1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,460 Visita Mikael Books en Facebook para ver más contenido de libros en inglés. 2 00:00:04,620 --> 00:00:09,080 Unit 20, page 334. Read. 3 00:00:10,300 --> 00:00:12,840 Does it matter when you were born? 4 00:00:13,820 --> 00:00:16,120 Let's see if you can answer this question. 5 00:00:17,100 --> 00:00:21,440 There are two men, one named Sam and the other named Jerry. 6 00:00:21,980 --> 00:00:23,160 They're quite similar. 7 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:26,800 Sam is a perfectionist, and so is Jerry. 8 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:32,300 Jerry, always a high achiever, was president of his high school class. 9 00:00:32,940 --> 00:00:33,680 So was Sam. 10 00:00:34,580 --> 00:00:39,100 Neither man went to college, though both did become successful businessmen. 11 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:41,660 Jerry has always been an innovator. 12 00:00:42,380 --> 00:00:46,520 This has made him a leader in most of his enterprises, just like Sam. 13 00:00:47,220 --> 00:00:49,900 Sam always tries to obey rules. 14 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:51,380 Jerry does, too. 15 00:00:52,460 --> 00:00:54,980 Jerry has never liked liberal ideas. 16 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:56,580 Nor has Sam. 17 00:00:57,180 --> 00:00:59,940 The question is why they are so similar. 18 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:02,240 Wait, you say. 19 00:01:02,860 --> 00:01:04,960 I know what the explanation is. 20 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:06,760 They're identical twins. 21 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:08,860 That's why they're so similar. 22 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:11,600 Sorry, but that isn't it. 23 00:01:12,140 --> 00:01:15,340 They're not twins, or even related to each other. 24 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,100 But they are both firstborns. 25 00:01:18,980 --> 00:01:24,020 Sam and Jerry are examples of what researchers call the birth order theory. 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:26,460 According to this theory, 27 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,640 the order in which children are born plays a significant role 28 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:32,440 in the formation of their personalities 29 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,020 and in the way they ultimately turn out. 30 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:38,280 Does this sound like some crazy new idea? 31 00:01:38,820 --> 00:01:39,500 It isn't. 32 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:41,380 It's been around for a while. 33 00:01:42,260 --> 00:01:45,640 The main idea behind the birth order theory is simple. 34 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:50,020 Firstborn children enjoy a special relationship with their parents 35 00:01:50,020 --> 00:01:53,580 simply because they were there before any other children were. 36 00:01:54,020 --> 00:01:56,120 When other children come along, 37 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,260 firstborns understand that these new arrivals 38 00:01:59,260 --> 00:02:01,880 represent a challenge to their special relationship. 39 00:02:02,780 --> 00:02:03,780 For this reason, 40 00:02:04,220 --> 00:02:06,120 firstborns tend to be conservative, 41 00:02:06,860 --> 00:02:07,680 rule-oriented, 42 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:09,560 and opposed to change. 43 00:02:10,060 --> 00:02:11,940 They want to keep things as they are. 44 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,300 Other children in the family have a different challenge. 45 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:18,700 They must somehow adapt to the family dynamic 46 00:02:18,700 --> 00:02:21,460 and find a niche in their parents' affections. 47 00:02:22,140 --> 00:02:25,720 They sense that they have to become different from the oldest child, 48 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:26,620 so they do. 49 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,800 They learn to do whatever helps them establish their own identity. 50 00:02:31,860 --> 00:02:34,420 One of the main supporters of the birth order theory 51 00:02:34,420 --> 00:02:35,560 is Frank Sulloway, 52 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,840 a researcher who did a 26-year study 53 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:41,780 of about 7,000 famous people in history 54 00:02:41,780 --> 00:02:44,480 and then performed a computer analysis. 55 00:02:45,420 --> 00:02:47,220 What he learned from the analysis 56 00:02:47,220 --> 00:02:49,440 led him to develop his theory 57 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,520 that first, middle, and lastborns 58 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:54,680 have very different characteristics. 59 00:02:55,720 --> 00:03:01,280 It is evident that firstborns are usually self-confident, assertive, and conscientious. 60 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,800 They can also be jealous, moralistic, and inflexible. 61 00:03:06,780 --> 00:03:14,040 Winston Churchill, John Wayne, Oprah Winfrey, Saddam Hussein, and Joseph Stalin were all firstborns. 62 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:21,700 Based on this idea, we might expect powerful political figures such as U.S. presidents to be firstborns. 63 00:03:22,180 --> 00:03:24,060 They often are, says Soloway. 64 00:03:24,060 --> 00:03:33,960 Soloway observes that lastborns are usually more social, agreeable, and open to new and even revolutionary ideas. 65 00:03:34,780 --> 00:03:41,740 This is because, sensing the power of the already established relationship between the oldest sibling and the parents, 66 00:03:41,740 --> 00:03:45,740 they have to turn outward to establish their place in the world. 67 00:03:46,660 --> 00:03:51,940 Famous lastborns include Joan of Arc, Thomas Jefferson, and Leon Trotsky. 68 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:53,740 What about families involved? 69 00:03:54,060 --> 00:04:04,960 If there are three children in a family, the middle child is usually more flexible than the other two and often has a talent for compromise. 70 00:04:05,700 --> 00:04:11,980 Famous middle children include Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jennifer Lopez. 71 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:19,540 A family in which there is only one child is the least predictable configuration, Soloway says. 72 00:04:19,940 --> 00:04:23,620 An only child isn't as inflexible as a firstborn. 73 00:04:24,060 --> 00:04:27,340 The fact that they are the sole child in the family, however, 74 00:04:27,940 --> 00:04:32,100 causes only children to identify with their parents as firstborns do. 75 00:04:33,220 --> 00:04:36,920 Perhaps you're thinking this is all just too much of a generalization. 76 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,960 That there are exceptions to the birth order theory is clear. 77 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:46,060 A child's temperament has a great deal to do with how he or she turns out. 78 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:51,860 Shy children, for example, may not become leaders, even if they are firstborns. 79 00:04:52,740 --> 00:04:53,920 Soloway notes that there have been... 80 00:04:54,060 --> 00:04:59,560 famous firstborns who became revolutionaries, as well as later-borns who became conservatives. 81 00:05:00,380 --> 00:05:05,760 Still, the theory of birth order is compelling, even if its accuracy is controversial. 82 00:05:06,780 --> 00:05:11,000 If we assume that there is some validity to the birth order theory, 83 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,500 how can parents achieve the best possible relationships with their children? 84 00:05:16,380 --> 00:05:21,780 What they should do, Soloway says, is give each child unique time and attention. 85 00:05:22,180 --> 00:05:23,780 Whether or not they can significantly... 86 00:05:24,420 --> 00:05:27,540 change the influences of birth order is an open question, 87 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,600 but they will maximize the quality of those relationships.