[a习作temp] Argument 53 【7\8\9\10】 7.23(第三次作业) [复制链接]

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发表于 2008-7-23 19:57:38 |只看该作者 |倒序浏览

TOPIC: ARGUMENT53 - Thirteen years ago, researchers studied a group of 25 infants who showed signs of mild distress when exposed to unfamiliar stimuli such as an unusual odor or a tape recording of an unknown voice. They discovered that these infants were more likely than other infants to have been conceived in early autumn, a time when their mothers' production of melatonin-a hormone known to affect some brain functions-would naturally increase in response to decreased daylight. In a follow-up study conducted earlier this year, more than half of these children-now teenagers-who had shown signs of distress identified themselves as shy. Clearly, increased levels of melatonin before birth cause shyness during infancy and this shyness continues into later life.
WORDS: 274 TIME: 00:30:00 DATE: 2008-7-23 16:41:04
The argument make the conclusion that the increased levels of melatonin before birth cause shyness during infancy and this shyness lasts into later life. To bolster the argument the author cited two studies from infants to the teenagers. There are several fallacies in the argument.

The threshold problem with the argument is that the two studies do not provide sufficient sample quantities which render the conclusion unreliable. There are only 25 infants involved within the researcher thirteen years ago. The number is so rare that it is not sufficiently prove the correlation between the melatonin and shyness in the discovery. The same problem with the follow-up study is also make conclusion on the basis of individual cases , even if it is said that more than half of these children are shy, namely about more than 13 teenagers, which could not be representative of all the teenage.

Moreover, the procedure of the two studies is open to question in other two aspects. First, the study conducted at the time from the infants to the teenagers, the time span maybe not long enough to sustain the conclusion that this shyness continues in to later life. Second, the definition of shyness is vague and unclear. In the earlier study, it is unreasonable to definite the infants respond to the unfamiliar stimuli as shyness. Maybe these babies are more sensitive, so they show signs of mild stress from basic human instinct .In the follow-up study, the signs of distress shown in the teenagers are identified themselves as shy, without mention when exposed to unfamiliar circumstances. It is possible that there other factors such as the family problems or too much homework make them distressed.

Finally, the author does not provide evidence to prove the cause-and-effect relationship between melatonin before birth and shyness. According the discovery, the melationin affect some brain functions, but not mention the shyness specifically. Besides, the assumption that their mothers’ production of melationin increase in response to decreased daylight is fallacious. Even if the mother conceived the infants in early autumn bathe the decreased sunlight day by day, there is no evidence to show that the production of melatonin increased.

In sum, the argument is wholly unpersuasive. To bolster the conclusion, the arguer should provide more sample quantities in study and the clearly definition of shyness. Meanwhile, we also need the information about the cause-and-effect relationship between malatonin and shyness to draw the conclusion. To better evaluate the continuation of shyness into later life, the follow-up study should be taken to trace these children when they grow up.

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