Genie: A Scientific Tragedy

Book: Russ Rymer

Presentation: Courtney Neis

Irene Genie’s Mother

Atlus, OK

Felt she had 2 sets of parents – Mamaw an Dadaw

Close to her mother

Drought

Move to Southern California

Father found job at filling station, little hope for kids

Non-traditional solution to poverty

Clark

Genie’s Father

Rough life

Unemployed

WWII – worked in aircraft assembly line

Marriage and Kids Early years appeared to be happy

Clark was jealous and overprotective

“My life came to an end on my wedding day” – Irene

Clark didn’t want kids

Four children – only 2 survived

Child 1

Irene beat during pregnancy

Crying infuriated Clark

Died at 2.5 months

Child 2 - RH blood poisoning

Child 3

Healthy boy

Development hindered – Neglect

Saved by paternal grandmother

Child 4 – Genie

RH blood poisoning

Development hindered

Clark’s Mother

Clark was largely attached to his mother, despite not being there during childhood.

Supported him until he got job as a machinist

Irene thought she was making a pest of herself

December 1958 – The Accident. Clark’s mother got hit by a car while crossing the street with her grandson to buy an ice cream cone.

Afterwards, Clark started to change and was severely depressed

A world without his mother, a world that did not care to adequately punish his mother’s murderer, was a world he could live without

Clark quit job and moved his family into his mother’s house

Home Life

Irene was largely dependent on Clark because of her blindness

Son was allowed outside of house for very little

Sleeping arrangements – living room

Clark dreaded people taking advantage of his daughter

Pediatrician pronounced her “a retarded little girl with kernicterus”

Clark believed his daughter was profoundly retarded and needed protection from evil of the world

Genie’s Home Life

Confined to a small bedroom in back of house, harnessed to an infant’s potty seat

Left to sit on a chair – unable to move her fingers, hands, feet, or toes

At night, placed in sleeping bag which was stationed to hold her arms stationary and placed in a crib with wire mesh sides and a wire mesh cover on top

Little auditory stimulation – no TV or radio.

Wasn’t allowed to make any noises

Genie’s Home Life cnt. Little to look at or touch – no carpet or pictures in room, windows

covered

“Entertainment”

Two raincoats, “Partly Edited” copies of TV log, Cottage Cheese containe, Spool of thread

Diet

Baby foods, Cereal, Soft boiled egg

Clark was convinced she’d die before 12

Promised Irene she could seek help for Genie if she lived past 12

Found Irene was searching for office of “Service for Blind” but accidentally

stumbled into the general social services office

90% blind in left eye and 100% blind in right eye

Social worker originally thought Genie was autistic

Genie’s condition when found

50 lbs

Incontinent – no control over urination/defecation

Couldn’t chew solid food/could hardly swallow

Couldn’t focus eyes beyond 12 feet

Salivated constantly

Had almost 2 complete sets of teeth

Showed no perception of heat/cold

Couldn’t do anything requiring full extension of legs (hop, skip, climb)

Vocab – probably less than 20 words

The Aftermath

Clark and Irene were arrested and charged with child abuse

Admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles

Clark committed suicide on the court date

He left 2 notes – nothing for his wife or daughter

For the police: “My son is out front with friends. He hasn’t the slightest idea of what is going to happen”

For his son: “Don’t take that shirt back. It’s for my funeral. You know where my blue shirt is. Underwear in hall closet. I love you. Good bye and be good – Dad”

Irene got off on a not guilty plea

New People in Genie’s Life

Susan Curtiss & Victoria Fromkin

Susan was a 1st year grad student in linguistics department studying language acquisition when her faculty advisor, Victoria Fromkin, invited her into the case

David Rigler

David was a professor of pediatrics and psychology at University of Southern California and the chief psychologist in the hospital’s psychiatric division

New People in Genie’s Life James Kent (top right)

One of the hospital psychologists who visited Genie the first day she arrived

“As far as I’m concerned Genie was the most profoundly damaged child I’ve ever seen”

Jay Shurley (bottom left)

One of the first outside consultants to visit Genie from Texas

Brought 600 lbs of equipment for investigating brain activity

Videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLCqeYKPnpc:30 Bunny Walk5:40 Talking12:3019:10

Critical Period & Language Acquisition

Nature or Nurture

Noam Chomsky – Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Eric Lenneberg – Critical Period

Genie’s Progress in the Hospital

Mental and physical abilities improved quickly

She seemed oblivious to the people fighting over her

After 2 weeks she was released to the hospital’s rehabilitation center

Starting to develop a sense of self

Starting to obtain speech

Showing remarkable progress on intelligence tests

May 1971 – consultants got together to consider her future under the terms of the NIMH contract

Therapy or Research? Opinions?

The Testing Begins

June 4, 1971 – Genie meets Curtis and Fromkin

New linguistic examinations

One of the most tested children in history

Genie spoke very little – whimpers or squeaks

The first publicly released picture of Genie, taken just after California authorities took control of her care at the age of 13.

