Can knowledge of client birth order bias clinical judgment?

Abstract

Clinicians (N = 308) responded to identical counseling vignettes of a male client that differed only in the client's stated birth order. Clinicians developed different impressions about the client and his family experiences that corresponded with the prototypical descriptions of persons from 1 of 4 birth orders (i.e., first, middle, youngest, and only). Once the client was viewed as exemplifying a particular birth order, clinicians' prognostic ratings differed according to the client's birth order.