An only child is a child with no siblings, either biological or adopted. First-born children are temporarily only children and thus have a similar early family environment. The influence of being an only child is controversial, but a considerable amount of theory exists on the subject. G. Stanley Hall, known as the founder of child psychology, called being an only child "a disease in itself." This article is about the domestic group. ... For other uses, see Adoption (disambiguation). ... a family of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 Family is a Western term used to denote a domestic group of people, or a number of domestic groups linked through descent (demonstrated or stipulated) from a common ancestor, marriage or adoption. ... Granville Stanley Hall, circa 1910. ... Developmental psychology is the scientific study of age related changes in behavior across the life span. ...

Adler's theory

Alfred Adler (1870-1937), an Austrian psychiatrist and a contemporary of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, included birth order dynamics in his theory of personality formation. He suggested that birth order can leave an indelible impression on an individual's style of life - that is, the individual's habitual way of dealing with the tasks of friendship, love, and work. Other factors that may be equally influential are parental attitudes, organ inferiority, illness and disability, gender roles, and social circumstances. Adler believed that because only children have no rivals for their parents' affection, they may be pampered and spoiled by their parents, particularly the mother. He suggested that this could cause later interpersonal difficulties if the person is not universally liked and admired.^[1] Alfred Adler (February 7, 1870 – May 28, 1937) was an Austrian medical doctor and psychologist, founder of the school of individual psychology. ... Sigmund Freud (IPA: ), born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939), was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... “Jung” redirects here. ...

Empirical research

A 1987 quantitative review of 141 studies on 16 different personality traits contradicted Adler's theory by finding no evidence of any maladjustment in only children. The primary finding was that only children are not very different from children with siblings. The main exception to this was the finding that only children are higher in achievement motivation.^[2] A second analysis revealed that only children, first-borns, and children with only one sibling score higher on tests of verbal ability than later-borns and children with multiple siblings.^[3] A meta-analysis is a statistical practice of combining the results of a number of studies. ...

The advantage of only children in test scores and achievement motivation may be due to the greater amount of parental attention they receive. According the Resource Dilution Model, parental resources (e.g. time to read to the child) are important in development. Because these resources are finite, children with many siblings receive fewer resources.^[4]

The Big Five

Contemporary personality theorists generally agree that the "big five personality traits" (also known as Five Factor Model) represent a natural taxonomy of human personality variables. Across different languages, the vast majority of adjectives used to describe human personality fit into one of the following five areas, easily remembered by the acronym OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Factor analyses of personality tests also tend to cluster around these five factors. In psychology, the Big Five personality traits are five broad factors or dimensions of personality discovered through empirical research (Goldberg, 1993). ... Openness to experience is a capacity within oneself to apprehend, absorb, and appreciate the world in its multitude of aspects and dimension. ... Conscientiousness is the trait of being painstaking and careful, or the quality of being in accord with the dictates of ones conscience. ... The terms Introvert and Extrovert (originally spelled Extravert by Carl Jung, who invented the terms) are referred to as attitudes and show how a person orients and receives their energy. ... The personality trait of agreeableness reflects individual differences in the extent to which people are concerned with cooperation and social harmony. ... For the band, see Neurotic (band). ...

In his book Born to Rebel, Frank Sulloway provides evidence that birth order influences the development of Big Five personality traits. Sulloway suggests that firstborns and only children are more conscientious, more socially dominant, less agreeable, and less open to new ideas compared to laterborns.^[5] However, his conclusions have been challenged by other researchers,^[6] who argue that birth order effects are weak and inconsistent. In one of the largest studies conducted on the effect of birth order on the Big Five, data from a national sample of 9,664 subjects found no association between birth order and scores on the NEO PI-R personality test.^[7] Fank Sulloway is a Historian of Science and Behavioral Scientist in California. ... The phrase birth order is defined as a persons rank by age among his or her siblings. ... Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Personality Inventory, or NEO PI-R (same, revised) is a psychological personality inventory; a 240-questionnaire measure of the Five Factor Model: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to experience. ...

Notable people who are only children

This list includes people who have only step-siblings but not those who have half-siblings.

• William Randolph Hearst, U.S. newspaper publisher, politician
• Robin Williams, actor and comedian
• Cary Grant, movie star
• Tiger Woods, golf phenomenon
• Laura Bush, current First Lady of the United States
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
• Lauren Bacall, American film and stage actress
• Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor
• Robert De Niro, American actor
• Elton John, English singer, actor
• Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor
• Rudy Giuliani, American politician
• Tipper Gore, former second Lady of the United States
• Alan Greenspan, American economist
• Jean Harlow, American actress
• Lillian Hellman, American playwright
• Beth Howland, American actress
• Samuel L. Jackson, American actor
• Vivien Leigh, English actress
• Aled Jones, Welsh/British singer/presenter
• Neil Kinnock, Welsh/British politician
• Bob Knight, American basketball coach
• J. C. R. Licklider, computer scientist, 'father' of the internet
• Shirley Mason, American painter and psychiatric patient
• Clark Gable, U.S. actor
• Joe Montana, American football player
• Haruki Murakami, Japanese author/novelist
• Jerry Orbach, American actor
• Alice Pearce, American actress/comedienne
• Terry Pratchett, British best-seller author
• Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter
• Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress
• LeAnn Rimes, American singer
• Fred Rogers, American television host, also known as Mr. Rogers
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States
• Arthur Scargill, British trade unionist
• Frank Sinatra , American singer/actor
• Ramond Teller, American magician
• Bobby Vinton, American singer/songwriter/musician
• Betty White, American actress
• Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
• "Weird Al" Yankovic, American singer/musician/parodist
• Alex Turner, English musician (Arctic Monkeys)
• Jim Curren, Federal Air Marshal Service Idiot Savant

