53[Jet小组]第五次作业

ellefrancaiUID: 2449693

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: 430

In the argument, the author attribute shyness during infancy and this shyness continues into later life to the increased levels of melatonin before birth, which is full of logical flaws. Moreover, the study itself is dubious and unconvincing in some parts. Thus, I would like to present them as follows.

Firstly, there is no accurate measure of so-called 'mild distress'. The author did not give convincing and clear expression of what the signs of mild distress which exposed to unfamiliar stimuli shows. It is possible that the group of 25 infants were just bit of hungry and the researchers mistook that signs of hungry as signs of mild distress. Furthermore, it is also possible that those 25 infants were just shows their unlikeness of the unusual odor and the tape recording of an unknown voice, but not mild distress.

Secondly, the author said that those infants are more likely to be conceived in early autumn, the reason is that it is a time when their mothers' production of melatonin which is a hormone known to affect some brain functions would naturally increase in response to decreased daylight. However, as we all know, the season that daylight decreased most is winter instead of early autumn. We can see little convincing logical reasoning from the author. Thus, there is a possibility that the 25 babies were conceived in winter but not early autumn, which is an obvious logically flaw and make the conclusion that the author made wrong.

Thirdly, the author did not give any accurate measures of shyness. In the article, the author said that those teenagers identified themselves as shy, but it is hardly to know whether someone is really a shy person and it is also hard to judge what shyness is. Many comedians were shy in private occasions while they become extraverts on the stage, such as Chaplin, he was taciturn and shy in private but surprisingly active and charming when he was acting. So do some super stars. They were shy in daily life but when come to stage for show they are anything but shy.

In sum, this article is full of logical flaws and the author made rush and unconvincing conclusions from the study that researchers did thirteen years ago. The biggest problem is that there is no accurate measure of several parts of the study itself and logical flaws appears in the author’s reasoning. So, the conclusion that increased levels of melatonin before birth cause shyness during infancy and this shyness continues into later life cannot be made on the basis of the study.