Anderson, Craig A., and Brad J. Bushman. “Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature.” Psychological Science, vol. 12, no. 5, 2001, pp. 353–359. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40063648. The main argument of this source is that violent media such as television, movies and video games, are a large part of why the percentage of aggressive behavior in children and teens is increasing. This article is based on research results that show the increase in aggressive behavior from adolescents who play violent video games. In this article the two writers, Craig A. Anderson and Brad J. Bushman use the research results to discuss the impacts of violent media on society and how it’s not a smart decision to keep on allowing young children to be influenced by any harmful media. The way these two authors approach this topic is informative. Anderson and Bushman point out the positives and the negatives of violent media, although they highlight the negatives more, they aren’t completely against it. They talk about how media violence reduces prosocial behavior, which is the type of behavior that is beneficial to this society, while pointing out that nonviolent games can also increase aggressive behavior in adolescents. But they still do not see a point in taking away positive media because based on the data and the argument the provide, it is clear that negative media has a greater impact. This article contributes to my research paper because the purpose of my paper is to find out how violent media negatively affects mental health. The research in this article provides information that will help to strengthen my argument because it supports my thesis. The visual graphs help further my understanding and strengthen my viewpoint so that my argument can also be stronger. Overall, this is a significant first source to use in my research paper. Collier, Joel E., et al. “Exposure of Violent Video Games to Children and Public Policy Implications.” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, vol. 27, no. 1, 2008, pp. 107–112. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25651584. This article is mainly about the steps that are needed to get violent video game sales restricted so that only adults may buy them, and not minors. The authors go into detail about how the video game market is steadily increasing and that it is easy for children to access games such as Grand Theft Auto through parents and the internet. Since video game violence affects young minds, it is a good idea for the sales to be restricted and it seems as though many people have tried to get limit games sales since over the years there have been cases opened on this topic and bills supporting this topic were almost passed. Both of the authors do a great job at supporting their major points. The tone suggests that they are seriously concerned about children having easy access to media that may affect the way they grow up and the behavior they exhibit. I think the authors could have been less biased, it seems as though they were more focused on getting video games banished. They could have structured the argument more towards why only violent video games should be restricted and that non-violent video games are not as much of a problem. This article’s argument relates to my argument because it proves that there have been attempts at trying to get video games restricted. The article goes on to support my thesis about why young adults who play video games tend to become mentally affected. It fits with my research paper because I could talk about how aggression has been proven. The facts brought up in this article can be used in my paper to show the level of research that has been done to the point where this issue has been brought to the government to try and change the type of video games children play so that the way they grow up to be may possibly change. Sternheimer, Karen. “Do Video Games Kill?” Contexts, vol. 6, no. 1, 2007, pp. 13–17. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41802732. Do Video Games Kill is an article that answers the titles question. It is clear that after reading this, the author has very strong reasons to believe that the answer is yes. Her main point is that ever since violent video games reached the market, killings have skyrocketed, and she uses many informative statistics to prove it. Karen Sternheimer supports her argument well by using supportive evidence. She uses recent research; starting from 1993, to point out the growing numbers of violence in the adolescent community and how violent media is linked to it. She isn't biased and uses evidence to prove that the arguments that state video games violence has nothing to do with killings, are wrong. This is definitely a strong well-rounded argument. This source will prove to be useful because it touches on other aspects of my thesis. It goes into slight detail about how over time, a child’s mental state is affected when they become accustomed to playing video games. It also adds to the main point in my argument that violent video games are causes of children growing comfortably into aggressive behavior. Anderson, Craig A., et al. “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth.” Psychological Science in the Public Interest, vol. 4, no. 3, 2003, pp. 81–110. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40059680. This source discusses specific effects of media violence that are both immediate and long term. They use past and present research to state their position. One of the main ideas is how there are effects that cause children to become physical aggressive, verbally aggressive, or both. It’s not only video game violence that the authors’ provided data for. Data regarding television is also analyzed. The authors have a well-constructed argument. Many examples and sources of data are provided to provide how and why brutal images from everyday media are causing a heavy influence on anyone who views them, more specifically, children and teens. The tone throughout the article feels serious with there being many back-to-back sources and point throughout all thirty pages. This is a useful source because it provides more information than previous sources that I have read. There is also a lot more to talk about regarding this source because my thesis is centered around violent media and there are continuous points on how it is not just video games that are the problem, this way I have more to write about. Sheese, Brad E., and William G. Graziano. “Deciding to Defect: The Effects of Video-Game Violence on Cooperative Behavior.” Psychological Science, vol. 16, no. 5, 2005, pp. 354–357. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40064229. This article is about researchers that did an experiment on randomly selected participants involving video game violence to see how they would react. The study evaluated how videogame violence affected the decisions to behave cooperatively or competitively. As expected, the results were that participants in the violent game were more likely to become competitive then the non-violent game participants. I believe that the authors and conductors of this experiment were very thorough when doing the experiment. All variables seemed to be controlled and it made sense the way the experiment was conducted. Based on their tone, they seemed very convinced that type of video games that the children were playing had a vital role in the way the kids made their decision and the way they chose to act. This article has proven itself to be helpful to my research paper because I can use the results of the experiment to further my argument. The study from this article shows how violent media effects the choices the participants made, therefore having mental changes occur in their minds. This is important because I can use it as an example and discuss my argument further.
