Q.'Environment of the child has a major role in the development of the child'. Support your answer with examples.

The environment plays a major, well-documented role in a child's development, both because it shapes how far a child's genetic potential is actually expressed, and because environmental circumstances (family, school, neighbourhood, socio-economic conditions) directly affect learning and opportunity. …

The statement that the environment of the child has a major role in the child's development is well supported by what psychologists know about the interaction of heredity and environment.

Every child inherits a genotype — their full genetic material — from their parents. But not all of this genotype is visibly expressed; what is actually observed in a person, the phenotype (their physical and psychological characteristics), is always the joint outcome of the inherited genotype interacting with the child's environment. Genes provide a blueprint and a timetable for development, but this blueprint never operates on its own — development always unfolds within the specific environment a child is actually born into and grows up in, and it is this genotype-environment interaction that produces each child's unique developmental path.

Several concrete examples from the chapter illustrate the environment's role. First, a child with a genotype predisposing them toward introversion, if raised in an environment that actively encourages social interaction and extroversion, may end up somewhat more extroverted than their genetic starting point alone would predict — showing that environment can meaningfully shift outcomes within a person's genetic range. Second, parents shape not only the genes but also the specific environment a child grows up in: according to Sandra Scarr, parents who are themselves intelligent and enjoy reading are likely to provide books and reading opportunities at home, and their children, partly because of this environment (and not only because of shared genes), often become good readers themselves. Third, a child's own genotype-influenced behaviour (say, being cooperative and attentive) elicits more favourable responses from teachers and parents — creating, in effect, a more supportive environment for that child, compared to a less cooperative child. Fourth, children actively seek out environments matching their own inclinations — a musically or athletically gifted child will spend more time in environments that let those talents develop, further amplifying environment's role. …