Wild Child
Life Span Human Development II
Writing Assignment 1
Angela Collins-Salboro
Psychology 231
Dr. Winona Fleenor June 15, 2011
Part I
When a child is born it is very important part of its life to have human contact. This is what has happen to what the experts have called “The Wild Child”. However instead of human contact they have had contact with animals that have adopted them into their pack. It could have been by dogs, monkeys, wolfs or even bears. Some children are lost in the woods at a very young age or have even walked away from family because of different situations. So the animals become their sergeant families. They learn by watching and mimic what others do. This is the same with babies as they grow with their care takers. They watch and mimic what someone does. The babies and even young children need human contact to be able to grow and learn. If a child is locked up in a closet or attic like Genie then we can learn from that how a human will still act like a newborn and not learn to speak or even do things for theirs self’s because they have no one to learn from. When you look at the stories of two wild children you do see a lot of similarities also you see some difference. It is all about how you look at the stories, for instance you have Genie who was thirteen years old and locked in a room and was tied to a potty chair. She could not speak only make noises; she was forced to be alone all day and most nights. This was wrong in so many ways. Then you have Victor, who was raised in the wild by animals and when he was discovered there was so many questions on how he lived and what he did. Victor also could not speak words and even did not like wearing clothing. He seemed to be happier outdoors in the elements than inside a house.
Much like all “wild children” the scientific and ethical dilemmas and the significance of this studies is what we can learn from them. We need to make sure that we cause no harm to them in the long run. We also
Writing Assignment 1
Angela Collins-Salboro
Psychology 231
Dr. Winona Fleenor June 15, 2011
Part I
When a child is born it is very important part of its life to have human contact. This is what has happen to what the experts have called “The Wild Child”. However instead of human contact they have had contact with animals that have adopted them into their pack. It could have been by dogs, monkeys, wolfs or even bears. Some children are lost in the woods at a very young age or have even walked away from family because of different situations. So the animals become their sergeant families. They learn by watching and mimic what others do. This is the same with babies as they grow with their care takers. They watch and mimic what someone does. The babies and even young children need human contact to be able to grow and learn. If a child is locked up in a closet or attic like Genie then we can learn from that how a human will still act like a newborn and not learn to speak or even do things for theirs self’s because they have no one to learn from. When you look at the stories of two wild children you do see a lot of similarities also you see some difference. It is all about how you look at the stories, for instance you have Genie who was thirteen years old and locked in a room and was tied to a potty chair. She could not speak only make noises; she was forced to be alone all day and most nights. This was wrong in so many ways. Then you have Victor, who was raised in the wild by animals and when he was discovered there was so many questions on how he lived and what he did. Victor also could not speak words and even did not like wearing clothing. He seemed to be happier outdoors in the elements than inside a house.
Much like all “wild children” the scientific and ethical dilemmas and the significance of this studies is what we can learn from them. We need to make sure that we cause no harm to them in the long run. We also