Word: birth
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...found your cover story on birth order fascinating [Oct. 29]. For many years, I have attempted to interpret myriad human actions through the filter of birth order. Although I understand a theory is far from a catchall answer to psychological mysteries, I believe this one explains a large part of our behavior. Thank you for publishing the latest research. Kathryn Bridges Pulliam, MOBILE...
...have three sons, so I read your article on birth order with interest. Example after example that you supplied showed that upbringing and parents' expectations influence children more than birth order does. I have made a conscious effort never to compare my sons, and I have encouraged each to pursue his own dreams. Each boy has very different aspirations. Kate Robinson, LITTLE EGG HARBOR...
...upon one so-called truth (e.g., Leos are generous) does not make the whole concept true. As for using historical figures and celebrities to prove the theory, I'll bet that for every person who fits, there are 10 who don't. Life throws too many variables into the birth-order mix for there to be any hard-and-fast rules. Physical and mental disability, family finances, divorce - even looks and talent - play a part in the development of a child's personality. Birth order may be a factor, but I don't believe it's the most important...
...searched for some mention of psychology's giants who first theorized about the behavioral differences among siblings. You didn't mention, for example, Alfred Adler, a contemporary of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, who wrote extensively that birth order predicts personality. Nor did you mention the modern, highly influential ideas of Virginia Satir, who recognized that firstborn, middle, youngest and only children each have characteristic ways of forming relationships, taking responsibility and responding to authority. Charles Kaplan, MERIDEN, CONN...
...studies of birth order are too simplistic because they fail to account for an important environmental influence: parents. My younger brother and I are mostly the reverse of the stereotypical firstborn and second-born/last-born. I am more independent than my brother and led a more adventurous childhood. I take after our father, who was a college dropout and more creative. My brother takes after our mother, who was mathematically inclined. Birth order is not the determining factor it once was. Gary Ostrick, LOS ANGELES