Prevail: To be superior in strength, dominance, influence, or frequency; to have or gain the advantage over others; to have the upper hand; to outnumber others.
Significantly though, this new research confirms the possible existence of what could be called eldest child syndrome in some families. It seems that there could be a tendency for parents to invest more time and energy in their eldest child, in part because parents tend to see more of themselves in their first child and therefore project their own aspirations on to them. Evidence shows this can have beneficial effects on intelligence levels but the downside of this extra attention is that they may not develop the happy-go-lucky attitude that their younger siblings - who may be raised in a more relaxed way - often enjoy.
Significantly though, this new research confirms the possible existence of what could be called eldest child syndrome in some families. It seems that there could be a tendency for parents to invest more time and energy in their eldest child, in part because parents tend to see more of themselves in their first child and therefore project their own aspirations on to them. Evidence shows this can have beneficial effects on intelligence levels but the downside of this extra attention is that they may not develop the happy-go-lucky attitude that their younger siblings - who may be raised in a more relaxed way - often enjoy.
Birth order refers to the order a child is born in their family; first-born and second-born are examples. Birth order is often believed to have a profound and lasting effect on psychological development. This assertion has been repeatedly challenged. Recent research has consistently found that earlier born children score slightly higher on average on measures of intelligence, but has found zero, or almost zero, robust effect of birth order on personality. Nevertheless, the notion that birth-order significantly influences personality continues to have a strong presence in pop psychology and popular culture.
Because I'm always looking for reasons to explain my behavior here's a little research I did on whether or not being the first born child is a marker for particular pathologies . . . er, behavior patterns . . . in said child. Once again, if I concentrate on the more measured, less hysterical data I find that it's hard to prove that birth order makes much of a difference at all. My wife - the youngest girl in a patriarchal family - was indisputably the most successful of all the children. The prevailing theories wouldn't have predicted this. The prevailing theories don't predict a lot of things. They prevail because they tell people what they want to hear, not what is.
It's very convenient for me to take complex situations and smash them into small, square boxes. One size fits all. There - that explains it.
Because I'm always looking for reasons to explain my behavior here's a little research I did on whether or not being the first born child is a marker for particular pathologies . . . er, behavior patterns . . . in said child. Once again, if I concentrate on the more measured, less hysterical data I find that it's hard to prove that birth order makes much of a difference at all. My wife - the youngest girl in a patriarchal family - was indisputably the most successful of all the children. The prevailing theories wouldn't have predicted this. The prevailing theories don't predict a lot of things. They prevail because they tell people what they want to hear, not what is.
It's very convenient for me to take complex situations and smash them into small, square boxes. One size fits all. There - that explains it.
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