Kaitlyn Smith Summaries and Citations Due: February 10, 2013

Bissell, Tom. Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. They Say/I Say. Ed. Gerald Graff. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 349-379. Print. Bissells article in They Say/I Say provides unique insight into the issue of violent video games. The author himself is, in fact, a fan of them and plays frequently. He draws attention away from the literal violence in the games, and instead focuses on the creative, artful process of what it took to create it. Bissells firsthand account of being a heavy-user of violent media sheds fresh light on details that are often overlooked in what is becoming the most popular trend in electronic entertainment, by comparing video games to a metaphorical extra life. Ferguson, Christopher. "Video Games Have Become a Scapegoat for Violent Behavior." Media Violence. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Video Games: The Latest Scapegoat for Violence." Chronicle of Higher Education 22 June 2007: B20. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. Christopher Ferguson plays the devils advocate in his compelling article, "Video Games Have Become a Scapegoat for Violent Behavior." He argues that studies done that prove video games are a direct cause of violent behavior are biased to pull attention away from the real underlying psychological issues, and to instead place the blame on violent video games simply because its easy (Ferguson 3). Ferguson, who asserts that he has done extensive research into studies done on the effects of violent video games, says that these studies could have potentially been inaccurately done, leading to underrepresented and biased results in favor of the notion that video games are detrimental to mental health and stability (Ferguson 1).

Ferguson, Christopher. Video Games and Youth Violence: A Prospective Analysis in Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 40.4 (2011): 377-391. ProQuest Education Journals. Web. 15 February. 2013. Christopher Ferguson is a known advocate for the rights of violent video games. Also the author of a magazine article I have cited, this is his in-depth scientific journal detailing the study he did on aggressive behavior in adolescents and if there is actually reason to believe that video game use is a direct cause of violent behavior. Ferguson asserts that although many studies have been conducted on the psychological effects of violent video games, that the evidence gathered is biased and circumstantial (Ferguson 378). His study examined several other experiments conducted, including the following article Desensitization to Media Violence: Links with Habitual Media Violence Exposure, Aggressive Cognitions, and Aggressive Behavior. by Barbara Krah and Ingrid Mller. Ferguson states that the Krah- Mller study finds little evidence to prove the causational relationship between youth violence and video games (Ferguson 379). He outlines a study he conducted that he believes gives a more accurate explanation of the real relationship between youth and media violence (specifically pertaining to video games). This study, Ferguson states, takes into account variables outside the actual experiment including exposure across a period of time, frequency of exposure and symptoms of underlying psychological issues in subjects (Ferguson 387). The results of Fergusons experiment suggest that the evidence connecting youth violence to violent video game exposure are still spotty at best and that all future studies should be mindful to consider all possible variables (Ferguson 389). Gentile, Douglas and Brad Bushman. Reassessing media violence using a risk and resilience approach to understanding aggression. Psychology of Popular Media Culture 1.3 (2012): 138-151. PsycARTICLES. Web. 31 January. 2013.

In this recent study conducted by Douglas Gentile and Brad Bushman, yet more evidence continues to be found that perhaps too much weight is placed on the role that violent video games play in the risk for aggressive behavior among youth. Rather than viewing violent entertainment as behavioral conditioning to teach violence, Gentile and Bushman suggest that violent video games would better be described as an outlet for personal expression and stress relief (Gentile 138). This study also goes in to more in-depth detail about risk factors for aggression as well as prevention matters and how they weigh-in when it comes to determining the actual cause. They suggest other potential variables such as past physical victimization, past aggression and gender that could also play a significant role in predicting future violent behavior (Gentile 139). Ultimately, the study concludes that while media violence exposure can neither be proven nor disproven as a finite cause, it is absolutely a risk factor that should always be taken into consideration (149). Krah, Barbara and Ingrid Mller. Desensitization to Media Violence: Links with Habitual Media Violence Exposure, Aggressive Cognitions, and Aggressive Behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 100.4 (2011): 630 646. 7 February, 2013. Desensitization to Media Violence: Links With Habitual Media Violence Exposure, Aggressive Cognitions, and Aggressive Behavior outlines a study done by Barbara Krah and her colleagues on the biological effects of systematic exposure to violent, funny, or sad stimuli. Based on research done in the past, they hypothesized that the more an individual is exposed to media violence (such as violent movies or violent video games), the less of an emotional/physiological reaction they would have when shown violent video clips (Krah 2). The subjects of the study, men and women (average age of 23 years), were pre-screened by taking a survey inquiring the extent of each individuals average exposure to different types of media. They then watched clips from violent films (Casino, Reservoir Dogs), funny films (Monty Pythons Life of

Brian, Philosophers World Cup), and sad films (The Champ, Stepmom) (Krah 6). Their responses to the clips were then measured by having the individuals participate in a number of surveys and tests to measure emotional response, accessibility to violent thoughts and aggressive behavior (Krah 6). The findings from their experiment did end up supporting data collected in previous experiments, as well as adding a new set of proposed ideas and correlations between data. Surprisingly, they found that habitual exposure to media violence had no discernible effect on provoked aggression in both males and females (Krah 14). Krah and her colleagues concluded that The findings join a growing body of research directed at elucidating the processes by which exposure to violent media stimuli may impact aggression, moving on from the issue of whether or not media violence exposure is linked to aggression to a better understanding of the psychological mechanisms that may explain such a link. (Krah 16). Phillips, Helen. Mind-altering media. New Scientist 194 (2007): 33-37. 31 January, 2013. This article written by Helen Phillips outlines the evidence suggesting a positive correlation between electronic media use and violent behavior, depression and attention-deficit disorder among youth (Phillips 1) The article highlights a few stories of the after-effects of children exposed to violence, such as the case of Devin Moore, a young murderer who admittedly played the popular video game Grand Theft Auto obsessively and how he relates it to his real-life crime of killing three policemen. Phillips asserts that while studies have shown that popular culture has made our generation smarter, it is also making us more susceptible to violent thoughts and actions, and therefore the bad news outweighs the good (Phillips 4).

Schulzke, Marcus. Defending the Morality of Violent Video Games. Ethics and Information Technology 12.2 (2010): 127-138. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 14 February. 2013.

Marcus Schulzke takes the widely-debated subject of the effects of violent video games, and looks at the argument from the perspective of Kantian, Aristotelian and utilitarian moral theories (Schulzke 127). He takes the side of other authors I have looked into such as Christopher Ferguson, when he suggests that video games are a misunderstood breed of entertainment, and that the cause for concern is a lot less severe than most people believe it to be (Ferguson 128). What Schulzke does in his article is address the issue that violent video games are morally objectionable. He takes knowledge acquired from in-depth studies of philosophy and applies it to this modern-day issue to support the case that violent video games are not to blame in the up-and-coming surges of youth violence (Ferguson 127). He also takes into account background information overlooked by researchers in the field, such as statistical trends in violent crime that are inconsistent with the results that support the anti-video-game cause.