Genie's Influence On Language Development

Genie, “the wild child," was raised in isolation for more than 10 years and was strapped to a child’s toilet in a dark room with no human interaction. She was a victim of severe abuse, neglect, and social isolation. Researchers were interested in Genie’s case because they wanted to investigate if a language could be learned at such an older age or if a language could only be learned by a set time period in your life. Lenneberg’s critical period hypothesis states that there is a sensitive learning period that must be met in regards to language acquisition before puberty. After this learning period, language acquisition becomes much more difficult for the child to learn. The relevant nature of Genie’s development when she was discovered by the authorities, at 13-years-old, was very
Meaning that she was so old she would have a different time learning a language, according to Lenneberg’s critical period hypothesis. The relevant nature of Genie’s development subsequently to her discovery started developing further and her mental age started to increase one year after she was found. Her mental and physical growth were developing and it was recognizable, but she could not talk fully yet. By the time scientists had finished working with Genie, she had no fully mastered the English language because she had missed the critical period for acquiring the first language. But after researchers worked with her for years she did acquire telegraphic speech and sign language. Interventions Genie was exposed to in relation to Lenneberg’s hypothesis was making questions, studying sign language, and listening to music to acquire language. There were plenty of ethical issues involving Genie’s care, therapy, and research activities after she was discovered. One ethical issue there was a problem with was ‘consent’, Genie was unable to communicate effectively with the researchers because of her language skills and mental