What did the psychologists set out to examine in Genie?
Part of the reason why Genie’s case fascinated psychologists and linguists so deeply was that it presented a unique opportunity to study a hotly contested debate about language development. Essentially, it boils down to the age-old nature versus nurture debate.
What was the hypothesis of Genie?
He proposes that there is one critical phase between the age of two and about 13 years (before puberty) in which an individual is able to acquire first language (FL). Acquiring first language after this period is much more difficult and will never reach the perfect status of language acquired during the CP.
What does the case of Genie teach us about normal development?
Despite the tragedy that surrounds the case of Genie, her case teaches us an important lesson about language abilities. Telling a story (not necessarily in a grammatical way or even by using words) as well as understanding language are very different from being able to produce grammatical sentences in a language.
What did researchers discover from Genie’s Dichotic listening tests?
Neurolinguistic research with Genie has thus far revealed two related findings; dichotic listening tests have shown that Genie is processing language in her minor, right hemisphere, and psychological testing has shown that she performs surprisingly well in tests that involve “appositional” skills (skills that in …
What did researchers find that was unusual about Genie’s brain?
Shurley found a usually high number of sleep spindles. This indicated an abnormal brain wave pattern. This provoked a dualist question, that is, if Genie was brain damaged from her years of abuse and isolation or Genie’s brain had been retarded from birth. This ambiguous question was puzzled over time by Genie’s team.
What is demonstrated by the textbook’s case history of Genie?
Genie’s left hemisphere was severely underdeveloped, and so Genie was forced to learn language with her right hemisphere. This means that Genie supports the idea of critical periods, as she was unable of fully learning language.
For what reasons did Genie regress?
Doctors argued over her care and affections. Finger-pointing, hateful allegations and a lawsuit followed. Even storytellers and filmmakers took sides, and ultimately, Genie regressed.
What were the conclusions about Genie’s ability to learn language and what does it teach us?
Within months of being discovered Genie developed exceptional nonverbal communication skills and became capable of utilizing several methods of nonverbal communication to compensate for her lack of language, so researchers decided to also teach her a form of sign language.
What inhuman characteristics did Genie show?
STACY KEACH: When Curtiss first joined the case, Genie had a strange bunny walk and other almost inhuman characteristics. Genie constantly spat. She sniffed and clawed. She barely spoke or made any noises.
Is the Genie case nature or nurture?
In Genie’s case it can be argued that nurture seemed to play a greater role than nature. She suffered from an environment were she was not nurtured positively. Most present day researchers agree that human traits are determined by both nature and nurture.
What question did Genie’s sleep study raise that puzzled the scientists for years?
The sleep studies raised a question that would puzzle the Genie team for years. Was Genie brain damaged from her years of abuse, or had she been retarded from birth? When Genie was a baby, her father apparently decided she was retarded. He insisted on keeping her isolated because of that.
What does the case of Genie tell us about the nature nurture debate?
In Genie’s case it can be argued that nurture seemed to play a greater role than nature. She suffered from an environment were she was not nurtured positively. Most present day researchers agree that human traits are determined by both nature and nurture. They may disagree on which part has the greater influence.
What does Genie teach us about socialization?
What can a “wild child” like Genie teach us about socialization and human development? A “wild child” like Genie can teach scientists that socializing and talking to a child is very important for their development.
Does Genie support nature or nurture?