Sibling Constellation, Creativity, Iq,

7/28/2019 Sibling Constellation, Creativity, Iq,

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SIBLING CONSTELLATION, CREATIVITY, IQ,AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTVICTOR G. CICIRELLI

Gradua te School of Educa tion, University of PennsylvaniaSibling constellation factors were related to measures of creativity (Minne-sota Tests of Creative Thinking), IQ, reading, arithmetic, and languageachievement in a sixth-grade population using ana lysis of variance. In thefirst portion of the study, family size was found to be unrelated to abilityand achievement ('N = 140). The main portion of the study investigatedbirth order, sex, sex of sibling, and age difference in the 2-child family(N = 80), and found that verbal creative abilities, reading, and arithme-tic achievement were enhanced for Ss with siblings of like sex close in age.In the final portion of the study, birth order was found to be unrelated toability and achievement in 3- and 4-child families (N = 144), and siblingsex was found to be important in the 3-child family where Ss with 2brothers had poorer IQ and reading scores than Ss with at least one sister

Students of child development have long been interested in the impli-cations which a child's position among his sibhngs has for his subsequent in-

ng sex, and age difference betw een siblings.

No studies are available relating family size to measures of creativity.review of literatu re on family size and IQ , Anastasi (1956)


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disappears or becomes positive when Ss of high socioeconomic level are con-sidered.Birth Order

Creativity.'Few studies have attempted to relate birth order to meas-ures of creative ability or creative achievement. Reviews of studies of thebirth order of eminent men (Altus, 1966; Schachter, 1963) find the first-horn son to be highly over-represented among tlie eminent, with the lastbom being the group next most frequently represented in many studiesWhile many highly creative men are among the eminent, certainly eminenceand creativity are not synonymous. In a detailed analysis of the work ofeminent men recognized as representing high creative achievement, Harris(1964) concluded that the first-bom and later-born sons differed in thekind or quality of creativity rather than in its quantity. The first-bomstended to produce work of an abstract verbal nature, while the work of thelater-borns was more closely related to immediate sensory perceptionsPractical inventiveness and precise, discriminating attention to detail appeared more frequently in later sons.

Other studies have attempted to relate birth order to ratings of creativity without distinguishing between creative abihty and creative achievement. Harris (1964, p. 255) reports that Morris Stein found no relation between the birth order of industrial chemists and ratings of their creativitym ade by superiors and co-workers (although the first- and later-boms differed significantly on Miller Analogies scores). Koch (1955) found teacher rating of originality to be unrelated to birth order among children okindergarten age. Using the Creative Design Test, Eisenman (1964) founfirst-born college art students to be less original and artistically creative thathe later-bom students. Thus, other studies do not support the superiority othe first-born as suggested by the studies on eminence. It would seem thamore information is needed to clarify the relation between birth order ancreative ability.

Intelligence quotient and academic achievement.Studies of birtorder among older children and college students generally demonstrate thsuperiority of the first-bom over the later-bom child on measures of IQ anschool achievement, with the middle child frequently making the pooresscores (Altus, 19flB; Corliss, 1964; Hall, 1963; Lees & Stewart, 1957; Mawell & Pilliner, 1960; Rosenberg & Sutfon-Smith, 1964; Schachter, 19 63However, in studies dealing with the young child, this situation appears tbe reversed. La ter-born 3-year-olds were found to be superior to first-bom


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age the later-bom child benefits from the stimulation of an older sibling, andat a later age (where the abstract verbal abilities come into play in theschool situation) the first-bom child profits from his closer exposure toadults. Such an idea seems to be supported by the finding that amongilliterate soldiers the last-borns scored highest in IQ (Altus, 1959); here,any predisposition of the first-bom to profit from school remained undevel-oped.Age Difference

Inconsistent efFects of age differences between siblings have heenfound in studies of the two-child family. Anastasi (1956) reported higherIQ's for those Ss whose siblings were separated by more than 24 months;Ahe et al. (1964) reported higher scores when the age difference was lessthan 3/3 years; Koch (1 954), using three levels of sibling spac ing, found in-teraction with other variables and no consistent effect; and Schoonover(1959) found that age difference was not a significant variable with regardto IQ and academic acliievement. There are no studies available which re-late age differences to creativity.