For other people named William Randolph Hearst, see William Randolph Hearst (disambiguation) William Randolph Hearst I (April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper magnate. ... For other persons named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation). ... This article is about the British actor. ... Personal Information Birth December 30, 1975 ) Cypress, California Height 6 ft 1 in (1. ... Laura Lane Welch Bush (born November 4, 1946) is the wife of the forty-third and current President of the United States George W. Bush and is thereby the First Lady of the United States. ... First Lady Laura Bush and former first ladies (from left to right) Rosalynn Carter, Sen. ... For the football player, see Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar. ... Betty Joan Perske (born on September 16, 1924), better known as Lauren Bacall, is a Golden Globe– and Tony Award–winning, as well as Academy Award–nominated, American film and stage actress. ... Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE [1] (born May 16, 1953) is an Irish actor and producer best known for portraying James Bond in four films from 1995 to 2002: GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. ... Robert De Niro in 1988 Robert De Niro (born August 17, 1943) is a two-time Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning American film actor, director, and producer. ... Sir Elton Hercules[1] John CBE[2] (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is a five-time Grammy and one-time Academy Award-winning English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist. ... Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (born November 11, 1974[1]) is a three-time Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor well known for his roles in blockbuster movies such as William Shakespeares Romeo + Juliet (1996), Titanic (1997), The Beach (2000), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Gangs... Rudolph William Louis Giuliani III, (born May 28, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, businessman, and Republican politician from the state of New York. ... Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson Gore (born August 19, 1948), known as Tipper Gore, is the wife of former Vice President Al Gore and was the Second Lady of the United States from 1993 until 2001. ... Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926 in New York City) is an American economist and was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. ... Jean Harlow (March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. ... Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was a successful American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes. ... Elizabeth Beth Howland (born May 28, 1941 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American actress, best known as Vera on the TV show Alice. ... “Samuel Jackson” redirects here. ... Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier (November 5, 1913 – July 8, 1967) was a two-time Academy Award winning English actress. ... Aled Jones (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and television/radio personality and broadcaster who first came to fame as a boy soprano. ... Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock, PC (born 28 March 1942) is a British politician. ... Robert Montgomery (Bob or Bobby) Knight (born October 25, 1940, in Massillon, Ohio, U.S.), also known as The General, is the head mens basketball coach at Texas Tech. ... J. C. R. Licklider Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider (March 11, 1915 â€“ June 26, 1990), known simply as J.C.R. or Lick was an American computer scientist, considered one of the most important figures in computer science and general computing history. ... Shirley Mason, known as Sybil Shirley Ardell Mason (January 25, 1923–February 26, 1998), the woman whose life was documented in the book and film both released under the name Sybil. ... William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... Joseph Clifford Joe Montana, Jr. ... Haruki Murakami , born January 12, 1949) is a popular contemporary Japanese writer and translator. ... Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor best known for his starring role as wisecracking Detective Lennie Briscoe in the Law & Order television series and for his musical theater roles. ... Pearce as Gladys Kravitz in Bewitched with George Tobias as her husband Abner, (1964). ... Terence David John Pratchett OBE (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England[1]) is an English fantasy author, best known for his Discworld series. ... Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter from Peru, Indiana. ... Natalie Portman (Hebrew: נטלי פורטמן; born June 9, 1981) is a Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated Israeli-American actress. ... Margaret LeAnn Rimes (born on August 28, 1982 in Jackson, Mississippi) is an American country music singer. ... The Reverend Frederick McFeely Fred Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003) was an American educator, minister, songwriter and television host. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... Arthur Scargill (born January 11, 1938) led the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1981 to 2000. ... “Sinatra” redirects here. ... Teller (born Raymond Joseph Teller) February 14, 1948) is an American magician, best known as the smaller (59/1. ... Bobby Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is an American pop music singer. ... Betty White (born January 17, 1922) is an Emmy Award-winning American film and television actress with a career spanning sixty years, sometimes referred to as The First Lady of Television and Americas Sweetheart. ... Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin (Russian: ) (born March 18, 1980 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) is a Russian figure skater. ... This article is about the musician himself. ... Alexander David Turner[1] (born 6 January 1986)[2] is an English musician and member of Sheffield band, Arctic Monkeys. ... Arctic Monkeys are a Mercury Prize winning, English indie rock band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. ...

External links

• Birth order and intelligence
• No Little Emperors a blog written by, for, and about parents of only children

References

1. ^ Adler, A. (1964). Problems of neurosis. New York: Harper and Row.
2. ^ Polit, D. F. & Falbo, T. (1987) Only children and personality development: A quantitative review. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, 309-325.
3. ^ Polit, D. F. & Falbo, T. (1988). The intellectual achievement of only children. Journal of Biosocial Science, 20, 275-285.
4. ^ Downey, D.B. (2001). Number of siblings and intellectual development: The resource dilution explanation. American Psychologist, 56, 497-504.
5. ^ Sulloway, F.J. (1996). Born to rebel: Birth order, family dynamics and creative lives. New York: Pantheon Books.
6. ^ Harris, J. R. (2006). No two alike: Human nature and human individuality. WW Norton & Company.
7. ^ Jefferson, T., Herbst, J. H., & McCrae, R. R. (1998). Associations between birth order and personality traits: Evidence from self-reports and observer ratings. Journal of Research in Personality, 32, 498-509.