Empirical relationships between birth order and two types of parental feedback

This study adapted the process feedback and outcome feedback scales of Jaworski and MacInnis (1989) to investigate relationships between perceived parental feedback and birth order. A sample of 72 female and 80 male undergraduate business students was used. Firstborn/only children were hypothesized to report receiving more process feedback from parents, whereas last-borns were hypothesized to report receiving more outcome feedback. Results indicated that last-borns reported receiving significantly less of both types of feedback (process: p [is less than] .0029; outcome: p [is less than] .0009) than firsthorns or middle children. No gender effects were found. Results thus suggest differential receipt of parental feedback as one possible basis for apparent birth order effects in societally recognized achievement.