Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-11643042-20140107011410/@comment-24264260-20140127000310

Oh, you mean Adler's Birth Order? It's a theory that states the order you were born in affects your personality. You have the right idea of Dipper assuming the role of the first born (he's more responsible towards Mabel, has a leadership role, occasionally an overachiever, and is helpful) while Mabel fits with the roles of both the second born (competitive with her older sibling, expressive and creative) but more with the last born (occasionally accustomed to getting her own way, can be seen as irresponsible, charming and is adventurous).

However, this theory is very broad and relates more to a nuclear family (father, mother, around two kids) and lacks details of the environment a child is raised in (any other kind of family like mixed, blended, adoption, etc). Experts have looked into how twins fit this theory but there isn't enough research to back it up. What they do have is that these characteristics don't change “the child's [insight to their] position within the family.” Yet, they believe that their status as twins has a stronger impact compared to the birth order, as well as twins often exchanging dominance throughout their lives.

This is just a theory, and isn’t proven to be 100% accurate. I am not the biggest fan of this theory myself, for I am the youngest of three and do not fit the position of the last born very well (my siblings get their own way over me, I am not a rule breaker, and I am awkward not charming). Dipper and Mabel can still be their respective ages and have these personality traits too.

