Revisiting the Birth Order-Creativity Connection: The Role of Sibling Constellation

Abstract

This study examined the possibility that sibling demographic differences (i.e., age and sex differences between the focal individual and his or her siblings) and sibsize (i.e., number of children in the focal individual's family) moderate the relation between an individual's birth order and his or her creativity. A total of 359 undergraduates described their family background and then were assigned to small teams to work on 8 problem-solving tasks. Each individual's contributions to the tasks were evaluated for creativity by his or her teammates. Results showed that firstborns with large sibling groups were more creative when they had relatively more siblings close in age or of the opposite sex. We discuss the implications of the results for future research on birth order and creativity.