Study Guide for "Extreme Isolation"

The following includes a very broad set of questions to help you understand your assigned reading. You are responsible for material in the article that these questions may not directly address. That is, to do well on the quiz you must read the entire article at least once if not more than once. On the day of the quiz, you will have a five question multiple choice quiz in class. Study hard and enjoy understanding what impact extreme isolation has on the development of one's personality!

Is our ability to walk biogentically determined?

Briefly describe the first couple months of Anna's life.

Describe Anna's condition, at the age of six, after she was finally removed from her grandfather's house.

What was her official prognosis?

What conclusion does Davis make regarding Anna?

Did Anna's genetic makeup potentially influence her ability to progress once she was rescued from the farm?

Describe Isabelle's early childhood.

What curious thing happened to Isabelle after her first vocalization?

Did Isabelle ever reach the normal level of mental development? Why or why not?

What does Davis argue is the fundamental reason why Isabelle may have progressed further in her development than Anna?

What i s the maximum age at which a person could remain isolated and still retain the capacity for full cultural acquisition?

What are the three reasons why Anna is not an ideal case for showing the effects of extreme isolation?

Why was Davis, as a sociologist, interested in these cases of extreme isolation?