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Effects of social isolation in children
Effects of social isolation in children
What is the nature/nurture debate? genie
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Abstract This study examined language acquisition and accidently observed the effects of sociological isolation of a teenager who had been locked away from the world for thirteen years. Doctors along with scientist of Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles tested Genie for multiple medical conditions whilst no conclusive results. Doctors could not predict the origin of Genies learning curves yet they employed with her daily to achieve results. Genies case was sensitive in nature, with many obstacles for her to overcome while being bombarded with international coverage furthermore she had no personal time to truly communicate. Genie spent her youth as a test subject in scientific research with no concrete evidence of her actual limitations or achievements. As an exceptional subject Genie gave the world a glimpse into a …show more content…
Without ever knowing her real name, the world only knows her as Genie and she gave us a backstage pass in uncertainty of the future for a wild child. Keywords: symbolic-conflict, structural-isolation, nature v nurture, cognitive development Sociology Blunders of a Child Beaten not Broken Following Science in the Shadows November 4, 1970 the world came to know a rigorously victimized, uncivilized, emaciated and completely isolated girl who would come to be known as “Genie” the wild child (). Genie’s childhood, if that is what we can call it, was painfully fiendish as well as inconceivable by any parent, would become the human embodiment of sociological research. The observation of this young girl intentionally was meant as a good deed, but would become a mistake that society would not attempt again as the by-product indicated harmful effects on their test-subject. Genie was a treasure to the scientific community, as it was extremely rare to come across a feral child, but like
One of the cases found in the novel by Cynthia Crosson-Tower dealt with a little girl by the name of Jessica Barton. Although still a small child, her foster family had an issue trying to raise her in which she gave them behavioral issues and she would not react to them and was hard to ...
Our experiences shape us into the humans we are today. While we were all raised with differing beliefs and goals in life, we all share critical developmental periods that need to be met, for us to grow and emerge into successful adults. Without proper parental supervision children will miss the window of opportunity for these critical periods, if these critical periods are not met abnormal behavior known as feral or wild will appear. Feral children have very little known of them, they’re brains are mysteries that researchers are trying to uncover. The public tends to use information that they have seen before to make assumption about uncertain subjects, most of the misconceptions about feral children and their realities stem from two Disney
Susan “Genie” Wiley was discovered on November 4, 1970 when her mother, who was nearly blind, sought public assistance in Temple City, California after escaping from her abusive husband. When she was discovered she could not talk and had a “bunny-like” walk. She was starved, tortured, and forgotten. She was given the name Genie to protect her privacy (McMahan 2014).
Jasmine Beckford’s case is the oldest out of the three; in 1984 Jasmine died as a result of long-term abuse aged 4. In 1981 her and her younger sister suffered serious injuries and were paced with foster carers for six months. After this they were allowed back home with their mother on a trial basis as social services were meant to support them. During the last ten months of Jasmine’s life she was only seen once by social workers (Corby, 2006).
The French documentary Babies shows the first year of development of four different babies who live in four completely different environments. The film follows Ponijao, a little girl from Namibia, Bayar, a little boy from Mongolia, Mari, a girl from Tokyo, and Hattie, a girl from San Francisco. Even though the babies live in very dissimilar parts of the world, their physical, cognitive, and social development seem to all follow a set pattern. On the other hand, the babies learn to do some activities distinctive to their environment by watching their parents and siblings. Therefore, Babies provides evidence to support both the nature and nurture sides of the debate.
One of the feral cases is that of Genie. This is a girl who was severely abused by her family especially her father. Genie’s father consistently punished her through beating to an extent that she could never have a chance to exercise things as a normal human being. The situation was even worse due to the fact that Genie was kept in a close room right from when she was an infant up to the age of 13 years. By that time, Genie had developed a severe abnormality. Her behavior and physical functioning of her body was completely like that of a less human being. She was speechless, could not construct a two word sentence and demonstrated no sense of personality.
Nova’s, Genie Secret of the Wild Child, is a forty-three-minute documentary that explains how being abandoned can affect one’s life and their learning capacity. Throughout the documentary, we take a look at the life of young teenage girl from California. She was locked in a room alone by her parents. When the girl was found she was thirteen years old and unable to walk, talk, or use the bathroom properly. Due to the fact that the young girl had no human contact she was called the “Wild Child.”
