Birth Order and Its Influences
Adler, best known for his theories regarding striving for superiority, was also concerned with the effects of birth order on personality.
Adler had a successful older brother, but Adler was weak as a child and thus was most likely affected with the desire to assert himself and prove his worth.
Adler's theory stressed the social aspect of personality development and therefore proposed the possibility of birth order and its significance in the interpersonal relationships of family life.
He felt that each position in the order, whether first or last, had distinct characteristics.
For example, he hypothesized that firstborns are problem children and that only children are likely to be spoiled due to parental overindulgence.