Dating back to the late 1800s, birth order has been studied extensively. An incredible number of psychologists and doctors have studied how birth order, or a person's rank by age among his or her siblings, can influence a child's personality. Researchers have difficulty reaching conclusions due to the fact that it is difficult to establish a control group that has controlled variables. Experts say that “different social status, family location and family size can create confusion and affect the quality of findings” (Hartshone par. 2). The first study conducted was by Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychiatrist born in 1870 -1937. Adler argued that “birth order can leave an indelible imprint on an individual's lifestyle” (Voo Par. 2). A child's “lifestyle” is the usual way of approaching the tasks of love, friendship and work. Alfred Adler's study concluded that birth order can influence all aspects of child development. According to Adler, “Firstborns are forcibly dethroned from the throne when the second son arrives, which could create a lasting dispute between them. She said, “Younger children can be pampered and spoiled” (Haines Par. 3). This could leave an effect on their later personalities. He also wrote about how other things should be considered about birth order results, such as the number of years between the birth of the oldest child, the middle child, and the youngest child. Experts have found that each child, depending on the birth order, has certain tendencies. Nature vs. Education has a lot to do with how a child's personality will be formed. "Certainly, many individual traits and tendencies among brothers and sisters are the product of a unique arrangement of genes (Renkl Par. 2)."....... middle of paper...... zero." (Education Par 6) However, they stated that the only study that showed clear effects on birth order were those judged by their parents or siblings. The researchers were not the ones to discover the effects study had no effect on birth order. This is just one example of how birth order is a very controversial and ongoing study. Birth order is indeed studied very extensively. Birth order can be the result of a unique arrangement of genes, or it can be the how you were raised and the environment you were raised in. Birth order may not affect your personality at all! Psychologists and doctors will continue to work on new experiments and studies. New information is released all the time. There is no doubt that in the future we will have a much better understanding of birth order.