Sibling SexThe sex of the sibling has been found to be important in studies of thetwo-child family. Those Ss with a male sibling were superior in IQ andachievement to those with a female sibling (Koch, 1954; Schoonover,1959); Rosenberg and Sutton-Smith (1964) confirmed this finding whenquantitative scores on the American Council on Education PsychologicalExamination for College Freshmen were involved, but found that languagescores were enhanced by the presence of a female sibling. While, paradoxi-

cally, males with learning difficulties were found more likely to have broth-ers than sisters (Hodges & Balow, 1 96 1) , the general conclusion seems tobe that a male sibling is more stimulating to cognitive development than afemale sibling.In the only study involving creativity, Koch (1955) found no relationbetween sibling sex and teacher rating of originality among children of kin-derga rten age in the two-child family.

Problem


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l i n g co n s t e l l a t i o n f ac t o r s d u r i n g m i d d l e ch i l d h o o d . S p ec i f i c a l l y , t h e r e s e a r c hh y p o t h e s e s in t l i i s s t u d y we r e :1 . F a m i l y s i z e is r e l a t e d t o m e a s u r e s of c r ea t i v e ab i l i t y , I Q , a n d a c ad e m i c a c h i e v e m e n t .2. B i r t h o r d e r , a g e diFerence, s ibl ing sex, a n d t h e i n t e r a c t i o n s of t h e s ea r e r e l a t e d t o m e a s u r e s of crea t ive ab i l i ty , IQ, a n d a c a d e m i c a c h i e v e m e n t .METHODDesign

T h e r a p i d i n c r e a s e i n c o m p l e x i t y of s i b l i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s a s t h en u m b e r of c h i l d r e n i n t h e f am i l y i n c r ea s e s l e ad s t o concomi tan t d i f f i cu l t i ei n s t u d y i n g t h e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s . I n t h e f i r s t por t ion of t h i s s t u d y , t h e effecof family s ize w a s i n v e s t i g a t e d . T h e m a i n p o r t i o n o f t h e s t u d y w a s co nc e r n e d w i t h i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e effects of b i r t h o r d e r , s ex , s ex o f s i b l i n ga n d a g e di f f e rence i n t h e r e l a t i v e l y s i m p l e t wo - ch i l d f am i l y . I n t h e final p o rtion of t h e s t u d y , t h e i n v es t i g a t i o n w a s e x t e n d e d in a l i m i t e d w a y to t e s t t h eeffects of b i r t h o r d e r a n d s ib l ing s e x i n t h r e e - a n d four -ch i ld f ami l i es . T h eSs were c lass i f ied b y s e x i n a l l p o r t i o n s o f t h e s t u d y . F o r t h e c o n v e n i e n c e oft h e r e a d e r , t h e e l a b o r a t i o n o f t h e f ac t o r i a l d e s i g n s u s ed i s p r e s e n t e d w i tt h e r e s u l t s .Measures

T h e m e a s u r e of I Q w a s t h e G a l i f o m i a S h o r t - F o r m T e s t of M e n t a l M at u r i t y . T h r e e m e a s u r e s of a c a d e m i c a c h i e v e m e n t w e r e u s e d : t h e Gal i f o m iA r i t h m e t i c T e s t , t h e G a l i f o m i a L a n g u a g e T e s t , a n d t h e G a t e s B a s i c R e a di n g T e s t s . A c h i e v e m e n t s c o r e s w e r e e x p r e s s e d a s g r a d e e q u i v a l e n ts .G r e a t i v i t y , a r i t h m e t i c a c h i e v e m e n t , a n d l a n g u a g e a c h i e v e m e n t w e rm e a s u r e d w i t h i n a f e w d a y s of e a c h o t h e r i n t h e s a m e t e s t i n g p r o g r a mR e a d i n g a c h i e v e m e n t w a s m e a s u r e d a b o u t 4 m o n t h s ea r l i e r , a n d I Q w am e a s u r e d a b o u t 8 m o n t h s e a r l i e r .T h e m e a s u r e of c r ea t i v e ab i l i t y w a s t h e M i n n e s o t a T e s t s of G r e a t i vT h i n k i n g , V e r b a l a n d N o n v e r b a l F o r m s A . T h e t a s k s u s e d w e r e : A s k - a n dG u e s s , P r o d u c t I m p r o v e m e n t , U n u s u a l U s e s ( c a r d b o a r d b o x ) , U n u s u aQ u e s t i o n s ( c a r d b o a r d b o x ) . J u s t S u p p o s e , P i c t u r e G o m p l e t io n , F i g u r e G o mp l e t i o n , a n d P a r a l l e l L i n e s . T h e t e s t s we r e s co r ed t o g i v e b o t h v e r b a l a n dn o n v e r b a l m e a s u r e s of f iuency, ffexibil i ty, or iginahty, a n d e l a b o r a t i o n . T h


