Current Topics Report

As the eldest of four siblings, I have always been interested in the effects of birth order. My younger sister and brothers are nineteen, thirteen, and twelve years old, respectively. Despite our shared genetics and virtually identical upbringings, Pamela, Joseph, Samuel, and I all have unique, and often contrasting, interests, personalities, and mental processes. Life at our house was chaotic; my family was late to almost everything, and I rarely ever had time alone, much less peace and quiet. At the same time, though, I feel like my childhood was also overflowing with laughter, love, and joy. And even as a twenty-two year old, my greatest source of happiness is my large family.

While growing up, I was fortunate enough to have two very close guy friends who also came from four children households. Since elementary school, we have been sharing our frustrations, as well as all of our hilarious anecdotes ,with each other, as very few of our peers understood what it was like to grow up with three siblings. When I came to UT, I met another friend, also male, who empathized with me. In the past three years, the four of us have had many discussions concerning the dynamics of our families.

Not surprisingly, we have discovered striking similarities between each of our siblings. The oldest is usually the most conservative and least interesting of the bunch, well-liked for adhering to social norms. The second is the over achiever and parent pleaser, having waited their entire lives to be in the spotlight. The third child is the brooding rebel who prefers solitude, often the “odd man out” of the four. The fourth is the stereotypical baby of the family, a sweet but self-indulging free spirit, craving, and usually earning, parental attention.

I know there have been a myriad of birth order studies done in the past. In October 2007, Time published an article, “The Power of Birth Order,” which cites various findings from around the world that support the important effect of birth order on humans’ perceptions and life circumstances. Jeffrey Kluger, its author, asserts that “firstborns score especially well on the dimension of temperament known as conscientiousness- a sense of general responsibility and follow-through.” They are “generally smarter” and take less risks than their younger siblings. Meanwhile, “later-borns score higher on what’s known as agreeableness, or the simple ability to get along in the world.” They are “looser cannons, less educated and less strapping” but likelier to live more exciting lives. In fact, a psychology professor at Guilford College “revealed the overrepresentation of firstborns in Congress” found that the majority of picketers arrested at labor demonstrations “were later- or last-borns.”

In my Current Topics Report, I would like to explore the effects of birth order on American consumers. I want to see how the perceptions of the oldest, middle, and youngest children have influenced market segmentation, if at all. Obviously, birth order affects the way we think and what we do. So does it then, also, affect how we buy? Do I perceive products differently than my younger sister? Do companies market differently to youngest children than firstborns? What about only children? Also, does birth order affect an individual’s strategic experiential modules? Will we ever be able to unfold the mysteries known as middle children? After all, they are the hardest group to define because of their constantly changing role in the family.

These are all questions I hope to answer as part of the research process for my report. I am aware that birth order is a very subjective topic. While many studies have shown strong evidence of common tendencies in oldest, middle, and youngest children, there are many other factors influencing our lives that simply cannot be ignored.

Culture, race, income class, and religion, among others, play a huge role in our lives. Family background is also important. Single-parent households are sure to be different than two-parent households; as we know, divorce can have a tremendous impact on a child of any age. Family dysfunction, like domestic or substance abuse, causes disruptions of typical birth-order generalizations. Even the number of siblings we grew up with probably has a huge effect on the way we think and buy.

Even though my own experiences are the basis of my curiosity in this particular subject, I will try my best to remain objective. I was raised in a Protestant, Korean American household in College Station, Texas, by two Texas Exes who were married in 1985. I am aware that these factors make my family unique and that every other American family has their own unique qualities as well.

By the end of the semester, I hope to have a more “scientific” understanding of me and my siblings. As a marketing major, I am also interested in how our differences have crafted us into consumers with varying thought processes and behaviors.