Other modern thinkers such as Dr. William Sheldon believed that humans are born with personality traits that pretty much dictate their propensity for being intelligent, introverted, outgoing, or thin (Colt 1998). In direct contrast, Aslin developed his five models or relationships to link his perception regarding maturation and the environment. This theory is based on how much effect the environment has on a specific event (UOP 2002).
Other theorists believe in the timing of experiences in that the specific experiences have different or stronger effects at some points in development. Further concepts offer a view that environmental effects are based on an internal model of experience. The key idea is that the effect of some experience lies in an individual's interpretation or representation of it. More specifically, the meaning the individual attaches to it rather than in the objective properties of the experience. Another facet of thinking about environmental effects is a growing emphasis on the ecology or context in which each child develops. This theory stresses the fact that each child grows up in a complex social environment with a distinct cast of characters (family, friends, babysitters and teachers) that also is embedded within a larger social system. Many researchers are aware of the powerful impact of culture or subculture has on a child's development (UOP 2002).
