An object oriented programming environment with an improved object, referred to herein as a “peculiar object”, which among other things, facilitates the implementation of a defined transition between object types is described. A peculiar object includes a programming construct referred to herein as a selector, which maps a set of object behaviors to a set of values for a special type of attribute, referred to herein as a “peculiar attribute.” As such, as the value of a peculiar attribute changes, so too does the type or state of the peculiar object. With each transition of the object from one type or state to another, the available behaviors dynamically change.