The number one questions the surrounds the case of Genie Wiley is whether she was born mentally retarded or was this a result of her ten years in isolation from birth? This question can receive two different answers based on how you choose to perceive the nature or the nurture of another person. Genie did have the capacity to grow, just as Victor did in a similar study years ago in France. Once their isolation was removed, they began to civilize, which leads myself to believe that nurture took more part in the development in Genies behavior rather than a genetic disorder that her father seemed to believe she had. Nature by its very definition is the genetic makeup of that person, the nature of someone may refer to their attitude or behavioral …show more content…
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
The nature versus nurture theory is a way to distinguish whether certain traits or characteristics of individuals are impacted more by biological means or environmental means. What the “nature” part signifies in the the theory is that we are more impacted by heredity and biological effects of our personality and what defines us as a person. What “nurture” signifies is that environmental factors have a more powerful impact on our lives and personality. As we mostly know, most things aren’t black and white, and so it’s hard ro determine which type of factors is more effective. Most people believe that it’s a blend of both nature and nurture that makes us who we are.
nature,” and it is something that is within us at birth. The state of nature is
...t shown physically, it plays a much bigger role. However, nature does not overpower the role of nurture, which is essential in establishing our behavior. Our genes and our experiences make us the people we are today. Both nature and nurture interact in a way that makes us unique. They are designed for each other. Nurture cannot work without nature, and nature cannot thrive without nurture.
Nature, the more scientific theory of the two, is the belief that hereditary traits found in our genes make us who we are, believable but not very convincing when we consider the theory of nurture. Human beings learn new things everyday, as soon as we come in to the world, our learning process begins. As a newborn baby, we slowly learn and adapt in order to survive in a new environment which is unlike that of our mothers wombs, our first environment in which we first grew, adapted to and developed in. The home environment parents and siblings play a huge role in determining personality. Influences from outside the family are also very important to the development of ones personality. But everything starts at home.
The understanding of human nature is the concept that there is a set of inherent distinguishing characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that all humans tend to possess (Winkler, 1996). My basic view of human nature correlates with Charles Darwin’s nature vs. nurture theory. Human nature is influenced by both nature and nurture. Nature is all that a man brings with himself into the world, and nurture is every influence that affects him after his birth. An individual’s morals, values, and beliefs are developed from the nurturing aspect of their life. The environment that an individual is raised in creates their human nature. Then they go through life developing more upon their own morals, values, and beliefs. The nature vs. nurture theory is an every changing concept, and I believe that human nature changes for each individual based on their life experiences.
On November 4, 1970 in Los Angeles, California Genie’s condition was brought to attention by a social worker. The worker discovered the 13-year old girl in a small, dimly lit, confined bedroom. An investigation by authorities exposed that the child had spent most of her life in this room and typically was tied to a potty chair. Genie was found in diapers because she was not potty trained. Her case is an example of extreme isolation from human contact, society, sunlight, and any other environments besides her room. The deprivation of attachment showed when she was timid to humans, almost afraid. Someone whose life was a developmental nightmare could not possibly be expected to have the basic trust that the world is trustworthy and predictable. The life she lived was incredibly horrifying as morals, and psychology portray just how severe the consequences were on Genie.
When looked up in the dictionary the term nature means the universe and its phenomena or one’s own character and temperament. When discussed with these philosophers it is meant as one’s own character revolved around the universe for which they live in, basically they’re surroundings. At the same time when I looked up the word nurture it said the upbringing, care or training of a child. And in this meaning it stands on its own. Meaning exactly how it’s listed in the dictionary.
A question was brought up during the film; was genie damaged from her years of abuse or retarded from birth? Genie’s father believed from an early age that Genie was retarded and therefore needed to be kept in isolation. However, this was his own bias. For 13 years, Genie grew up detached from people, there was no concern in her upbringing nor did she have any significant life experiences. Genie was not given the freedom of opening herself up to the world around her, this was unjustifiable as a child relies on their surroundings in order to learn, grow and prosper. Socialization is the process in which an individual interacts with others in turn allowing them to become more aware of themselves. George Herbert Mead outlined that “the self” is not there from birth, it develops through social experience. It was apparent that Genie did not have a sense of self, due to the lack of interaction between others and her environment. Mead also developed the idea of significant others, which are people that play an important role in the early stages of a child’s social development. Genie did not have that figure, as her mother and father were both dis-engaged from her life. They did not support Genie, and teach her the fundamental basic skills that are needed in order for a child to fit into the basic norms of society. Genie did not take part in secondary socialization, as she was not given the opportunity to go to school. Therefore, she acted much younger than a normal thirteen-year-old, and did not receive the proper care a young girl was obliged to
One of the most well-known debates in psychology is nature versus nurture. Nature is pre-determined traits, influenced by biological factors and genetics. Physical characteristics such as height, hair color, and eye color is all determined by the genetics we inherit. Nurture is the influence of environmental factors. Nature and nurture affects the physical, emotional, and social development of a child.
Nature is described as our physical attributes and genes from when we are born. Our genetics that make us who we are include our eye colour, height and hair colour, as well as our natural talents, abilities and our intelligence level.
... (p. 116). In her article, “Babies Prove Sound Learners,” Sohn (2008), states, “Such studies show that, up to about 6 months of age, babies can recognize all the sounds that make up all the languages in the world” (para.24). B.K. Skinner suggest that the materialization of language is the result of imitation and reinforcement. According to Craig and Dunn (2010), “Language development is linked to cognitive development that, in turn, depends on the development of the brain, on physical and perceptual abilities, and on experiences. Biological and social factors also jointly influence the early development of emotion and personality” (p. 117). In her article, A natural history of early language experience. Hart (2000), states, “Talking is important for children, because complexity of what children say influences the complexity of other people’s response” (para. 1).
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...
The critical period hypothesis for language acquisition was popularized by neurologist Eric Lenneberg. The hypothesis suggests that if an individual is not exposed to language during a specific period in their childhood then they will have great difficulties acquiring language later in life (Redmond, 1993). I believe the two “wild children” cases of Genie and Victor provides evidence to support the critical period hypothesis. Genie’s case supports the hypothesis because although she developed a vocabulary and despite all of her intense therapy sessions, she still was not able to create meaningful and grammatically correct sentences (Garmon, 1994). Genie’s inability to create real sentences may indicate that she endured the extreme deprivation during her critical period and it prevented her from acquiring language. Victor’s case also supports the critical period hypothesis. The professionals in the documentary The Secret of The Wild Child stated: “While Victor knew how to read simple words, he never learned how to talk” (Garmon, 1994). This quote implicates that similar to Genie, Victor developed a vocabulary,
Nature vs nurture debate is an old argument, I believe that nature and nurture both work together. Your genes are something that you are born with but your experiences and how you were raised also make you the person you are today. Experiences and opportunities help you develop your personality. It also provides a valuable training ground for later life. Human culture, behavior, and personality are cause primarily by nature and nurture not nature or
All the various experiments were most likely overwhelming and stressful for Genie, and could have been the major reason why she was never able to learn how to make sentences. I believe Genie was never really loved since she was always transferred to different foster homes. I also believe that if Genie stayed in one foster home, she could have been less overwhelmed and more capable of learning how to speak. Genie’s mother also viewed the experimentations on Genie as unethical and eventually sued children’s hospital for doing scientific research rather than providing therapy to rehabilitate her. Genie’s mother won the case, and further experimentations on Genie were no longer allowed. When experimentations were over, Genie went to her first foster home. At her fist foster home, she was intensely punished for vomiting. The experience of her getting punished was so traumatizing, that Genie needed to go back to Children 's