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VICTOR G. CICIRELLI

SubfectsThe S populat ion consis ted of the 641 s ixth-grade pupi ls of both sexes

in a suburban school system near Detroi t , Michigan. The community is mid-dle-class , whi te , and res ident ia l , wi th a low incidence of cr ime, dehnquency,and other social problems. Samples for analysis were drawn from the 609pupi ls for whom al l tes t records were complete . These s tudents ranged inIQ from 70 to 162 (M = 112 .2; SD = 1 4. 4 ). At the t im e of test in g, Ss f iUedout a quest ionnaire l i s t ing name, sex, and bi r th date for themselves andthe ir siblings. Th is information was cross-check ed wit h information pro -vided by parents for school records , and any discrepancies were resolved.

RESULTSFamily Size

Design.A 2 x 7 factorial design {N = 140) was used to test the ef-fects of a S's family size and sex upon his measured creative abihty, IQ, andacademic achievement. By "family size" is meant the number of living chil-dren in the family, including the S. The family-size categories used in thedesign were: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7-11. The population was sorted into 14categories (boys with family size 1, girls with family size 1, boys with fam-ily size 2, and so on ), and from each of the categories a sam ple of ten Ss wasrandomly drawn (using the random number procedure). Then, a separateanalysis of variance was made for each of the eight creativity, IQ, andachievement measures used as dependent variables (the eight analyses arenot completely independent, of course). The F ratio was used to test forsignificance of the main effects and interactions, with the .05 level of sig-nificance used throughout.

Results.Although there was a discernible tendency for mean abilityand achievement scores to diminish slightly when family size increased be-yond four, there were no statistically significant differences. Differencesbetween the sexes on the eight measures were significant only for VE(girls' M r= 6.30; boys' M = 4.86; p < .05) and for language achievement(girls' M - 8.02; boys ' M = 7.53 ; p < .01). There was no interactionbetween family size and sex.Sex, Birth Order, Sibling Sex, and Age Difference in the T wo-C hild Fam ily

Design.The Ss from two-child families were studied with a 2 X 2 X


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Results.^The results of the analysis of variance indicated that nine in-teractions (out of 88 possible interactions tested) were significant. Themost consistently occurring interaction was tliat between sex, sibling sex,and age difference. With the exception of the effect of sex of the S on lan-guage and reading achievement, there were no significant main effects.Profiles were plotted to obtain a clearer representation of the pattemof the higher-order interactions. In the case of the creativity measure VFFO,a pattem was observed in the profiles which recurred in the profiles for VE,reading, and aritlimetic achievement. With the birth-order variable heldconstant, since it did not enter into the interaction, "VFFO versus age dif-ference" was plotted for boys with brothers, boys with sisters, girls with

Ou.u.

