Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy
- ISBN13: 9780195309836
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Violent video games are successfully marketed to and easily obtained by children and adolescents. Even the U.S. government distributes one such game, America’s Army, through both the internet and its recruiting offices. Is there any scientific evidence to support the claims that violent games contribute to aggressive and violent behavior?
Anderson, Gentile, and Buckley first present an overview of empirical research on the effects of violent video games, and then add to this literature three new studies that fill the most important gaps. They update the traditional General Aggression Model to focus on both developmental processes and how media-violence exposure can increase the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both short- and long-term contexts. Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents also reviews the history of these games’ explosive growth, and explores the public policy options for controlling their distribution. Anderson et al. describe the reaction of the games industry to scientific findings that exposure to violent video games and other forms of media violence constitutes a significant risk factor for later aggressive and violent behavior. They argue that society should begin a more productive debate about whether to reduce the high rates of exposure to media violence, and delineate the public policy options that are likely be most effective.
As the first book to unite empirical research on and public policy options for violent video games, Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents will be an invaluable resource for student and professional researchers in social and developmental psychology and media studies.
Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy
Chaz said,
Wrote on April 17, 2010 @ 4:18 pm
I tend to suspect a bias when a researcher claims the debate is over. The authors of this book make this claim in their introduction: “Nevertheless, the scientific debate about whether exposure to media violence causes increases in aggressive behavior is over and should have been over 30 years ago.”
After reading this book, one should also read “Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do” by Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson.
Rating: 2 / 5
Betty Ann said,
Wrote on April 17, 2010 @ 6:26 pm
These are the top researchers, published in the top journals of their field. Critics often complain that they don’t believe the science, but don’t offer substantive arguments to the contrary. Critical thinking means weighing the evidence despite one’s personal bias, which we all have. This topic sparks fierce debate because people take it personally. Bottom line, this is top notch scientific evidence, clearly conceived and well written.
Rating: 5 / 5
Andrew Raczkowski said,
Wrote on April 17, 2010 @ 7:58 pm
It seems like everyone’s an expert on this topic lately. And frankly, I, as both a gamer and a game developer, am sick of it. For every so-called study that concludes games and media are a direct influence on violent behavior, three more clinical studies conclude just the opposite. Read this book if you like, it’s an interesting look at another person’s view (I’m not using the word “opinion,” since the authors try to remain fairly neutral while presenting as much material as possible). Quite a few studies are cited, although several of them were not in controlled environments.
The fact of the matter is, it’s very difficult to rule one way or another. Violent behavior is a result of many factors; often genetics, parental attention, environmental stimulus, internal psychology and sometimes pathology, and an infinite number of other variables. The authors present this idea as well, and they do it better than some other politically minded “ban violent videgames” type books.
The truth is, as the authors have written, digital media is only one factor that needs to be monitored by parents, where the responsibility should ultimately lie. Certain age groups should not be exposed to certain stimulus, least of all without proper guidance, which many parents seem to ignore.
All in all, this is a decent book. Much better than several others, and better than listening to Hillary Clinton’s and Jack Thomson’s accusations and generalizations. My personal feelings obviously color this review, but don’t let it color your opinion of the book: it is actually pretty good for a topic where there is as much misinformation as information.
Read it, do some of your own research, and form your own opinions.
And most importantly, pay attention to ratings on all media. They exist for a purpose.
Rating: 3 / 5
Anonymous said,
Wrote on April 17, 2010 @ 10:55 pm
I just read the sample of this book, and while it does present some interesting arguements, i don’t think it is worth the money they are asking for it.
Rating: 3 / 5
JMathew said,
Wrote on April 18, 2010 @ 1:04 am
It was a well written and informative book. At first I thought it was going to be all biased but they do take real facts and research to prove their point.
Rating: 4 / 5