Social Isolation and Human Development.

Socialization is the process through which humans learn the values, behavioral norms, knowledge and skills of their societies. This process teaches humans to be humans in a culturally specific way while reproducing a society's culture. Socialization is necessary for human development because humans are not guided by instincts in the same way that other animals are. For example, instinct might tell a human that he or she is hungry and needs to get out of the cold, but no instinct tells humans exactly what to eat or how to catch and prepare it, and no instinct tells humans how to build shelter. Sociologists believe that socialization cannot occur in isolation; humans need to be socialized by other people to become fully functioning members of their societies. Studies of isolated and institutionalized children suggest that growing up without the cognitive and emotional stimulation provided by other humans can severely stunt a child's development. Sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists and biologists have competing theories explaining why isolation during development is so detrimental to normal functioning. Social psychologists, especially symbolic interactionists, believe that the self is acquired through interaction. Freudian psychologists believe that for the self to develop fully, it must internalize culture by forming a superego that will control the innate biological urges embodied by the id. In contrast, some developmental psychologists and sociobiologists believe that socialization and development of the self are innate stages, perhaps hardwired into our biology.