Birth order, sex, and occupational interest

If one's occupation is a means by which one fulfills one's psychological needs, it would be expected that first-borns, by virtue of their greater affiliative need, would prefer person-oriented occupations. Another hypothesis was that more women than men would prefer person-oriented occupations. On the basis that first-borns are more successful academically and more responsible than later-borns, it was further hypothesized that they would prefer occupations which are intellectually-oriented and carry responsibility. The Hebrew version of Roe's classification of occupations was completed by 146 individuals. The results were nonsignificant for the two hypotheses concerning birth order, but the hypothesis on sex differences was confirmed: More females than males preferred person-oriented occupations.