This inquiry begins with the puzzle of sibling relations. Why are individuals from the same family little more similar in personality than people from different families? Why doesn't a shared family environment lead to similar values and beliefs? Sulloway suggests a fresh way of understanding how family affects individual development. Among siblings, the most important factor for systematically understanding the sources of individual differences is birth-order. This work shows how birth-order is so fundamental to the family experience that its effects transcend gender, social class, nationality and time. Using historical examples from scientific revolutions, the French Revolution and the Protestant Reformation, this work shows that Marx was mistaken when he located the engine of historical change between families. The engine of history lies in individual differences arising within the family.
- ISBN10 0316881791
- ISBN13 9780316881791
- Publish Date 13 September 2001 (first published 1 January 1963)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 27 October 2008
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Little, Brown & Company
- Format Paperback
- Pages 256
- Language English