It has been suggested that middle children of three siblings tend to be more honest and cooperative than only children.
A study of nearly 700,000 people conducted by Canada's Brock University and the University of Calgary suggested that middle children of three siblings tend to be more honest and cooperative than only children.
Personality differences between birth order categories and across sibship sizes | PNAS
Middle children grow up to be more honest and cooperative than only children, study suggests
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The researchers, Michael Ashton and Kibum Reeve, looked at personality differences between children who grew up with varying numbers of siblings and only children who grew up without siblings. They created a website to measure subjects' six major dimensions of personality ( the HEXACO model ) - honesty, humility, emotionality, extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness - and collected and analyzed data from 710,797 people.
The study revealed that middle children, those with both older and younger siblings, scored highest in honesty, humility and agreeableness.
The research team also found that scores decreased for middle children, youngest children, eldest children, and only children.
The study also found that the more siblings a person has, the higher their scores on honesty, humility and agreeableness.
The research team also investigated socioeconomic status and cultural influences, but Lee said, 'These variables only made a small difference.'
Regarding the results of this survey, the research team said, 'The more brothers and sisters you have, the more you have to offer compromises that everyone can agree on, which leads to greater cooperation. Also, having more siblings means that lies you tell are more likely to be discovered, which leads to greater honesty.' On the other hand, the research team also reported that 'only children had a higher average level of intellectual curiosity than people with many siblings.'
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