ERIC Number: EJ1317406
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1040-0419
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Available Date: N/A
Birth Order and Divergent Thinking: A Meta-Analysis
Abdulla Alabbasi, Ahmed M.; Tadik, Harun; Acar, Selcuk; Runco, Mark A.
Creativity Research Journal, v33 n4 p331-346 2021
This meta-analysis examined the association of birth order and divergent thinking (DT). The main purpose was to examine how ordinal position (only, first, middle, or last-born) is related to creativity. The results from 27 studies (k= 222; N = 4,690) were analyzed using a multilevel approach. Because some previous studies compared first- vs. later-born children whereas others compared different ordinal positions, three datasets were analyzed: (a) first-born vs. later-born children, (b) only children vs. children with siblings, and (c) middle-born vs. later-born children. Results showed that first-borns had higher DT scores than later-born children (g = -0.165, 95% CI [-0.012, -0.318], p = 0.046). Moderator analysis showed a significant interaction between gender and task modality with later-born males scoring lower on figural (but not verbal) DT than first-born males. No significant difference was found between only children and first-born children with siblings. In addition, the results showed a non-significant difference between middle- and later-born children; however, moderator analysis indicated that gender and age significantly explained some of the variability in the mean effect. Limitations and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Descriptors: Birth Order, Creative Thinking, Meta Analysis, Creativity, Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Predictor Variables, Gender Differences, Age Differences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
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Language: English
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