Secret of the Wild Child Do you think the researchers behaved ethically with regard to Genie? Explain. I believe most of the researchers did the best they could with the knowledge they had of Genie's case at the time. While they did preform experiments on her, she was not treated like a rat in a lab. Many of the experiments preformed were similar to speech and logic games you would expect to find in a preschool or in pediatric therapy. I also believe they had her best interest in mind when preforming these experiments, many of the studies and experiments she went through were focused on bringing her into society in a healthy way, they tried to give her language to communicate with and treat the trauma that she endured. While most of the researchers seemed to behave ethically, there was one researcher, Gene, who seemed to want Genie to herself in order to become famous from her story. Genie deserved a home that loved her for who she was, instead of a researcher who wanted her for selfish gain. Some have argued that Genie would have been better off in an institution than with the researchers. Explain whether you agree or disagree with that statement and why. Genie may have not gotten the individual love and attention in an institution that she received with the researchers. Ideally, Genie should have gone to a permanent, stable home with people willing to care for her and love her, but being with the researchers could have been the next best thing. The downside is that a situation like this would most likely not be permanent. I can understand why many would believe she would have been better off in an institution, and I definitely think the researchers could have handled her better, but as as someone who has personally visited a few institutions, there is a good chance she would not have receive the same level of personal care that she did at the hospital. If staying with the researchers was a permanent solution I believe she would have been better off there, but since it isn't, hopefully a good institution would be the right solution. Obviously Genie needed very specialized care that most foster parents would be unable/unwilling to provide. What should be done in cases like Genie's? Ideally it would have been helpful for Genie to be placed with someone who has expertise handling these cases, but the perfect person may have never came along. I think a stable environment would have been great for her wellbeing, but unfortunately she was moved around a lot. I think being placed in an institution may be the only option for someone in Genie's position. What do you think is being done differently with Dani that may explain her apparent progress? Explain. Dani was removed from her abusive and feral environment at an earlier age than Genie was, I believe this plays a large role into why her outcome was better than Genie's. While I don't know for sure if the ability to acquire language and heal from this traumatic lifestyle ends at puberty, I do think the additional years spent in this environment made progression for Genie more difficult. I also think that the loving and supporting home Dani was brought into has contributed a lot to her progress, while Genie was moved around a lot and never quite found a home until she was placed in an institution. Reply Quote Email Author