Genie Case Study

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One of the worse cases of child abuse has been the case of Genie. Genie was living in a room in her parent’s house for over 10 years; this is a case of severe isolation. To point out, Genie would be punished for making any noise while she was in that room, and because of this she never learned to talk. She was also strapped in a potty chair for the majority of her early life, which resulted in poor motor functions and her inability to walk normally. According to a phycologist on Genie’s case, a person can experience symptoms of isolation after only 15 minutes. I was surprised that Genie could have withstood these adverse conditions for more than 10 years. Socialization and social interaction became a challenge Genie and her peers had to face following her rescue. By growing up in isolation during an individual’s crucial learning years, Genie had no idea of self and the concept of generalized other. According to Charles Horton Cooley, a sociologist, self “emerges from our ability to assume the point of view of others and thereby imagine how they see us.” In this …show more content…

According to Conley, socialization is “the process by which individuals internalized the values, beliefs, and norms, of a given society and learn to function as members of that society”. In other words, socialization allows an individual to operate affectively in society. Genie was socialized by the leading agent of socialization: family. I was disturbed by how her father locked her up and did not treat her as if she was human. As a child, she was socialized not to speak, and later upon entry at the the children’s hospital, she was resocialized to speak and become a member of the total institution she was living in, the hospital. In detail, Genie learned how to eat, speak, walk, and progressed her motor skills, and she later followed the norms adhering to the

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