Influenced by Violence: Annotated Bibliography

Brad J. Bushman, et al. "The More You Play, The More Aggressive You Become: A Long-Term Experimental Study Of Cumulative Violent Video Game Effects On Hostile Expectations And Aggressive Behavior." Journal Of Experimental Social Psychology 49.2 (2013): 224-227. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2013. 

A study on the effects of violent video games and aggressive behavior, the article finds that “aggressive behavior and hostile expectations increased over days for violent game players, but not for nonviolent video game players, and the increase in aggressive behavior was partially due to hostile expectations”. The study's authors feel strongly that the evidence supports the concept that individuals involved in violent games nonetheless are more likely to engage in aggressive and violent criminal behavior. 

"Effects of Violence Accumulate Over Time." USA Today Magazine 141.2815 (2013): 9. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2013. 

The article found that “people who played a violent video game for three consecutive days showed increases in aggressive behavior and hostile expectations each they played”, the study helps to show the practical influence of violent video games on individuals. Moreover, as “those who played nonviolent games showed no meaningful changes in aggression or hostile expectations”, the article is a valuable insight into the psychology of violent games. 

Eric Beck, et al. "Violence Against Women In Video Games: A Prequel Or Sequel To Rape Myth Acceptance?" Journal of Interpersonal Violence 27.15 (2012): 3016-3031. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2013. 

This article shows the important effect of violent video games that feature aggression against women have on rape acceptance by males. The study found that “video game depicting sexual objectification of women and violence against women resulted in statistically significant increased rape myths acceptance (rape-supportive attitudes) for male study participants but not for female participants”. Thus, while rape myth acceptance is not criminal behavior, the author argues that violent video games promote misogynous and thus potentially criminal behavior. 

Emily, Bazelon. "The Ninny State." New York Times Magazine (2011): 11. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2013. 

The article argues that, similar to the 1950s scare of comic books, violent games are no more the cause of violent behavior than many other factors present in daily life such as the new forms of media violence. The focus of the article is to point out the paranoia and fear-driven basis of many the accusations that video games cause school shootings or criminal behavior. 

Gunter, Whitney D., and Kevin Daly. "Causal or Spurious: Using Propensity Score Matching To Detangle The Relationship Between Violent Video Games And Violent Behavior." Computers In Human Behavior 28.4 (2012): 1348-1355. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2013. 

Another study regarding the link between violent video games and violent behavior, Gunter and Daly found that “results indicate a substantial decrease in the relationship between video games and these outcomes when a matched sample is used. This suggests that the strength of evidence supporting a relationship has likely been overestimated using other methodologies”. Furthermore, the article argues that the link between video games and violent behavior is still barely understood at best. 

King, Daniel L., Paul H. Delfabbro, and Mark D. Griffiths. "The Role Of Structural Characteristics In Problematic Video Game Play: An Empirical Study." International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction 9.3 (2011): 320-333. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2013. 

This article by Kind, Delfabbro, and Griffiths questions whether certain psychological mindsets are more likely to engage in abusive video game behavior and thus become more susceptible to criminal tendencies. However, there was only “some evidence that certain structural characteristics were stronger predictors of problematic involvement in video games than factors such as gender, age, and time spent playing”. Thus, their hypothesis went unproven. 

Robbins, M. Brandon. "Games and Violence." Library Journal 138.5 (2013): 88. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2013. 

In this article, Robbins offers insight as to reasons people play video games and argues that video games are no more the cause of violent or criminal behavior than any other form of entertainment. Stating that Playing violent video games doesn't turn people into killers any more than playing rugby does”, Robbins feels that, while “shooters, sports games, and fighting games do bring out aggressive behavior”, banning violent video games is nothing more than futile censorship. He also cites that popular gaming trends like Grand Theft Auto do not lead to the propensity for violent street crimes. Moreover, he points out that “real-life sports” cause extreme aggression and violence in individuals. 

Robinson, Nicholas. "Video Games and Violence: Legislating On The 'Politics Of Confusion'." Political Quarterly 83.2 (2012): 414-423. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2013.

A substantial article published as policy paper for the United Kingdom with regards to the methodology and procedure about approaching the issue of violent video games, Robinson finds that “almost universally, [the] research finds a strong correlation between exposure to violent content and aggressive thoughts and physiological responses.” However, Robinson feels that, even though his data supports the idea that violent video games cause criminal behavior it is nonetheless a parental issue that the government does not need to address. 

Thilmany, Jean. "Gaming Pros and Cons." Mechanical Engineering 134.3 (2012): 20. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2013. 

An article found in a credible engineering publication, the document focuses on the positive and negative effects of video games from a physical standpoint. While pointing out that individuals who spent large amounts of time playing video games tended towards higher “improved perceptual and attention skills”, they also have better capacity to think critically and logically about particular actions. It also states that “the evidence that playing video games induces criminal or serious physical violence is much weaker than the evidence that games increase the types of aggression that happen every day in school hallways”. Thus, the article provides a valuable counterweight to the idea that video games cause criminal behavior and instead implies that there are more important factors than video games. 

Ferguson, C. J., Rueda, S., Cruz, A., Ferguson, D., Fritz, S., & Smith, S. (2008). Violent video games and aggression: Causal relationship or a byproduct of family violence and intrinsic violence motivation? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35, 311-332

Performing two thorough studies on the matter of whether violent video games cause criminal behavior or aggressive tendencies, Ferguson found that the “results call into question whether a person’s propensity toward violent crimes can be predicted based on their direct exposure to violent-video-game play.” The study rejects the idea that the “players of violent video games can be categorized as being prone to violent criminal acts. “Naturally aggressive individuals oftentimes partake in violent games with no casual factor relating to games.