Violent Video Games

Annotated Bibliography

To some extent, the source supports the fact that violent video games do not lead to violence. It states that some are mere opinions of people rather than scientific facts. For instance, there are many people who play and watch violent games but have never been involved in violent actions. The source also disapproves the causal relationship by stating that studying two people for violence after exposure to a violent videogame does not necessarily support the claim. Other intrinsic reasons may exist. For example, violent individuals may be attracted to participate in games because initially that is their nature. This, therefore, does not mean that a game led to their violence. They would participate in violence regardless of whether they played a game or not. The source goes ahead to argue that people have various definitions of the term aggressiveness. Some may attribute the term as making a physical contact while others as having to hurt someones feelings. The difference in definition may be viewed positively. For instance, when watching sports, tackling the opponent aggressively and winning may be seen positively among fans. This could as well mean hurting an opponents feelings. Therefore, it is essential to have a common working definition so as to conclusively attribute a causal effect relationship. Otherwise, much time might be spent debating on trivial issues.

Additionally, the source supplements the fact that there is no causal effect relationship in that there are regulatory bodies involved before releasing to the consumer. Such include policy analysts and lobbyists who have approved them as not detrimental to consumers towards governance and law-abiding nature. Both lobbyists and policy analysts have a college degree and have a clear understanding before they approve the games. Finally, despite establishing a scientific relationship on how they affect someones behavior shortly after watching, it does not mean that an adolescent becomes aggressive and violent later in life, just because of watching and playing violent games.

The article seeks to establish whether there is a clear link between exposing participants to violent games and videos as well as their violence and aggressiveness in the normal life and laboratory. This was carried by conducting two experiments. In the first experiment, the participants aggression was assessed after randomly selecting the participants, exposing them to videos and games and then obtaining the results. Some of the participants had earlier been exposed unlike others. The second experiment involved selecting participants randomly and categorizing their violence and aggressiveness based on some factors, namely: intrinsic aggression in someones nature, gender, exposure to domestic violence and exposure to violent video and games. The findings were that there was no correlation between these games and violence or aggression. It was notable that violent individuals whatsoever opted these games and videos to stimulate their violence. However, this did not necessarily mean that games and videos changed their intrinsic configuration towards violence. The study used the recommended standardized methods unlike other studies to establish the relationship. It considered other catalytic factors towards aggression other than violent videos and games. Moreover, it identified that domestic violence, the personality of a person and gender influenced aggression and violence. Males were more violent than females. However, exposure to violent games did not make an impact on controlling other factors. Additionally, both short and lifetime exposure did not influence aggression of participants in the laboratory.

This article is a well-researched paper, because it not only gives facts regarding the causal relationship, but also, it is a rich source of other documented information regarding violence and violent video games. It further suggests that other social factors, poverty, the school set up and families have a clear relationship. Additionally, an individuals background influences a persons personality. According to the article, the statistics shows that majority of parents are aware of Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and, therefore, have control over what their children watch. Consequently, this suggests a control over how they behave too.

The article reveals how violent videos and games have become a part of a norm among children and teenagers. It gives statistics of how these games are historically recording the highest sales than other entertainment products. It further gives the merits of games which include educational purpose in schools, military, business and use by health providers. The source outlines researchers such as Ferguson, who conducted research about violent video games (VVG) and identified them useful in reducing depression and hostility. Additionally, the material states that VVGs not only instills individual perseverance but the buildup of important skills which are essential to undergo through different environments and eventually succeed. They have educational content. The source discussed 2008 study where participants were categorized into two groups; one group was exposed to VVG and the other group watched non-violent games. In fact, there was no substantial evidence as to the two groups behaving any aggressively different. This finding supports the position that VVGs have no causation effect on violence. In the article, a study method, which investigates effects of VVGs on violence, has been inconclusive since there is a lack of concrete evidence. The meta-analysis studies conducted on VVGs showed unreliable evidence to violence. There are, however, boiling claims from distracters, but the evidence is yet to be discovered.

This source talks about a collection of studies conducted to investigate changes in aggressiveness shortly after exposure to the VVGs. The article entails clinical observational studies of violent individuals, cross-sectional studies of psychosocial individuals as well as laboratory tests of individuals exposed to VVGs. The results show that there are insignificant findings demonstrating the causal relationship to violence in the real world. It further points out that games have changed since the Columbine mass shooting whereby most of the games are played by multiple persons and instead leading to family bonding. The source further states that other reasons are behind the aggressive nature of children in schools. This is upon careful considerations that approximately 90% of children in the United States are exposed to a violent game of some kind. Despite their exposure, they do not possess the aggression. Some of these factors, which may influence them, include poverty, family violence, psychological problems, and negative peer pressure. Additionally, the source claims that there is inconclusive scientific evidence between the causation effects. The author points out that the meta-analyses were conducted using no standardized scientific methods and, therefore, contained flaws. He advocated the use of standardized methods rather than the GAM that was earlier used. In his findings, he points out no correlation between researched variables. The source calls for longitudinal studies to be conducted, which will involve multiple risk factors since VVGs have had an insignificant relationship to violence. The source, however, advocates for the use of available information to stop violence in schools. This article supports that there are other known causes of violence, and violent video games are not among them. This is because there has been no conclusive evidence to support the causal relationship.