Check Point 1 Week 3

Checkpoint 1: Argument Credibility

6/14/11

CRT/205

Dr. Toi Dennis

Laughter, music may lower blood pressure

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/03/25.laughter.music.lower.blood.pressure/index.html

What claims are being made?

There are studies claiming that if you were to listen to music you enjoy or listen to a comedian that you like daily could help you lower your blood pressure.

Do the claims conflict with your personal observations?

This claim does not conflict with my personal observations. I believe that stress has something to do with a person high blood pressure. I think that music and laughter could possible help a person lower their blood pressure.

What background information do you have about the claims?

My mother was diagnosed with high blood pressure 10 years ago. She was under a lot of stress from getting married and taking on the responsibility of two more children besides for her own two. Now that all of the kids are out of the house my mother has a lot less stress in her life and her blood pressure has lowered some. She can now listen to the music she wants to at home and in the car instead of the kids always changing it. I feel like without all the stress and being able to enjoy the music she likes has helped her lower her blood pressure.

The article also had research information in it that said that they had two different groups of people with high blood pressure. One group would come and listen to music every day and the other wouldn’t do anything. The group that listened to the music had a lower blood pressure than the group that didn’t after 3 months.

What is the expertise of the author, if any?

I feel like this author is an expert because the author is part of the CNN team. CNN has been around for many years and is a great news source for the world.

Is the author biased and untrustworthy, or unbiased and trustworthy?

I believe that this author is very trustworthy and was not biased with this article. The author had...