Genie, Case Study
Read about the well-documented case study of "Genie", a young girl born in 1957 in California who was raised in virtual isolation by her father from the age of 20-months. Once authorities found Genie at the age of 13, she had never developed language and had few developmental skills. What does the study of Genie tell us about the window of opportunity for language acquisition and a person's ability to learn vocabulary, as well as grammar and conceptual thinking?
Harry Harlow's Monkey Study
Read about Harlow's series of studies with rhesus monkeys in the 1950s and 60s and the effects of social deprivation and lack of human contact during infancy. What did Harlow conclude from his experiments? Do any of his findings align with what researchers discovered by following Genie's rescue from her deprived childhood?
Are Animals Sentient?
The Jungle Book depicts its animal characters as anthropomorphic, capable of human characteristics, and sentience, capable of perceiving emotions. Research the topic of "animal sentience". Can animals, such as rats, chickens, and elephants, experience emotions such as joy, sadness, grief, PTSD, jealousy, or resentment? What do the Lana and Washoe projects tell us about animals' communication abilities?
