Birth Order Effects Recall
Several years ago I was playing a game of trivial pursuit. One of my friends was really good at the game and as a result cleaning house. As he played I noticed the way he went about answering questions. When a question was asked that he didn’t know the answer to, he would sit and ponder the question for a while and think about association that came to mind after hearing the question. In this way he often was able to recall the answer after some heavy thinking.
I remember this strategy so clearly because it was in stark contrast to how I went about answering questions. After I heard the question either I would quickly determine if I knew the answer or not and then move on. I didn’t take time to ponder the association our figure out an answer. For me, either I knew the answer or I didn’t. I usually didn’t know the answer, and as a result my team lost alot.
I bring up this thinking strategy because to this day I prefer not to ponder over questions. Either I know the answer or I don’t, if I don’t know it then I move on and don’t waste any more time working on the solution. To get around the problem of being unwilling to answer a question through intense concentration, I ask people around me that I have estimated will be able to answer the question. In this way I’m able to have the same knowledge as the more ponderous while at the same time avoid the arduous task of recalling answers to questions when they do not immediately appear to me.
I can’t help but wonder that as children the development of either one of these strategies is predicated on how social one is. That is the more withdrawn and less social you are, the less viable of an option to ask others an answer to question becomes. Thereby, you develop a skill to recall answer to questions through association making the process less arduous and something you are more inclined to use more situations. While those that are more social, when faced with doing the thinking or just asking, they ask, and as a result do not develop the same kind of skill of recall and ultimately find thinking by association arduous and avoid it.
Thinking about my own childhood, I’m reminded of the fact that my older brother was always around to answer all my questions. When I had a question, or we got into a debate, his superior recall ability would enable him to find the answer or prevail in argument. I wonder, if this solely a factor of birth order, and had I been born with all of the same genetics, but as the first child, I would of become the bookish socially inward but with superior recall. He would be socially outward with no patience or skill for recall.
May 8th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
You’re in luck, because I’ve got one more data point for you. My younger brother and I fit your mould, as I am the older, more bookish, introspective brother who can conjur up memories after some intense concentration. My brother on the other hand is much more apt to marshall his social resources to achieve his goals.
I recently read a book about dog rearing, and the importance of early socialization with other dogs and people cannot be stressed enough. The same could apply to people. I think if oldest siblings are socialized often and consistently with older individuals, that they would perform similarly to your younger sibling description.