Question

Please write a critical comment to this essay in about 150 words. Thank you!

Socialization is a never ending cycle that begins the task of transmitting culture and the development of the human personality. It is true that primary socialization is an extremely important developmental stage. This is the stage of a child’s life where they begin to be shaped by their parents before they begin the next stage referred to as secondary socialization. In primary socialization, children learn language, mores, values, etc. After they learn certain societal norms, they continue into adulthood forming relationships. So what would happen if there are cases of children raised without human interaction. This poses the questions of nature vs. nature and what really makes us human. If we don’t experience socialization, what do our personalities develop into?

There has been cases of Mindshock, or feral children. The children in these cases have endured intense neglect social isolation. With this, they didn’t experience the normal childhood of development in socialization leading to deficiency or even dissolution in cortex function. The case of Genie Wiley is an example. This case is an example of why sociologists argue that without socialization (primary and secondary) we cannot develop our social self and become fully human beings.

Wiley was a young girl who suffered extreme neglect, isolation and abuse. Her parents had kept her in a dark room, never to leave, for thirteen years. She had never even learned to speak. Wiley was found in infantile state, still in diapers. Once found, it was questioned if she would even have a normal learning capacity. Wiley’s extreme case gave scientists the smoking gun to find out if their theory of language and mind. It was theorized that there are “critical periods” in learning and once period is language, once a teenager, that period is missed. As Wiley learned words, this was challenged, but ultimately it was proven true. Once those critical periods are missed, language cannot be formed. This is unfortunately due to lack of stimulation.

The left side of our brain, the cortex needs stimulation in order to form and strengthen. With Wiley’s case, this did not occur. Those areas of the brain were non existent in MRI scans. Our brain is a muscle and if it is not worked out a certain way, that would get reflected. With socialization, we see where in our brain we maintain what we learn.

Answer 1

Human beings from birth to death go through various developmental stages. Throughout their life and at various stages, they would socialize with various people such as parents, family, friends, teachers etc. and this interaction would help them learn about the society and about themselves. It’s because people are social animals and they would be motivated to live in the societies. Those who have a favorable socializing environment would speed up one’s learning in terms of language, norms, values and acquire skills and knowledge because they would be able to ask for help to others when they struggle. This human bond would help human beings remain psychologically healthy and cohabit with others smoothly. Only when interaction occurs, learning would take place and only when learning takes place, the brain would be active. Thus, it’s very important for human beings to socialize and develop their sense of identity in order to lead a happy and content life in the society.

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