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Birth Order and Rebelliousness: Reconstructing the Research in Born To Rebel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Frederic Townsend
Frederic Townsend*
Affiliation:
Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA
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Abstract

In Born to Rebel (1996), Frank Sulloway proposed that laterborns are more rebellious than firstborns. In the context of Sulloway's theory, this article examines the difficulties of defining and measuring rebelliousness. Rebellious acts (such as attempting to overthrow a government) are one measure of rebelliousness. Using this measure, an analysis of six of Sulloway's samples undermines the theory. As a second measure of rebelliousness, Sulloway relies on the personality traits of his subjects. Many of the rebellious traits he selected, however, appear unrelated to rebellious behavior. A reexamination of 28 scientific revolutions Sulloway analyzed reveals other weaknesses. Finally, Born to Rebel contains a meta-analysis of the birth order literature. The application of two methodologies to the reconstructed data is discussed. Neither methodology appears to replicate the results in Born to Rebel. The conclusion is that Sulloway's claims for birth order effects should be rejected.

Type
Roundtable Article
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , September 2000 , pp. 135 - 156
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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