Genie’s Summer with Jean Butler

Jean volunteered to take Genie on field trips

Jean developed Rubella

July 7 – “Isolation” Genie went to life with Jean

Genie was happy and progressing well

Dispute with the “Genie Team”

Jean – overprotective, restricting visits

Genie Team – ambitious and insensitive

Jean applied to be Genie’s foster parent

Genie with David and Marilyn Rigler

Genie’s new home – scientist on the case

3 children, a cat, golden retriever puppy

Genie was regressing

Grant money and funding

David Rigler released from work at hospital

More Progress at the Rigler’s

Curtiss visited daily

Uncooperative

Compressing sentences

“Monday Curtis come” = “Munkuh” – The Great Abbreviator

Verbally slow

Marilyn Rigler – unofficially in charge of teaching Genie how to behave

Taught Genie how to chew food

Enrolled in nursery school and later public school for the mentally retarded

Speech therapy and some sign language

“Genie Happy”

Anniversary of Genies arrival in foster home

Symposium – chaired by David Rigler

Howard Hansen – paper of Genies early life

James Kent – 8 months in hospital

Marilyn Rigler – the past year “Adventure: At Home with Genie”

Fromkin, Curtis, and Krashen – Genie’s language skills

Development indicated language acquisition can occur after 5 and the onset of puberty

Dubunk Eric Lenneberg’s theory?

Lenneberg had no interest in studying Genie

Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association

Summary of Progress

Difference between singular and plural nouns

Difference between positive and negative sentences

Some prepositions

Understood yes/no questions

Somewhat use possessives

Summary of Progress Cnt. Normal children quickly learn how to form negative sentences – Genie

was stuck in the beginning stage for almost 3 years

Couldn’t ask a real question

Ex: “Where is may I have a penny?”

Problem with pronouns

“I” her favorite

“You” and “Me” were interchangeable

Skill leveled out almost immediately

Failures made many believe Genie was retarded

Curtis was not convinced – she was smart

She could categorize – some thought key to learning language

Advanced in mental age

“Being with Genie wasn’t like being with a retarded person. It was like being with a disturbed person. She was the most disturbed person I’d ever met. But the lights were on. There was somebody home.” - Curtiss

(7:30)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZolHCrC8E#t=382

Video

Trips to Temple City

Most promising case of 20th century to perhaps one of the most tested children in history

NIMH found the lack of progress troubling

One year extension

Rigler applied for another grant

Application was denied

“Very little progress has been made”

“The research goals projected probably will not be realized”

On the “bright” side…

Without funds, Riglers would have to terminate their foster relationship with Genie

New Homes For Genie

Home to Irene

Irene found it difficult to live with her daughter

Riglers had some money to help – summer camp

November 7 – new foster home

Irene’s visits were seen as disruptions

Genie regressed – seemingly intentionally

Quit speaking – fear of vomiting

At a poolside BBQ they saw how bad Genie had regressed

“I want live back in Marilyn house”

A new grant – more testing

Genie was placed back in the hospital for two weeks and then entered a new foster home

Temporary home over the Christmas holiday

Another “permanent home”

One home refused visitation

Curtis advocated for Genie

Letter to John Miner

March 20, 1978 – Irene regained control of her daughter

Curtiss’ Dissertation Irene’s reaction

Hurt by the term “Wild Child”

“It made me sick at the stomach. I was sick you know, when I saw those things, you know, in print. It takes a lot to make me sick” – reaction to description of Genie’s home life

Irene’s “corrections”

I was not frequently beaten, 2 times in the last year. He did try to kill me 1 time

Genie was able to move her arms, legs, bend forward and to the side

Genie was able to move her arms with the sleeping bag on, it was not a straitjacket. It was an oversized infant’s crib with wire screen around the sides. There was a wire screen on top but I never used it.

Genie did hear speech, our home is very small.

Her father did not beat her

Her father did not bark to her face

Most Importantly: Genie was not forgotten

The Lawsuit

October 1979 – lawsuit accusing – Hansen, Knapp, David Rigler, James Kent, Susan Curtiss, and the children’s hospital

Accused them of multiple infractions of patient-therapist and patient-physician confidentiality

Accused scientists of performing unethical human experimentation

Faulted John Miner for not protecting Genie from harm while he was her guardian

Asking for compensatory and punitive damages

Reactions to the Lawsuit

Testing regimen of 60-70 hours/week

It was fun, Genie thought most of this as a game

Susan Curtis - “My test periods were never more than 45 minutes on a given day, the rest was playing, going for walks, just being friends”

Scientists were shocked

David Rigler – The mystery became clear for him

Jean Butler

Jean stayed in the shadows

Irene didn’t sound like herself

Lawsuit (continued)

Case lasted 6 years

Time dulled the complaint

Case finally almost settled – Jean wanted Irene to decline the offer

Complaint was “dismissed” or rather “upheld”

Curtiss agreed to direct a program for Genie

Children’s hospital agreed to give yearly physical and psychiatric evaluations

Full access to and use of Genie’s records were granted

Curtis relinquished the fund she had set aside for Genie

No other financial penalties

Where is Genie now?

Adult foster care home

Southern California

Little is known about current condition

Private investigator - happy

Jay Shurley’s visits

Largely silent

Depressed

Chronically intitutionalized

Discussion

Reactions/Thoughts?

What kind of problems do you think arose having Rigler as a scientist on her case and one of her primary care givers?

What could they have done, or what would you do differently, that would have benefited Genie in better ways?

If this were a case today, how do you think it would be handled?

How should the ethics of a case such as this be handled?