200-180-160-140-120>1 0 0 '

BOYS

^ S ^ BROTHERS

SISTERS

_ GIRLS v ^ v S ISTE RS

\

BROTHERSCLOSE SEP CLOSE

AGE DIFFERENCESEP

FIG. 1.Profiles representing interaction hetween sibling six and age differ-ence (betw een S and sibling) for tw o levels of S sex (boys and girls) for th eca:eativity measure V FFO . - -

^ A 2-page table giving results of the analysis of variance and a 1-page table


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VICTOR G. CICIRELLI

hrotliers, and girls with sisters (Figure 1). The highest VFFO scores wereobtained by boys with a brother close in age and by girls with a sister closein age, that is, by a S with a sibling of like sex close in age. Boys with sistersscored higher when the sister was separated than when she was close in age.Reading achievement was similarly enhanced for those Ss having asibling of the same sex close in age, although the over-all reading ability ofgirls (M = 8.04) was significantly higher than that of boys (M = 6.80 ).The VE was similarly linked to a like-sex sibling close in age, except forsecond-born boys where VE was greatest for boys with an older sister closein age. Arithmetic achievement was also enhanced for those with a like-sexsibling close in age; however, there was a significant first-order interactionbetween sex and birth order, so that aritlmietic achievement was higher forfirst-born girls and for second-hom boys than for first-born boys and second-

bom girls.A simpler interaction hetween birth order and sibling sex was found inthe case of the creativity measure NVE. The NVE scores were greatest forfirst-bom Ss (bo th boys and girls) with brothers (M = 90 .8 ), while first-borns with sisters (M = 66.5) scored more poorly than second-boms witheither sisters (M = 78.8) or brothers (M = 72.1) .In the case of IQ, there was an interaction between birth order and sexof the S. Highest IQ 's were those of first-bom gii'ls (M = 11 7.9 ); first-bom

boys (M = 108.2) scored more poorly than second-born boys (M = 114.4)or second-born girls (M = 110.8 ).The variables were not significantly related to the creativity measureNVFFO, while the only significant result in the case of language achieve-ment was the superiority of the girls (M = 8.32) over the boys (M = 7.4 4).

Birth Order in the Three- and Four-Child FamilijDesign.While a factorial design analogous to the one used with the

two-child family (though, of course, somewhat more complex) would bedesirable to study the larger family, sufficient Ss were not available. Inview of this, the following design was used to test whether birth order was amajor factor in ability and achievement, with the realization that importantinteractions with other variables might be overlooked. The Ss from familieswith tliree and four children were used in a 2 x 2 X 3 factorial design(N = 144). The independent variables and their levels were: sex of S(male, female), family size (three-child, four-child), and birth order (first-born, middle-born, last-bom). Sampling and analysis of variance were car-ried out as described for the family-size design.


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sex (NVE) or S sex (IQ), or in view of the negative findings regardingfamily size in the first portion of the study.Sibling Sex in the Three-C hild Fam ily

Design.The Ss from families with three children were used in a 2 X 3factorial design (IV = 96 ). The independent variables and their levelswere: sex of S (male, female), and sex of the S's sibhngs (two brothers, twosisters, brother and sister). Sampling and analysis of variance were carriedout as described for the faniily-size design.Results.Analysis of variance revealed that sibling sex was a significantfactor (p < .05) for IQ and for reading achievement. Row means for IQwere: Ss with two brothers, M = 109.6; Ss witli two sisters, M = 117.9 ;Ss with a brother and sister, M = 117.3. In the case of reading achieve-ment, the row means were: Ss with two brothers, M = 6.84; Ss with twosisters, M = 7.55 ; Ss with a brother and sister, M = 7.93. Th e Ss withtwo brothers scored more poorly on the other measures as well, even thoughthis trend was nonsignificant. Again, the girls surpassed the boys on lan-guage achievement (p < .01).

Summary of FindingsThe results of a study such as this tend to be detailed and specific, es-pecially when interactions are present. However, the most important find-ings can be summ arized:1. There was no statistically significant relation between family sizeand measures of ability and achievement in families ranging in size from 1to 11 children.2. Various interactions between the sibling constellation factors were

found as they related to measiires of ability and achievement in the two-child family. The most important were: (a) Ss with a sibling of like sexclose in age scored higher on VFFO, VE, reading, and arithmetic achieve-ment than Ss with a sibling of hke sex separated in age, or Ss with sibHngsof the opposite sex (no matte r wh at age difference) for whom the re washttle difference in scores; (b ) the first-bom child (boy or girl) with broth-ers scored higher on NVE than first-bom s with sisters or second-boms (whoalso scored higher than first-boms with sisters); and (c) first-bom girls andsecond-born boys scored higher on IQ than second-bom girls and first-bomboys.


