“ SECRET of the WILD CHILD ” Group QUIZ
1. Which of the following is the m ost accurate definition of a feral or “wild child”?
A. child with massive physical, social, and cognitive deficits
B. child who has grown up in severe isolation with virtually no human contact
C. child who has grown up in a severely abusive home environment
D. child who was kept isolated with infrequent human interaction
3. How old was Genie when authorities “found” Genie?
A. 12
B. 15
C. 14
D. 13
4. Which of the following was not true of Genie when she was “found”?
A. she was wearing diapers B. she was not potty trained
C. she was uttering infantile noises
D. authorities believed she had a normal leaning capacity
5. What seemed to be the overriding motivating factor of the “Genie
Team” – the specialists who helped Genie – according to her psychologist
James Kent?
A. money
B. fame
C. rescue fantasies
D. love
E. curiosity
6. When Genie first encountered new objects, which best describes how she
cognitively encoded them?
A. she learned the word for the object by repetition
B. she practiced it phonetically with Susan Curtis
C. she explored it tactically like an adolescent
D. she put it to her face and lips as if she was blind
7. Solitary confinement is the most diabolical of punishments. How long does it take a person to begin to show symptoms of extreme distress?
A. 15 minutes to an hour
B. one or two hours
C. 6 to 12 hours
D. 24 hours
8. The first plan to be adopted to help Genie was to help her
A. learn language
B. express emotions
C. catch up on the social stages she missed out on
D. form relationships
E. progress cognitively
9. Early on, what did Genie demonstrate that gave the Genie Team, hope
t hat she might become “normal”?
A. she expressed sadness and happiness when Dr. Kent left or arrived
B. she knew 100 words in her first few months at Children’s Hospital
C. physically improved on her impaired motor skills
D. was able to remember details of her abusive childhood
10. Which of the following is an example indicating that human sensitivity
t o temperature is related to environment, not genetics?
A. Victor’s indifference to snow
B. Genie’s indifference to cold bathwater
C. Both A and B
D. None of these...sensitivity to temperature is largely genetic
11. Victor’s case came at a time in world history when man was considering
A. the theory of evolution
B. the theory of natural selection
C. nature vs. nurture
D. what makes us human?
E. why do we do what we do?
12. Wh en NIMH (N ational Institute of Mental Health) funded research on
Genie, what was the immediate problem?
A. all the researchers wanted a fa i r share of the money
B. each researcher thought they would be famous
C. each researcher had their own direction of interest
D. each researcher thought their specialty was the most important
13. Linguist Noam Chomsky said we learn language not just because we are
taught it, but because we are born with it. Who added that
there may be a deadline in learning a first language?
A. Howard Hansen B. Charles Darwin
C. Eric Lenneberg D. Elisa Newport
E. Noam Chomsky
1 4 . What best indicates Jean Butler’s (Genie’s Special Education teacher)
real motivation for disallowing Dr. Kent (her psychologist) and Susan
Curtis (her Language teacher) from working with Genie the summer
after she was found?
A. she said Genie had the measles
B. she was afraid they were tiring out Genie, and expected too much
C. she wanted to become famous for teaching Genie to speak
D. she was upset she was not granted fulltime custody of Genie
15. Who intended to ensure that Genie had a single, dependable relation-
Ship, and was very attached to (and even loved) Genie?
A. Howard Hansen B. David Rigler
C. Jay Shurley D. Susan Curtis
E. James Kent
16. Who became caretaker, psychologist, and foster parent of Genie after
she left Jean Butler’s house?
A. James Kent B. Marilyn Rigler
C. David Rigler D. Both B and C
E. no one…she went to foster homes where she was subjected to abuse
17. Marilyn Rigler thought Genie was disconnected from
A. the physical world B. her memories
C. Piaget’s cognitive stages D. social relationships
18. Victor’s teacher taught him words by using methods designed for
A. the blind B. the mute
C. the deaf D. mentally retarded
E. wolves
19. What was Howard Lane ’s main criticism of Francois Truffaut’s movie
“L’Enfant Savage (The Wild Child)?
A. the film did not accurately portray the Itard’s ingenious methods
B. the film oversimplified the student-teacher dynamic
C. at the end, the film indicated Victor would continue to progress and become normal
D. the film was i n French, and in black and white
20 . What is the best reason the Rigler’s arranged for Genie to learn sign
l anguage?
A. Genie used gestures frequently to communicate
B. Itard was criticized for using spoken language with Victor
C. They had failed in teaching Genie spoken language
D. The NIMH required it as part of the grant stipulations
21 . Who concluded Genie was mentally retarded, based on his EEG-
b rain waves study indicating “sleep spindles”?
A. Howard Hansen B. David Rigler
C. Jay Shurley D. James Kent
E. Jean Marc Itard
2 2 . Genie had several language problems. Which of the following was
m ost frequent and debilitating for her with regard to communication?
A. vocabulary B. pronunciation C. punctuation D. grammar
23. According to Howard Hansen, what was “The Bombshell”?
A. Genie’s abuse in foster homes
B. Genie’s mother regain ing custody and her return to her old home
C. A lawsuit filed by Genie’s mother
D. the Rigler’s giving up on keeping Genie after 4 years
24. Specifically, what was wrong with the tests given to Genie during her
five year “study and rehabilitation” period?
A. the tests were repetitive B. the tests lost their validity
C. Genie was given the same tests D. all of these
E. none of these
25. Which of the following is incorrect regarding Genie’s language
d evelopment after she was “found”?
A. when she was found, she scored at a cognitive level consistent
with a three year old child
B. after 7 months, Genie began to develop spoken use of one word
phrases
C. after 7 years had passe d , she learned as much as a normal child
learns in 2 to 3 years
D. When she was 24, she had the language skills of a 5 year old
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS: Remember, each member of the group
m ust write the answer to at least ONE of these questions.
26. What specifically is “The Forbidden Experiment”? What would be a
“reward” for conducting such an experiment?
27. What conclusions can you draw from Genie’s case about a “window of
opportunity” or “critical period” to learn language? Are the results
conclusive? Explain why or why not.
28. Based on your understanding of “proper scientific procedures” from
our study in Chapter 1, what did the Genie Team do wrong (as alleged
in the lawsuit that was settled out of court ) ?
29. In your opinion, did the Genie Team do as much as they could in
treating Genie, or did the research get in the way? Support your answer
with one factual statement.
30. In your opinion, what should be done differently when a Wild Child is
discovered ? List at least two ideas, please!