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Sisters and Brothers

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Nature and our genes set the stage. Mom and dad hold the reins. But siblings play the tune of most childhoods — hour after hour, day after day. We play with them and fight with them, and celebrate and suffer with them, and they play a huge role in shaping our personalities and face to the world.

Think Venus and Serena Williams. Prince Harry and Prince William. Eli and Peyton Manning. The Bush brothers. The Olsen twins. You can't have one without the other. Not as they are.

Think of your own family, and the ways you carved, and were carved by, siblings. Psychologists are paying attention.

Hear about siblings and how they make us who we are.

Guests:

Katherine Conger, sociologist and assistant professor at the Family Research Group, Department of Human & Community Development, University of California at Davis

Kimberly Updegraff, associate professor in the department of Family and Human Development at Arizona State University

Amy Gerson, psychologist

This program aired on July 10, 2006.

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