When it comes to college living situations, it turns out roommates may be all in the family.
Frank Sulloway is a visiting professor in behavioral sciences at the University of California-Berkley. He has done extensive research on how a person's birth order affects their personality.
Each child in the family occupies a nich??. Sulloway said someone who may be born ahead of someone else does not cause that person to have specific personality traits, but it is a proxy for characteristics that are different between siblings.
Sulloway said older siblings are typically more dominant, reliable and assertive whereas younger siblings tend to be more agreeable, unconventional and carefree.
UW-Madison junior Jennifer Jacyno said there are definite personality traits between she and her younger sister.
'As the older sister, sometimes I feel like I have a duty to be a second mom. Not to punish her or anything, just to check up on the details of her life and make sure she isn't getting into any trouble,' she said.
Sulloway said that this behavior is very typical of older siblings. First-born children often act as surrogate parents to their younger siblings and are generally more conscientious.
Sulloway added that this behavior could also translate into contexts similar to those of family situations, such as students living together at college.
Jacyno said she lives with five other girls, four of whom are the oldest in their families. She said everyone in their house is very responsible, although sometimes she does not always play the part of the responsible older sister to her roommates.
'Because I have a lot of responsibility at home and I want to set an example for my sister, how I am at school and at home are very different,' she said.
Sulloway said often birth order effects do not generalize outside the family; the niches are extremely context sensitive.
However, Natalie Herb, a UW-Madison junior, feels her role as the oldest sibling at home is reflected at school.
'You can tell who grew up with more responsibilities as the oldest child,' she said, 'like the ones who know how to do their laundry, start the dishwasher, change a light bulb ?? the little things around the house are where it is most obvious to see differences between the oldest and youngest siblings.'
UW-Madison junior Melissa Fetter said it is often fairly obvious that she is the youngest of three children.
'I don't take care of the bills or anything. I'm kind of irresponsible. People have to tell me what to pay,' she said. 'Other roommates who are the oldest take care of a lot of stuff.'
However, roommates who are the oldest will not necessarily enforce dominance over the younger siblings and younger siblings will not always recklessly trash the apartment. Herb said that living with people from different backgrounds has been a learning experience.
'I do not think birth order hinders living with certain people who are the oldest or the youngest,' she said. 'You may have to show some people how to do things a bit more, but it makes it more fun living with people who weren't raised the same as you.'
UW-Madison students have varying levels of responsibility and lightheartedness, but living with students of all birth orders seems to make a pleasant home away from home.
