scientific culture

 Why your older sibling is smarter than you

 In a new study from the univeristy of Leipzing, researchers examined how neurotic, extraverted, conscientious, open and agreeable 20,000 people were from the UK, US and Germany - and concluded that personality is not affected by whether you were born first, last or in between.
But science is increasingly showing that your birth order can affect who you are in different ways - older siblings are smarter on average, while the youngest are healthier and more likely to be gay.

Older and smarter

In the Leipzig study a small difference in intelligence was found - firstborns tended to be slightly more intelligent than their younger siblings, who are in turn slightly more intelligent than their younger siblings.
The researchers also discovered there were differences in how intelligent people thought they were, with first-born children being more likely to agree with statements such as "I am quick to understand things" than their younger siblings.
These people were also more likely to say they found it easier to understand abstract ideas and that they had a richer vocabulary than younger siblings.
Although it's not clear why this might be the case, previous research suggests this might be due the eldest child's social status in the family rather than a biological change that happens in the womb.
It is thought that a higher social rank could be responsible for the small increase seen in intelligence .