SOC 2000 - The Case of Genie PDF

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The Case of Genie 1. In your opinion, which determines human behavior most? Nature or nurture? Why? I believe that nurture determines human behavior most. Nurture being most important is seen in Genie's life because she didn't have any nurture and it severely affected her. She was stuck on a potty chair in a dark room for many years with no nurturing, as a result she didn't have typical human behavior. She had a 'bunny' walk, couldn't talk, spit/sniffed/clawed when angry, was quiet, and explored tactile. These actions aren't normal human behavior showing that the majority of human behavior is developed as a result of nurturing. Nature does play a role in human behavior, just a smaller role. Genie had the basic characteristics of human behavior provided by nature, but those characteristics weren't enhanced by nurturing so she didn't have typical human behavior as a result. 2. Do you believe Genie was “human”? Why or why not? What makes us “human”? Hint: Use the sociological imagination to answer this question. I believe Genie was "human" because she had all the basic characteristics of humans. Although she didn't exhibit typical human behavior, she was still "human." The movie explains that she was nicknamed Genie because it is a creature who isn't human, lived somewhere as a child, and was merged into human society later on. I understand that she didn't seem "human" when she was first discovered, so that is where the name came from. She was "human" because she had the potential to have typical human behavior. Not only did she have potential, but with hard work and dedication she actually learned the typical human behavior including physical movement, talking, and communicating feelings. People that can in contact with Genie said that she was fragile, beautiful, and had a personal quality that elicited rescuing. These descriptions show that others see Genie as "human" because she had individual qualities. We are "humans" because we have the anatomically and physiologically structure of a human, which allows us to walk upright and appear "human." We are also "humans" because we have individual features, personalities, and the ability to learn complex concepts and language. 3. In your opinion, how important is human touch in terms of positive human development? I believe that human touch is immensely important in terms of positive human development. Both Genie and Victor didn't have human touch and they both had animal-like behavior not human. These two examples show that human touches plays a large role in positive human development. It plays such a big role that when it is missing people question if the person is even considered human. Genie and Victor ate like animals, were very tactile, had no personal hygiene, weren't civilized, were indifferent to temperature, made infant noises, and tugged at their bodies to show emotions. All of these characteristics were developed because there was no human touch. The greatest example of human touch having a huge effect is Genie's brain had sleep spindles, which indicate brain damage. Reagle found that she wasn't born mentally challenged, the sleep spindles developed as a result of no nurturing because IQ testing showed an increase yearly since she was rescued. Human touch is the root for positive human development. In order for humans to develop fully, they must have human touch. 4. Do you think science crossed an ethical line when “treating” Genie? Do you believe, in cases like Genie, the emphasis should be place on the well-being of the person or the scientific

possibilities of the subject (and application for future studies)? I don't think science crossed an ethical line when "treating Genie. I believe that the emphasis should be placed on the well-being of the person. Although the emphasis is placed on the wellbeing of the person, scientific possibilities of the subject should be a major consideration. I think that even though Genie went through extensive research she actually benefited from it. If this research hadn't been done, Genie would not have received as great of care, so she won't have learned as much as she did. I think that her well-being was a factor as there was much debate on how to study her. Genie responded well to deaf teaching methods. As the result of scientific studies, she learned sign language, to talk, emotions, colors, shapes, and to read. She was provided with a father figure and a foster family, who was also her psychologist. If it hadn't been for the scientific possibilities of the her case, she would have never spent those four years with his family. After the research stopped due to lack of funding, Genie went considerably down hill and reverted back to past behaviors. The studies they did on Genie not only helped her, but she had fun with them and they lead to research, which has helped thousands of other children. Science didn't cross an ethical line when "treating" Genie because the emphasis was placed on her because improved with these studies and without them she may have not been given as much dedication. 5. The case of Genie demonstrates the notion of “taken for granted culture” (culture existing without us thinking about its meanings). Describe at least three situations presented in the film that demonstrate this idea. The case of Genie demonstrates the notion of "taken for granted culture" in many instances thoroughout the movie. One situation is she hoards liquids because she is afraid of how long it will be before she recieves more to drink. The movie should an actually video of Genie at Gene Bulter's house taking a cup of of liquid to her room to join the many other cups. Since many of us have grown up with a "taken for granted culture," we don't see the need to hoard liquids because we know there is always more in the fridge. Often times, liquids are wasted because we know they can be easily replaced. Genie grew up wondering when she would get her next drink, so she has this hoarding to guarentee she never goes without again. Another situation is she took freezing cold baths because she couldn't tell the difference. Genie's foster mother discovered that she had freezing cold water, yet it didn't bother her. When she tried to explain the temperature and how it would affect her, Genie didn't understand and continued with her bath. She had never been taught what it was like to be hot or cold. She also didn't know that she had control over temperature, so she just adjusted to it. Our "taken for granted culture" allows us we need to always have the perfect atmsoshpere and how to adjust for it. Genie had always adjusted to her environment, including the temperature, so things like that didn't bother her. Yet another situation is she didn't know the equitte of shaking hands. When a psychologist came to meet her, he held out his hand for her to shake it, but she just touched it and walked away. Genie had no idea what shaking hands was, so she just explored his hand and left. Our "taken for granted culture" doesn't realize that some people don't have the same background and knowledge. Genie shows in these situations that there are many things that we take for granted because of our culture....