Final answer:
Noam Chomsky played a key role in the cognitive revolution, emphasizing the importance of mental processes in understanding human behavior. He proposed the critical period theory for language acquisition, which is reflected in the case of Genie, a girl who struggled with language learning after missing this period. Chomsky's work led to the concept of Universal Grammar, suggesting innate linguistic structures that are common across all human languages.
Step-by-step explanation:
Noam Chomsky, a prominent linguist, was influential in shaping the cognitive revolution, which marked a move away from behaviorist perspectives prevalent in psychology. He was dissatisfied with how behaviorism overlooked mental functioning when explaining behavior. Chomsky put forward the idea that for psychology to progress and better understand human behavior, it must include the study of the mind, particularly in areas such as language acquisition and processing.
In relation to the case of Genie, a girl who missed the critical period for language acquisition due to severe neglect, Chomsky's theories become especially relevant. His work posits that there is a critical period in early childhood during which the brain is particularly receptive to language learning. Genie's difficulties in mastering the grammatical structure of language despite building a significant vocabulary suggest a validation of Chomsky's theory, as Genie was unable to fully acquire language after missing the critical period.
Furthermore, Chomsky's ideas contributed to the development of the theory of Universal Grammar, a concept that proposes all humans share an underlying linguistic structure. Although Genie could learn new words, the lack of evidence for her mastery of grammatical rules provides insight into Chomsky's hypothesis of innate grammatical principles that may only be fully developed during the critical period for language learning.