Birth Order Study Jamie Monzo, Saleha Chaudhry, Ann Kimble, Maria Lim, and Sara Torelli

Introduction Research has shown that specific characteristics tend to be associated with different birth orders (Hoffman, 1998) Birth order characteristics are oversimplified generalizations applied to a specific group of people (Sherman, 1996)

Introduction Continued... Stereotypes have the ability to affect the stereotyped groups performance with subtle priming – This can result in stereotype threat

Introduction Continued... Independent Variables 1. Birth Order (natural groups) –First-born –Latter-born 2.Priming –Primed –Not Primed Dependent Variable –Total score on questionnaire

Introduction Continued.... Hypothesis: –We hypothesized that there would be no main effect for birth order or priming –We hypothesized that there would be a significant interaction between birth order and priming First-born women who were primed with their birth order position would score significantly higher than unprimed groups and latter-born groups.

Introduction Continued... Rationale: Our hypothesis was based upon stereotype threat research which suggests that a prime is necessary in order to invoke the anxiety that accompanies the stereotype (Steele, 1998)

Method Participants –125 Mount Holyoke Students between the ages of –We used a 2 (birth order: first-born or latter- born) x 2 (priming: priming or no priming) independent groups design –All participants were exposed to one of four conditions

Materials Consent Form Priming Statement Questionnaire with job scenario Birth Order Survey Debriefing Statement

Operational Definitions First-Born /Only Child is defined as the oldest child in the family or the only child in the family Latter-Born is defined as a child who is not the first born First-Born Characteristics are words that are associated with first borns/only children

Procedure Half the participants were given a priming statement Participants were asked to read the scenario and complete the questionnaire Upon completion of the experiment, the participant was asked to fill out a birth order survey

Results DV: Total score on questionnaire Hypothesis: first-born women who were primed with their birth order position would score significantly higher than unprimed groups and latter-born groups We used a 2 (birth order: first-borns or latter-borns) X 2 (prime: priming or no priming) independent groups ANOVA

Results Continued....

Results Continued...

Discussion Continued.... Our results were inconsistent with past research External validity- sample Reliance on self-assessment as opposed to actual measure of performance Issue with job application scenario Within-family context