Study Shows Older Siblings Are Smarter, More Outgoing And Nicer
For generations, siblings have been butting heads about who’s
smarter, the most liked, and overall the best child in the family. It
has been a longstanding argument in households for years, however
science is now finally putting this debate to rest by proving that older
siblings really are smarter, more outgoing, and nicer in general than
the rest of their siblings. So go ahead and call up all of your younger
siblings and break the news to them, (you know you want to.)
Study. A study was done and published in the journal Intelligence, that looked at the IQ scores of over 100,000 people. Researchers were able to conclude that older siblings had higher IQs than their younger siblings, according to Livescience.
Early birds get the brains. The study says IQ was about 2 points higher for first borns than their younger siblings. There are several theories circulating as to why this might be. For one, older siblings help teach their younger siblings things they’ve already learned, so it essentially just helps reinforce what they know, says Livescience.
Grades. Another study was done where researchers examined 90 pairs of siblings and found that the grades, work ethic, and overall academic performance of the older siblings was significantly better. However the younger siblings had higher GPAs, according to NBC News.
Personality. Aside from grades and intelligence, researchers also analyzed the personalities of each of the pairs of siblings. The researchers had the siblings rate themselves based on their personalities. According to NBC News, the researchers found that younger siblings were more sentimental and forgiving, while the older siblings were perfectionists.
Intelligence. Yet another study was done at the University of Leipzig that did similar research as the aforementioned studies. Researchers discovered that older children were smarter, however they theorized that this was in part because of the way they were raised, and not biology.
Succeed. Scientists think that younger children are typically allowed more freedom, and less pressure for them to achieve success, unlike their older siblings, who are under more pressure from their parents to succeed, according to the Telegraph.
Teaching. The researchers in this study had similar theories as prior researchers. They also felt like older siblings were more intelligent due to the fact that they had an opportunity to teach their siblings things, thus relearning it themselves as they take a trip down memory lane.
Knowledge. “Teaching other people has high cognitive demands – the children need to recall their own knowledge, structure it and think of a good way to explain it to younger siblings, which could provide a boost to intelligence for some firstborns,” says Julie Rohrer, co-author of the study, as reported by the Telegraph.
Attention. Other theories are that first children receive more time and attention with their parents before the younger siblings are born. This allows the first borns to develop a stronger and healthier brain due to the extra care. This is known as the Divided-Attention Theory, according to the Atlantic.
Parenting. Some researchers are putting the blame on parents as to why older siblings are smarter, saying it’s the way older siblings get parented differently than their younger ones that has such an impact on the way they learn and how their personality develops.
Theories. The Lazy-Parent Theory says that because of fear of failing to raise their first child properly, parents push their first kids and do everything in their power to get them the best educations. But by the time they get to their second or third kid, they’ve relaxed a little bit more.
Middle children. While older siblings are considered the smart ones, the rest of the siblings have their perks too. Middle children tend to be outgoing, good at mediating, and flexible, cording to Elite Daily. Which is understandable, due to the fact that they are stuck in between two other siblings at all times.
Younger siblings. Younger siblings are the attention seekers, to the surprise of no one. However, this doesn’t always have to necessarily be a bad thing. Demanding attention can get people ahead in other aspects of their lives, like in school or work.
Equal. “While parents might want to treat each child equally, it’s almost impossible,” says Tiffany L. Frank, who led one of the studies performed, according to CBSNews. Kids will grow up differently based on their environmental factors and personalities despite parents’ attempts to raise them all in the same way.
Proof. A lot of U.S. presidents, astronauts, and Nobel Laureates were found to be older siblings, thus further proving the theory that older siblings really are more intelligent. The truth of the matter varies from family to family, but older sibs just seem to have that head start…
Study. A study was done and published in the journal Intelligence, that looked at the IQ scores of over 100,000 people. Researchers were able to conclude that older siblings had higher IQs than their younger siblings, according to Livescience.
Early birds get the brains. The study says IQ was about 2 points higher for first borns than their younger siblings. There are several theories circulating as to why this might be. For one, older siblings help teach their younger siblings things they’ve already learned, so it essentially just helps reinforce what they know, says Livescience.
Grades. Another study was done where researchers examined 90 pairs of siblings and found that the grades, work ethic, and overall academic performance of the older siblings was significantly better. However the younger siblings had higher GPAs, according to NBC News.
Personality. Aside from grades and intelligence, researchers also analyzed the personalities of each of the pairs of siblings. The researchers had the siblings rate themselves based on their personalities. According to NBC News, the researchers found that younger siblings were more sentimental and forgiving, while the older siblings were perfectionists.
Intelligence. Yet another study was done at the University of Leipzig that did similar research as the aforementioned studies. Researchers discovered that older children were smarter, however they theorized that this was in part because of the way they were raised, and not biology.
Succeed. Scientists think that younger children are typically allowed more freedom, and less pressure for them to achieve success, unlike their older siblings, who are under more pressure from their parents to succeed, according to the Telegraph.
Teaching. The researchers in this study had similar theories as prior researchers. They also felt like older siblings were more intelligent due to the fact that they had an opportunity to teach their siblings things, thus relearning it themselves as they take a trip down memory lane.
Knowledge. “Teaching other people has high cognitive demands – the children need to recall their own knowledge, structure it and think of a good way to explain it to younger siblings, which could provide a boost to intelligence for some firstborns,” says Julie Rohrer, co-author of the study, as reported by the Telegraph.
Attention. Other theories are that first children receive more time and attention with their parents before the younger siblings are born. This allows the first borns to develop a stronger and healthier brain due to the extra care. This is known as the Divided-Attention Theory, according to the Atlantic.
Parenting. Some researchers are putting the blame on parents as to why older siblings are smarter, saying it’s the way older siblings get parented differently than their younger ones that has such an impact on the way they learn and how their personality develops.
Theories. The Lazy-Parent Theory says that because of fear of failing to raise their first child properly, parents push their first kids and do everything in their power to get them the best educations. But by the time they get to their second or third kid, they’ve relaxed a little bit more.
Middle children. While older siblings are considered the smart ones, the rest of the siblings have their perks too. Middle children tend to be outgoing, good at mediating, and flexible, cording to Elite Daily. Which is understandable, due to the fact that they are stuck in between two other siblings at all times.
Younger siblings. Younger siblings are the attention seekers, to the surprise of no one. However, this doesn’t always have to necessarily be a bad thing. Demanding attention can get people ahead in other aspects of their lives, like in school or work.
Equal. “While parents might want to treat each child equally, it’s almost impossible,” says Tiffany L. Frank, who led one of the studies performed, according to CBSNews. Kids will grow up differently based on their environmental factors and personalities despite parents’ attempts to raise them all in the same way.
Proof. A lot of U.S. presidents, astronauts, and Nobel Laureates were found to be older siblings, thus further proving the theory that older siblings really are more intelligent. The truth of the matter varies from family to family, but older sibs just seem to have that head start…
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