Argument53 [Jet小姐]第五次作业

michaelxuywUID: 2330197

ARGUMENT53- Thirteen years ago, researchers studied a group of 25 infants whoshowed signs of mild distress when exposed to unfamiliar stimuli suchas an unusual odor or a tape recording of an unknown voice. Theydiscovered that these infants were more likely than other infants tohave been conceived in early autumn, a time when their mothers'production of melatonin-a hormone known to affect some brainfunctions-would naturally increase in response to decreased daylight.In a follow-up study conducted earlier this year, more than half ofthese children-now teenagers-who had shown signs of distress identifiedthemselves as shy. Clearly, increased levels of melatonin before birthcause shyness during infancy and this shyness continues into later life.


The argument which intends to affirm a close link between the cause ofshyness and the increased levels of melatonin appears plausible atfirst glance. However, after being thoroughly investigated, theargument turns out to be unsound for the following reasons.

Firstly,the author carries out his reasoning by making an implicit assumptionthat the sign of mild distress is equivalent to that of shyness.Nevertheless, this assumption is unsubstantiated for the author failsto provide any convincing evidence. It is possible that these infantsare allergic to the unusual odor, which therefore brings about  theirmild distress when exposed to it.

Secondly, the author assertsthat it's the affected brain function that bring about mild distress,which turns out to be logically unsound, for the author fails toprovide any convincing evidence which confirm that the malfunction ofthe brain caused by the increased melatonin will make these infantsrepellent to those stimuli. Given the effect of the malfunction isstill unclear, we cannot safely accepts the author's assertion.

Inaddition, failing to consider other possible alternatives to theformation of shyness of these infants, the author's assertion of thecontinuous effect of melatonin in contributing the shyness of theseinfants is also fallacious. As we all know, family or school life couldplay a pivotal role in building the character of a child. For instance,their lack in communication skill due to somewhat isolated childhoodmay make these infants feel they are shy.

Last but not the least, the author draws a hasty conclusion after having conducted a study consists only 25 infants.
Tomake it defensible, the author should provide further evidence to showthat these 25 infants are broadly representative of population ingeneral, or it's reasonable for us to suspect other factors which makethese infants shy.

Overall, this argument is well-presented, butnot thoroughlywell-reasoned. Before any conclusion could be made, the author isobliged to supplement further evidence to confirm the equivalencebetween shyness and distress and effect of these affected brainfunction, to consider other factors of shyness, and to prove that thestudy is representative as it stands.