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Gonclusions drawn from this study must be hmited to a sixth-grade,

child families, one must remember that interactions between certain siblingconstellation factors might have gone imdetected by the nature of the de-signs.The finding that family size is not a significant variable is in agreementwith Anastasi's (1956) conclusion that family size diminishes in importanceas socioeconomic status increases. Presumably, in the middle-class popula-tion of this study, children from larger families are able to obtain adeqnateattention and learning opportunities.In general, birth order does not appear to be an important factor affect-ing abihty and acliievement in the sixth-grade population. This finding canbe interpreted as fitting in with the hypothesis of a developmental trendmentioned earlier, tliat the later-bom child does better in the early child-hood years while the skills of the first-bom come to the fore in high schooland college development. Thus, there might logically be a period in middlechildhood when Brst-bom and later-bom children do not differ in abilityand achievement. If, indeed, birth order is of httle effect in the middle-childhood period, perhaps what is needed is a better motivational system tokeep the later-bom child interested in advanced educational development.--^Interaction between sibling constellation factors is of importance indescribing how the child in the two-child family is affected by his sibhngs,although the pattern of interaction is not exactly the same as in Koch's(1954) kindergarten study.While having a sibling of like sex appears to enhance scores in the two-child family, those boys (and girls) from three-child families with twobrothers do more poorly than those with at least one sister. One mightspeculate that tlie presence of more than one brother in the family increasesthe pressures towards play, sports, and other nonintellectual activities; thisis consistent with the finding of Hodges and Balow (1961) that boys withleaming difficulties have more brothers than sisters.The resiilts obtained with the tliree- and four-child families illustratethe dangers in generahzing from tlie two-child family to families of largersize. Further studies of sibhng constellation factors in interaction are neededin order to unde rstand the child from the larger family.REFERENCES


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Altus, W. D. Birth order, intelligence, and adjustment. Psychological Reports1959, 5, 502.Altus, W. D. Birth order and its sequelae. Science, 1966, 151 (3706), 44-49.Anastasi, Anne. Intelligence and family size. Psychological Bulletin, 1956, 53187-209.Cicirelli, V. G. The relationship between measures of creativity, IQ, and academicachievement; interaction and threshold effects. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Michigan, 1964.Corliss, W. S. Relationships in achievement by sex and number of children in thefamily. Michigan Education Journal, 1964, 42 (October) , 28-29.Eisenman, R. Birth order and artistic creativity. Journal of individual Psycholog y1964, 20, 183-185.Hall, E. E., Jr. Psychological correlates of ordinal position in the two-child family

Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University o Florida, 1963.Harris, I. D. The promised seed. New York: Free Press, 1964.Hodges, A ., & Balow, B. Lea rning disability in relation to family constellationJournal of educational research, 1961, 55, 4142.Koch, Helen L. The relation of primary mental abilities in five- and six-year-oldto sex of cbild and characteristics of his sibling. Child Development, 195425, 209-223.Koch, Helen L. Some personality correlates of sex, sibling position, and sex osibling among five- and six-year-old eMIdren. Genetic Psychology MonograpJis, 1955, 52, 3-50.Lees, J. P., & Stew art, A. H. F amily or sibship position and scholastic abilitySociological Review (British), 1957 (July), 85-106.Maxw ell, J., & Pilliner, A. E. C . The intellectual resemblance between sibs. Annalof human Genetics, 1960, 24, 23-32.Rosenberg, B . G., & Sutton-S mith, B. The relationsh ip of ordinal position andsibling sex status to cognitive abilities. Psychonomic Science, 1964, 1 (4)81-82.Schacbter, S. Birth order, eminence, and higher education. American sociologicaReview, 1963, 28, 757-768.

Schoonover, Sarah M. The relationship of intelligence and achievement to birthorder, sex of sibling, and age interval. Journal of educational Psychology1959, 50, 143-146.


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Sibling Constellation, Creativity, Iq,