BIRTH-ORDER AS A FACTOR IN PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION AND PERFORMANCE

Birth order has long been assumed to have an impact on people's behavi or, with first borns normally believed to differ from later borns in a chievement motivation, and the like. This essay explores the relations hip between birth order and presidential selection and performance. Ge nerally, an analysis of American presidents suggests that birth order has rather little impact on the selection of a president and on the pe rformance of a president once in office.