The following appeared as part of a letter to the editor of a scientific journal.
"A recent study of eighteen rhesus monkeys provides clues as to the effects of birth order on an individual's levels of stimulation. The study showed that in stimulating situations (such as an encounter with an unfamiliar monkey), firstborn infant monkeys produce up to twice as much of the hormone cortisol, which primes the body for increased activity levels, as do their younger siblings. Firstborn humans also produce relatively high levels of cortisol in stimulating situations (such as the return of a parent after an absence). The study also found that during pregnancy, first-time mother monkeys had higher levels of cortisol than did those who had had several offspring."
Write a response in which you discuss one or more alternative explanations that could rival the proposed explanation and explain how your explanation(s) can plausibly account for the facts presented in the argument.
The argument presented in the letter to the editor of a scientific journal suggests that birth order has a significant effect on an individual's levels of stimulation, as the study of 18 rhesus monkeys shows that firstborn infant monkeys produce twice as much of the hormone cortisol in stimulating situations, such as encountering an unfamiliar monkey, than their younger siblings. Additionally, the study suggests that firstborn humans also produce relatively high levels of cortisol in similar situations. However, while the evidence presented in the study may support this argument, there are several alternative explanations that should also be considered.
One alternative explanation is that the differences in cortisol levels observed in the study may be due to environmental factors rather than birth order. For example, first-time mother monkeys may have experienced more stress during pregnancy due to a lack of social support or access to resources, leading to higher cortisol levels. This stressful environment could also extend to the firstborn monkey's encounter with unfamiliar monkeys, leading to higher cortisol levels in that situation as well. This explanation can plausibly account for the facts presented in the argument, as it would explain why first-time mother monkeys and firstborn monkeys would have higher cortisol levels, without necessarily implicating birth order as the cause.
Another alternative explanation is that the observed differences in cortisol levels could be due to individual variations in temperament rather than birth order. It is possible that firstborn monkeys and humans have a naturally higher tendency towards anxiety and reactivity, which would lead to higher cortisol levels in stimulating situations. This temperament could be influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, and thus, the observed correlation between birth order and cortisol levels may not be causal. This explanation can also account for the facts presented in the argument, as it would explain why firstborn individuals would have higher cortisol levels, without necessarily implicating birth order as the cause.
While the study presented in the letter to the editor may provide evidence for the proposed explanation of birth order affecting levels of stimulation, it is important to consider alternative explanations as well. These explanations, such as environmental factors and individual variations in temperament, can also plausibly account for the facts presented in the argument, and further research is needed to determine the true cause of the observed differences in cortisol levels.
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Comments
e-rater score report
Attribute Value Ideal
Final score: 3.5 out of 6
Category: Satisfactory Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 2 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 5 2
No. of Sentences: 13 15
No. of Words: 393 350
No. of Characters: 2209 1500
No. of Different Words: 152 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.452 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.621 4.6
Word Length SD: 3.014 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 185 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 145 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 108 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 77 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 30.231 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 10.379 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.769 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.476 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.637 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.153 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 4 5
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, first, however, if, may, so, thus, well, while, for example, such as
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 11.0 19.6327345309 56% => More to be verbs wanted.
Auxiliary verbs: 17.0 12.9520958084 131% => OK
Conjunction : 9.0 11.1786427146 81% => OK
Relative clauses : 9.0 13.6137724551 66% => More relative clauses wanted.
Pronoun: 19.0 28.8173652695 66% => OK
Preposition: 45.0 55.5748502994 81% => OK
Nominalization: 21.0 16.3942115768 128% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2256.0 2260.96107784 100% => OK
No of words: 393.0 441.139720559 89% => More content wanted.
Chars per words: 5.74045801527 5.12650576532 112% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.45244063426 4.56307096286 98% => OK
Word Length SD: 3.0760380546 2.78398813304 110% => OK
Unique words: 155.0 204.123752495 76% => More unique words wanted.
Unique words percentage: 0.394402035623 0.468620217663 84% => More unique words wanted or less content wanted.
syllable_count: 698.4 705.55239521 99% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.8 1.59920159681 113% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 7.0 4.96107784431 141% => OK
Article: 3.0 8.76447105788 34% => OK
Subordination: 6.0 2.70958083832 221% => Less adverbial clause wanted.
Conjunction: 2.0 1.67365269461 119% => OK
Preposition: 2.0 4.22255489022 47% => More preposition wanted as sentence beginning.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 13.0 19.7664670659 66% => Need more sentences. Double check the format of sentences, make sure there is a space between two sentences, or have enough periods. And also check the lengths of sentences, maybe they are too long.
Sentence length: 30.0 22.8473053892 131% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively long.
Sentence length SD: 63.9706848542 57.8364921388 111% => OK
Chars per sentence: 173.538461538 119.503703932 145% => OK
Words per sentence: 30.2307692308 23.324526521 130% => OK
Discourse Markers: 5.69230769231 5.70786347227 100% => OK
Paragraphs: 4.0 5.15768463074 78% => More paragraphs wanted.
Language errors: 0.0 5.25449101796 0% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 4.0 8.20758483034 49% => More positive sentences wanted.
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 6.88822355289 73% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 4.0 4.67664670659 86% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.242671842245 0.218282227539 111% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.103368167137 0.0743258471296 139% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0959712378825 0.0701772020484 137% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.174551282116 0.128457276422 136% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0867735951123 0.0628817314937 138% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 20.7 14.3799401198 144% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 24.11 48.3550499002 50% => Flesch_reading_ease is low.
smog_index: 13.0 7.1628742515 181% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 17.4 12.197005988 143% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 16.6 12.5979740519 132% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.62 8.32208582834 104% => OK
difficult_words: 87.0 98.500998004 88% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 21.0 12.3882235529 170% => OK
gunning_fog: 14.0 11.1389221557 126% => OK
text_standard: 21.0 11.9071856287 176% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Rates: 66.67 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 4.0 Out of 6
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Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.