The effect of birth order on rate of volunteering for a potential group or individual psychological experiment was investigated. Subjects were 286 undergraduates (89 firstborns and 197 later borns). Volunteering was not significantly related to ordinal position. Controls for family size and alternative classification schemes for ordinal position did not indicate any birth order—volunteering relationships. The data were discussed in terms of recent studies which also reported null results.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AltusW. D.Birth order and its sequelae. Science, 1966, 151, 44–49.
2.
CapraP. C.DittesJ. E.Birth order as a selective factor among volunteer subjects. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1962, 64, 302.
3.
EdwardsA. L.Edwards Personal Preference Schedule. Princeton, N. J.: Psychological Corp., 1953.
4.
MacDonaldA. P.Birth order and personality. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1971, 36, 171–176.
5.
RoodinP. A.VaughtG. M.Birth order, volunteering, and status of the experimenter: a negative note. Journal of Psychology, 1974, 87, 119–122.
6.
RosenthalR.RosnowR. L.The volunteer subject. New York: Wiley, 1975.
7.
SampsonE. E.The study of ordinal position: antecedents and outcomes. In MaherB. A. (Ed.), Progress in experimental personality research. Vol. 2. New York: Academic Press, 1965. Pp. 175–228.
8.
SchachterS.The psychology of affiliation. Palo Alto: Stanford Univer. Press, 1959.
9.
SchoolerC.Birth order effects: not here, not now!Psychological Bulletin, 1972, 78, 161–175.
10.
SuedfeldP.Birth order of volunteers for sensory deprivation. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1964, 68, 195–196.
11.
WarrenJ. R.Birth order and social behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 1966, 65, 39–49.
