Argument53 Thrive小组第6次作业

westwindyiUID: 2453478

题目：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.

提纲：
1，  作者引用的study不能给作者的观点以支持；
2，  即使引用的study可信，没有证据表明increased levels of melatonin导致shyness；
3，  即使increased levels of melatonin导致shyness，也没有证据表明shyness会延续到以后。

In this argument, the writer cites a study on a group of 25 infants who showed signs of mild distress when exposed to unfamiliar stimulation. In addition, the writer argues that these infants are more likely than other infants to have been conceived in early autumn when their mothers' production of melatonin would naturally increase in response to decreased daylight, finally, the writer concludes that increased levels of melatonin before birth cause shyness during infancy and this shyness will continue into a person's later life. The argument is flawed in several aspects, thus is unconvincing.

Firstly, the credibility of the study of a group of 25 infants is open to doubt. The writer fails to provide the background and details of the study. The infants’ number of the study is limited and is therefore not sufficient to make such a conclusive conclusion. And that whether these studied infants are representative is uncertain. To what extent they can stand for cannot be figured out. The study which the argument based on is lack of credibility and lends no support to the writer’s view, thus, the argument is not well reasoned and unconvincing.

Given the study can be trusted; there is no evidence to show increased levels of melatonin before birth cause shyness. The writer fails to establish a causal relationship between the increased levels of melatonin before birth and the shyness. It is unsubstantiated for the writer to claims that melatonin should be responsible for the shyness because he or she provides no convincing evidence, while he or she asserts that melatonin is a kind of hormone known to affect some brain functions and naturally increase in response to decreased daylight. And the writer fails to point out what brain functions melatonin actually affects. Until provide scientific evidence, the writer cannot convince me.

Further more, even if the increased levels of melatonin should be responsible for the shyness, there is no evidence to prove that the innate shyness will continue into later life. There may be many possible reasons which may lead to shyness, such as lacking in communication experiences and skills, nervous, and so forth. And shyness can be overcame through certain training or disappears automatically as grow up. Thus, without considering these possible factor which may finally lead to the absence of shyness, it is unjustifiably for the writer to assert that the inborn shyness will continue into later life.

In sum, the writer's conclusion is deteriorated by these flaws, thus is not persuasive. To support the conclusion, the writer should provide the details of the 25-infant-study; also the writer should provide scientific evidence which can prove that the increased levels of melatonin can be responsible for the shyness; other possible reason that may be responsible for the shyness should be considered.