Your final paper will answer the following questions:
What did you learn about nature vs. nurture from the Genie reading and videos? Describe how Genie was affected by both. [3–4 paragraphs]
What did you learn about language development from the Genie reading and videos? Describe how it affected her language development. [2–3 paragraphs]
What learning theories were used in educating Genie? Give specific examples. [1–2 paragraphs]
What stage of development is Genie in according to each theorist Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlberg (support your answer with evidence)? [3–4 paragraphs]
Go to the website American Psychological Association (APA) (Links to an external site.) and review the ethical guidelines. (https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/)
Looking at the 10 sections of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, which sections do you think were/were not a violation of ethical treatment to Genie?
Pick two that apply to the case study. Was it an ethical violation? Why or why not? [2–3 paragraphs]
Include relevant topics from the Genie (Secrets of the Wild Child): Critical Thinking Assessment worksheet Download Genie (Secrets of the Wild Child): Critical Thinking Assessment worksheet.
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Genie (Secrets of the Wild Child)
Critical Thinking Assessment
As you read the articles, watch the videos and review the other resources, please consider some of
these questions. They will help guide you in building your paper.
1. What were the scientists who worked with Genie trying to prove?
2. What is the “forbidden experiment” and how was the discovery in 1800 of Victor in France a
model of that kind of experiment?
3. Explain the “critical period” hypothesis of language acquisition.
4. Was there an inherent conflict between the goals of research and Genie’s need to receive
treatment and care? Why or why not? What, if anything, could have been done differently so
that both science and the stability and welfare of Genie could have been served?
5. Have you ever tried to communicate with someone who could not speak English and whose
language you could not speak? How did you establish communication? Could you figure out
patterns of words in the other language that you could use to make the interaction work? What
was the most rewarding part? The most frustrating?
6. When a family incorporates a new member-foster child, adopted child, relative, newborn baby,
other-changes are felt by all persons. What sorts of changes might children have experienced
with Genie in the house?
7. How significant of a role did money play in what happened to Genie?
8. Who should give consent for experiments that are carried out on those, like Genie, who cannot
give truly informed consent? Who should specifically be prevented from giving consent for
such individuals?
9. Children raised in bilingual environments are often slower to speak than those who are raised in
environments in which only one language is spoken. However, when they do speak, bilingual
children keep each language separate and speak each language correctly. What insights does
this provide about language acquisition? Do you think that bilingual children risk being
misjudged intellectually when they are young? Why or why not?
10. Sometimes pathological behavior is triggered by personal traumas. That may have been the
case for Genie’s father. Shortly before he began imprisoning his children and his wife, his
mother had been hit by a car and killed. This incident may have sparked a personality change
and his paranoia, which led to his abusive behavior toward his family members. Under the
circumstances, how accountable should he be for what he did to Genie and the others and why?
11. What sorts of help should communities provide to individuals and families in which one
member is acting in a way that is unhealthy for others? Where is the line between individual
freedom and protecting the “larger society,” which, in some instances, may just be the family
