Sibling Positions
I recently came across an abbreviated version of Dr. Walter Toman’s sibling position portraits (as an appendix in a book about Murray Bowen’s work). Toman’s research shows that as children in particular positions, we have a tendency to develop certain characteristics. I should actually go and find the original work to read eventually, but certainly my interest has been piqued. It should be noted that while Toman is not the only researcher in the area of birth order psychology, his work is certainly well-regarded and frequently cited.
I am a middle child, with an older brother (who is a year older) and a younger sister (4 years younger). So I would have the influences of two roles: “Youngest Brother of Brothers” and “Oldest Brother of Sisters.” Toman’s Family Constellations have some interesting things to say about both of these.
- The Youngest Brother of Brothers is “relatively soft and yielding with women…”
- The Oldest Brother of Sisters is “a lady’s man…”
There are other interesting bits in there but those are the points that caught my eye. The descriptions reads like horoscopes, vague but kind of relevant, about love, work and life.
Is this body of work relevant? Looks like it – people are doing serious research in this area. Anything that would help people understand how to make their relationships better is good research in my books.
So if I am to think about this in terms of my most compatible future mate… as a Youngest Brother of Brothers – I should be looking for an Oldest Sister of Brothers. I probably should go update that plentyoffish profile.
