PSYCHOLOGY: Anybody got siblings? Investigating the effects of birth order on vicarious embarrassment
Publication Date
2025
Presentation Length
15 minutes
College
College of Sciences & Mathematics
Department
Psychological Science, Department of
Student Level
Undergraduate
SPARK Category
Research
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Schoenfeld
SPARK Session
Hormones and Behavior I
Presentation Type
Talk/Oral
Recommended Citation
Souder, Karlie, "PSYCHOLOGY: Anybody got siblings? Investigating the effects of birth order on vicarious embarrassment" (2025). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 256.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/256
COinS
Comments
There are many stereotypes about the differences in temperament and personality between oldest, middle, and youngest children, but how do these differences impact the individual if at all? Vicarious embarrassment, or secondhand embarrassment, is the feeling of embarrassment experienced when watching others do something perceived as “embarrassing”. Vicarious embarrassment activates the body’s main stress hormone, cortisol. This study aims to identify whether birth order affects cortisol levels and perceived embarrassment after watching a series of video clips to induce secondhand embarrassment. We hypothesized that older siblings would demonstrate higher perceived embarrassment and cortisol levels. After watching a meditation video to bring participants to baseline, each participant watched the same secondhand embarrassment stimulus. Cortisol levels were collected through saliva samples and analyzed using the ELISA protocol. Additionally, two heart rate measurements, before and after the stimulus, were taken. Lastly, participants rated their perceived embarrassment after watching the stimulus, completed the Vicarious Embarrassment Scale, and filled out demographic and birth order questions. It was also hypothesized that social media usage is a moderator in this relationship, as social media usage has shown mixed results as a coping device for stress, or an additional cause of stress. Social media usage was measured with the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. The findings from this study will contribute to the existing knowledge of birth order and how that may play a role in vicarious embarrassment. It also investigates physiological responses that may be correlated to embarrassment.