom parents want them to set an example (Brooks 1984). Independence, dependability, and respect for authority are other traits this group may have. They are very intelligent and achieve high qualifications at school. They can also be serious and very mature for their age. Due to this nature, this group tends to get along very well with their elders. The pressure of taking on responsibilities (and sometimes even being forced to take them on) at an early age can bring negative factors. For the reason that c...... middle of paper ......ment motivation has nothing to do with birth order, and others say the opposite. Few studies show that birth order does not influence individuals' achievement motivation (Toni Falbo 1981, Healey and Ellis 2007, Reese,averett, and Argys 2008, Srivastava 2011). What careers do each of these groups most commonly pursue? Firstborns, because they are considered very intellectual, tend to pursue highly professional careers. The middle born and young children of the family, with their relaxed, risk-taking personalities, choose artistic careers (Brooks 1984 and USA Today 2002). This once again boils down to the influence parents have on their children, they put a heavy burden on firstborns to get a really good career, but by the time later borns choose their career path they have loosened up and allow them to take more risks. (USA today 2002).