In contrast, physically feral children are of the human species, but the psychological effects of children living in the wild is when psychologist must begin to decipher if feral children are truly human. One argument regarding what it means to be human, is the possession of a soul. Michael Newton writes on the topic of feral children defining what it means to be human in, “The Child of Nature: The Feral Child and the State of Nature,” Newton states; “Peter is seen as an animal, a human in bestial form, and also as a human-machine, having a human shape but lacking the essential guarantee of the human: that is, the possession of a soul.” (Newton 55). The definition of a soul is subjective to the person asking the question, but Newton also argues,
This essay is about a child’s development and learning, focusing primarily on language development. It will describe the main stages of developmental "milestones" and the key concepts involved for children to develop their language skills, discussing language acquisition and social learning theory. The essay will also look into the key theorists involved in language development, primarily Vygotsky and Chomsky, and how these theories have had an impact on the way society views language and their implementation within schools. The essay will describe the factors affecting language development, both biological and environmental. While also discussing key arguments among theorists, one being the nature vs nurture debate, and how these play a part in the teaching in schools.
"Case 4 Genie, The Wild Child Research or Exploitation?" Case 4 Genie, The Wild Child Research or Exploitation? Georgetown University, n.d. Web. 15 Sep. 2013. .
“The environment you grow up in shapes who you are” asserted Genie Pedagogos. It was a brisk winters morning at the Methodist Ladies College, as Genie reflected on the life that one friend described as “More than amazing”. Pedagogos, from a very young age, began to understand that the environment someone grew up in shaped the person they became. After coming from an immigrant family of Greek background and being a single child, life was not always easy for her, but the environment she was provided with is the sole reason for her success in many facets of her life today. As a qualified doctor, mother, and wife, the truth behind Genie Pedagogos is that she believes in creating the right environment for all those around her regardless of their
When children are born they have no concept of what a mother and father are, but they understand who they are and as the grow older they are able to connect those words mother and father to a person. Many behaviors and characteristics are resulted from learning. Albert Bandura tested a social experiment where a child watched another person act aggressively, they child then mimicked this aggressive behavior. This conditioning all leads to nurturing. Nurturing a person and conditioning them through actions and language can lead them to be anything, even if they have a genetic nature. Genie, through careful study and teaching was able to learn certain words and know the difference between the color black and white. She could use simple signs to get people to understand what she wanted. Prior to her teaching, she knew nothing of how to communicate, but due to a nurturing environment she was able to connect to the people around her. The critical period of a person's life comes when they are at infancy. This is the time when children learn the simple words of whatever language they are being taught. Studies have shown that if you want your child to be bilingual, the best way to teach them is when they are young, because at this point they are in the early stages of learning a language, and they are able to adapt much more quickly to this language then when they get older. The critical period of a child again falls under nurture, as it is up to the parents to nurture their child by teaching them the language they need to know to be successful. Language doesn't come in a your genetic nature, it comes from your parents teaching. While many believe that one can only learn a language in the critical period, it is disproven in A Genie and millions of other. Genie was able to form words and half decent
Wilder Penfield and Lamar Roberts first introduced the idea that there is a “critical period” for learning language in 1959. This critical period is a biologically determined period referring to a period of time when learning/acquiring a language is relatively easy and typically meets with a high degree of success. German linguist Eric Lenneberg further highlights Roberts and Penfield’s findings and postulated the Critical Period Hypothesis in 1967. According to the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH), certain biological events related to language development can only happen in the critical period. During this time, the brain possesses a degree of flexibility (ability and ease of learning a language) and becomes lateralized (assignment of language functions becomes concrete – either in the left or right hemisphere) (Marinova-Todd, S; Marshall, D & Snow, C. 2000 9-10). This critical period lasts from childhood through the onset of puberty (usually at around 12 years of age). Once this period is over, it is more difficult to learn a language because language functions in the brain have become concrete. This hypothesis can be seen with the case of Genie, a woman who was isolated from human interaction and language up to the age of 13. By the time she was rescued, she was well after the critical period for language acquisition, and as such, she did not have a full command of the English language. Had she been rescued before the age of 13, she may have had more linguistic capability. However, this accounts for firs...
Watching The Secret of The Wild Child, I felt an enormous amount of sympathy for Genie. The thing I found most disturbing was the fact that she was tethered to a potty, she could have caught a wide range of disease from it. What I found most interesting about the documentary was how her rehabilitation team allowed her experiment to fall through. I believe that Genie could have benefited more if the experiment
This paper will discuss the extreme cases of feral children. Feral children known as wild child, are children who has lived in an isolated environment from human contact from a very young age. This leaves the child vulnerable with little or no experience with the basic needs to socialize or survive in society. This information on feral children allows us to see their point of view on how humans will behave if culture doesn’t exist. These children are normally taken in by animals living in the wilderness. Feral children don’t have to be raised by animals. Therefore, there have been severe cases where parents will confine their children from the world. When parents abandon their child from an early age, this