In the paper “Final Note on a Case of Extreme Isolation,” the author Davis argues that socialization is a process that is central to people’s lives because through it, we learn about our place in society, and it is based on one’s contact with other human beings. In the paper, Davis provides an example of two girls who have grown up in isolation and discusses the effect of this upbringing on these individuals. This paper will summarize the article “Final Note on a Case of Extreme Isolation” by Davis and address some of the associated sociological concepts.
Socialization is integral to human proper development and is required for everyone. In the introductory statement to the text, Davis states that “socialization takes place in stages throughout our lives” (36). The author describes a real-life story of a girl Anna, who lived without proper human contact until she turned six years old (Davis 37). Anna’s poor development is linked to the negligence shown by her family and her mother in particular. Due to the fact that this girl was born outside of wedlock, her grandfather refused to accept her into the family. The infant had poor health and was unfit for adoption, while her mother could not pay for a care facility. Due to these factors, Anna lived in an attic-like room until she was discovered at the age of six (Davis 37). It appears that her caregiver has provided her with nothing but nutrition in the form of cow’s milk since Anna has survived but showed no signs of intelligence. More specifically, although the girl was six when social care specialists found her, she had shown no signs of proper development for her age, meaning that she could not walk or talk. Thus, Anna’s story is a real-life illustration of how social isolation impacts the normal development of a human being and how the lack of social contact deprives an individual of their ability to learn the basic skills needed for survival and communication.
After Anna’s discovery, the social workers tried to teach her the basic skills that are mastered by children of her age. However, she never reached the capabilities of her peers. As Davis notes, two years after being taken from her family’s home, Anna learned how to walk, feed herself, and understand basic commands (38). However, her development level was not adequate for an individual of eight years, and it was comparable to that of an infant. From a sociological viewpoint, this shows that although Anna has had the experience of socialization for at least two years, the timeframe during which most infants and children learn the basic skills needed for survival could not be recovered. Hence, she required more time and effort from her caregivers to learn and achieve the level of development that her peers have had.
Sociologists distinguish between the different stages of a person’s social development. Mainly, there are the primary, secondary, and adult stages of development. Davis’s recollection of Anna’s case is an example of a scenario where the primary stage of development, during which an individual is socialized in their family environment, was omitted. Therefore, she lacked the social and learning experiences that would allow her to progress over the next stages.
Anna’s examination at the facility for mentally disabled children has shown that even a year and a half after having adequate social contact, she still lacked in the areas of normal speech, concentration, and others (Davis 40). The facility’s specialists evaluated her development using the Merril-Palmer score at 19 months of development. This scale was developed as a reference point to examine the mental capabilities of preschool children. Evidently, even the years of social contact and learning have not allowed Anna to reach the level of development of her peers or even master the basic capabilities that toddlers possess. This example shows that total social isolation cannot be reversed if the timeframe during which children actively developed has been lost.
The sociology field focuses on studying how people interact with one another and the effects of these interactions. As Davis notes, an important concept in sociology is socialization, which is the process of learning and cooperation that occurs within a group (36). People rarely grow up in environments where they have zero social contact with others, and the interactions they have shaped their view of themselves and their role in society, which is the basis of socialization.
Ten years after Anna was born, she still resided in a facility for retarded children. She has mastered some skills, such as brushing her teeth, and eating, and developing her speech to the point where she can express her needs (Davis 40). However, still, these capabilities were behind the level of development that a ten-year-old showed. This happened regardless of the fact that Anna has been in a social environment with specialists engaged in teaching her the skills she needed, and despite the fact that apart from her isolation during the early years, she had no physical impairments that would obstruct her normal functioning and development.
When interpreting this case of extreme social isolation, Davis argues that Anna had the full capacity to develop normally, as she had no physical impairments; however, her social isolation played a crucial role in obstructing the girl’s ability to learn. According to Davis, “her isolation prevented a considerable amount of mental development that was undoubtedly part of her capacity” (39). However, Davis also poses an important question that characterizes Anna’s case: her discovery as opposed to the development of a person who lived in complete isolation. Isabelle was discovered near the same time as Anna; however, her mother was deaf and mute; hence this girl had zero capacity to communicate (Davis 40). Moreover, unlike Anna, Isabelle displayed animal-like behavior, especially towards men. Moreover, her behavior was similar to that of deaf children, although Isabelle had the physical capacity to hear and speak. However, unlike Anna, Isabelle has progressed rapidly over the different stages of development and reached an adequate capacity and skills within two years. Davis links this progress with the fact that Isabelle has had the full attention and a training program developed specifically for her by specialists (40). This particular attention has allowed Isabelle to account for the years of isolation and shows that the consequences of a lack of social contact can be reversed in some cases. Overall, Davis describes and compares two cases of social isolation that illustrate the importance of human contact for children’s proper learning and development.
Work Cited
Davis, Kindsley. Final Note on a Case of Extreme Isolation. University of Chicago Press, 1947.