Birth order
55
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10
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10
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Search complete. 55 mentions across 10 episodes found for "Birth order".
Oct 7, 2026
Sarah WilsonHOST
I love doing that.
Sarah WilsonHOST
So, okay, so that's why I'm asking on this episode, what did we inherit, right? So we have heritage, genetics, health, wellness, siblings, birth order, and stuff that just runs in the family, right? But I think in the way that I've wrapped my head around this, it's much more complicated than that.
Sarah WilsonHOST
but also much more simple than all of these things that get messy and in the way, right? So what does family heritage actually include? We usually think of heritage as where our family came from, traditions, recipes, all the things that I just mentioned, cultures, stories, things like that.
Sarah WilsonHOST
But families also pass along biology, behaviors, and environments, internal environments.
Gwen ReverbyHOST
Mm-hmm.
Greg DickensHOST
And then they just asked the very simple question of, how many of these diseases have a birth order, a-
Gwen ReverbyHOST
Oh, fascinating
Greg DickensHOST
... a birth order effect?
Gwen ReverbyHOST
[gasps] Okay.
Greg DickensHOST
And when you've got one point m- uh, sorry, 5.1 million families-
Greg DickensHOST
Of those 418 diseases, uh, and I'm not gonna ask you to guess which ones they were and weren't, 'cause there's 418 of them.
Greg DickensHOST
Guess how many had a-
Belle DeckerGUEST
It was pretty chaotic.
Belle DeckerGUEST
Where are you in the birth order? I'm three out of four.
Belle DeckerGUEST
So it goes girl, boy, girl, boy.
Belle DeckerGUEST
And we're all two years apart.
41 MINS LATER
Lily MasliaHOST
He's, like, an emotional guy, I guess.
Lily MasliaHOST
Like, he cries, whatever.
Lily MasliaHOST
okay rank birth order and sibling lineup she she gets to freak oh okay
Belle DeckerGUEST
uh freakish i'm sorry number one um uh then i would say wait so the oldest is the freak oh my god sorry keep going and then i would say um maybe two two because it's like i like i think your parents are still kind of putting a lot of pressure on you um and then i'm gonna say four because um you're the baby so you don't have enough pressure put on you and you get away with too much which makes you afraid then i'm gonna say three i think i'm kind of
Luke CookGUEST
Mm-hmm.
CarrieHOST
So we're gonna talk about, I'm very excited, we're gonna talk about your birth order.
CarrieHOST
I know that you're the youngest of five.
CarrieHOST
I'm a youngest.
Rebecca CooleyHOST
And so I don't know.
Rebecca CooleyHOST
A birth order is always intriguing to me.
Rebecca CooleyHOST
I
AshleyGUEST
believe in it.
Share-SapolskyHOST
Hi there, welcome back to Father Offspring Interviews.
Share-SapolskyHOST
Starting off today, Ryan from Portland asks, is there any neuroscience behind the popular theory that birth order influences personality?
Robert SapolskyHOST
Everybody knows the answer, which is birth order has a huge influence, massively deterministic influence on what sort of person someone turns out to be in an underlying neurobiology.
Robert SapolskyHOST
Everybody knows.
Robert SapolskyHOST
Firstborn, more serious, conscientious, firstborn.
Robert SapolskyHOST
ladder-born, they're rebellious, they're more fun, they're more whatever.
Robert SapolskyHOST
And then of course, with larger families, there's the ones in the middle who kind of get lost in the shuffle, especially if they are the same sex as any of the older or younger siblings.
Robert SapolskyHOST
Okay, what's actually known? First thing that people have researched is what's the relationship between birth order and IQ? Obligatory IQ tells you about somebody's performance on an IQ test.
WallyHOST
This is called networking, Rock, and that's why you're on that side of the table and you've never been in front of a screen.
WallyHOST
uplifting way fm this is the wally show and i'm fascinated by the whole birth order stuff it's kind of like what order you were born in your family they say predisposes you to behaviors of different kinds and so i'm curious marks how many kids are in your family
MarksPANELIST
oh man i'm the oldest of five kids
WallyHOST
oh i was five too you're the oldest i was the middle betty rocks parents quit uh
WallyHOST
Yeah.
WallyHOST
So we're going to stop because this is a lot.
Betty RockHOST
Well, it turns out that your birth order doesn't always have to do with your behavior.
Betty RockHOST
It can also do with your health as well.
Sam DaltonHOST
Mm-hmm.
Sam DaltonHOST
And so something that I've been really wrestling with is the birth order concept.
Amanda WhiteHOST
Yeah.
Amanda WhiteHOST
Right? I wanted to ask you about that.
Sam DaltonHOST
You're not
Amanda WhiteHOST
10 anymore.
Amanda WhiteHOST
Well, also, I think, you know, going off of this, I think we yes, birth order can absolutely make a difference.
Amanda WhiteHOST
And especially if you like look at developmentally, I think it's very clear there.
Tammy BussHOST
Like, how does that play out?
Annie GleasonGUEST
Yeah, and a lot of people like to ask this question in reference to birth order.
Annie GleasonGUEST
You know, birth order, people love to talk about it.
Annie GleasonGUEST
Relatively speaking, the reason we found it is kind of inconclusive, kind of helpful.
Annie GleasonGUEST
It's one of those take what's helpful, leave what isn't.
Annie GleasonGUEST
But all this to say is that everybody's role means something whether it's you know because of birth order right somebody's the older sibling or someone's the younger sibling um everybody takes on a role unconsciously right am i the negotiator am i the peacekeeper am i the people pleaser uh and when these expectations are set and we have these narratives and self-perceived things that need to be done um these things fall into place sort of organically, right? There's no kid that enters a family and says, I'm the third in line.
Annie GleasonGUEST
And so therefore I take on this role and these are my behaviors.
Annie GleasonGUEST
It doesn't happen like that.
Gabrielle McCulloughHOST
There's like a six-year gap between me and my sister.
Gabrielle McCulloughHOST
So some people say the birth order kind of resets.
AndrewGUEST
No, it actually does.
AndrewGUEST
That also checks