Argument53 荷尔蒙与羞怯

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argu53 荷尔蒙与羞怯

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. In this argument, the author concludes that the increased levels of melatonin before birth are responsible for the shyness during infancy and the later life. At first glance, the author's reasoning seems to be appealing, while clearly examining, we may find the argument contains several facets that are questionable which make it unconvincing. The author claims that increased levels of melatonin before birth can cause shyness during infancy by showing that the 25 infants who showed signs of mild distress when exposed to unfamiliar stimuli such as an unusual odor or a tape of recording of an unknown voice were more likely than others 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. However, this piece of information in itself is far from sufficient to demonstrate this assumption. First, the author makes a false analogy that showing signs of mild distress is the same with shyness. As it known to us, the most common signs of shy people are probably having a dread in speaking in public or even talking to strangers. Is showing signs of mild distress when exposed to unfamiliar stimuli the necessarily invariable precursor of being shy during infancy and even later life? It is clearly that unless the author can provide better evidence to show the connection between these two signs, the assumption still remains unwarranted. Secondly, when the author cites the proof that melatonin would naturally increase in response to decreased daylight, he or she fails to convince us by lacking the details about whether the mothers of these 25 infants were living in the places the daylight would decrease in early autumn. It is possible that those mothers were taken such good care that there family took them to the place where the weather condition is ideal all the year round and had no difference with the daylight in other seasons. In that way, it would be a hasty assumption that there exists the increase of melatonin which attributes to the fact of showing signs of mild distress when exposed to unfamiliar stimuli. What's more, even if the author can approve that the increased levels of melatonin before birth has something to do with the shyness during infancy, he or she cannot substantiate this is the only reason of the continuing shyness showing in the later life. Common sense tells us there are still many other factors may also have influences in the formation of one's characters in their early life. As the famous British educator Hosea Ballou ones said (and I paraphrase):"Education commences at the mother's knee, and every word spoken within the hearsay of children tends towards the formation of character" which vividly illustrates the family influence on the building-up of one's personality. A child born in a family where his or her parents used to quarrel and even fight with each other may think the world is full of negative apathy which may leads to his or her shyness. The similar influence also comes from the schools where they may or may not find the true friend who can talk with, the small society around them where they can sense the warmth and coldness through their little minds. Thus without ruling out all the possibilities may influence the formation of one's character, the author cannot convince us increased levels of melatonin before birth cause shyness in the children's later lives. In sum, the author needs to prove more detailed evidence about how the level of melatonin can influence one's character before he or she gives us the claim.