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Alan Montgomery
Annotated Bibliography
ENG-112-79

Anderson, Craig A. "Violent Video Games Promote Teen Aggression and Violence." Teens at
Risk. Ed. Stephen P. Thompson. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints.
Rpt. from "FAQs on Violent Video Games and Other Media Violence."
www.education.com. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
In this article, Craig Anderson, a professor and expert about media violence studies, contends
that media violence causes people to become more violent that they were before. He uses
information from a study to show that exposure to media violence cause aggressive emotions and
behavior. He says that long term exposure essentially leads to desensitizing emotional response
to violence. He then talks of how the Gaming Industry markets violence because violence makes
money.
Being a professor at Iowa State University does gives him some credibility. According to the
intro, Anderson is one of the leading experts about studies on media violence.
This information could be used to show how video games can affect people. I could use this
source as part of my voices paper, with Anderson representing part of the social scientists voice.

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DVera Cohn, Paul Taylor, Mark Hugo Lopez, Catherine A. Gallagher, Kim Parker and Kevin T.
Maass. Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware. Pew
Social Trends. Pew Research Center. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
This article is an analysis of data on primarily gun crime, but also includes statistics on other
violent crime. It focuses mainly on crime committed between 1993 and 2011, but has some
statistics dating all the way back to the 1960s. It covers everything from age groups, gender
groups, to race groups.
The article is completely analysis of the data with no bias or personal opinion involved. The
analysis was conducted by members of the Pew Research Group. As it states in the article, they
do not take advocacy positions, they simply analyze behavioral trends of Americans.
The information in this article could be very useful in proving my theory that violent crime has
been declining despite what the news would have you believe. Almost every chart and graph
proves that no matter how you look at, be age, race, or gender, the violent crime rate in America
has been steadily decreasing since at least 1993. This is also the same time frame that video
games have become more and more popular, especially among the youth, who are of the primary
concern of the effects of violent video games.

Gordon, Serena. "Violent Video Games Do Not Promote Teen Aggression and Violence." Teens
at Risk. Ed. Stephen P. Thompson. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing
Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Violent Video Games May Alter Brain Function: Study."
www.healthfinder.gov. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.

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In this article Serena talks of a study that used MRIs to examine the brain while individuals
played video games. It showed the difference between brain activity while playing violent games
and non-violent games. Serena concludes that while a difference was noted, it did not prove that
violent games create violent people.
Serena uses the opinion of child development expert and information from a study conducted by
a professor for her information. Serena herself is a reporter, so she is not necessarily an expert on
the subject.
This information could be used to show that science has not actually proven that violent games
can cause people to become violent themselves. This source could be used as part of the voices
paper representing the side that believes video games do no promote violence.

Jennifer Truman, Lynn Langton. Criminal Victimization, 2013. U.S. Department of Justice.
Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
This article covers the statistics of Crime between 1993 and 2013 in the United States. It covers
violent crime and property crime. It breaks it down into crime by type, race, and age.
The information is provided from the U.S. Department of Justice- Bureau of Justice Statistics. It
is essentially an analysis of statistics, with no personal opinion or bias.
The facts in this article show that the crime rate in the U.S. has been in decline since 1993, both
in property crime, and violent crime. This could be used as another source to show that the
violent crime rate has actually been decreasing.

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Lyons, Christina L. "Media Violence." CQ Researcher 14 Feb. 2014: 145-68. Web. 11 Oct.
2014.
This article is a very in depth overview of the debate of media violence and youth exposure to it.
It covers the background, the chronology of the debate, it gives you the current situation,
viewpoints from each side, and goes on to predict what might happen in the future. It shows how
that after almost every major national news story on violent crime, the media industry is blamed
at least somewhat, and then how politicians try to essentially restrict or punish the media
industry.
The article was written by freelance journalist Christina Lyons, and then publish in CQ
Researcher. Lyons covers mainly politics and has a masters degree in political science. The
article does not seem to have any bias, as it is mainly an overview of the long ongoing debate.
What I found to be very interesting is how the article shows that overtime the debate has shifted
from violent poems such as those from Edgar Allan Poe, to the crime filled comic books of the
and violent movies of the early 20th century, to violence on TV and in music in the second half of
the century, all the way to video games in the 90s and on. I also thought that Joan Bertin, an
advocate against censorship, made a very interesting comparison between age old stories and
myths filled with violence and video games. She shows that since the beginning of time mankind
has taught their children about violence, yet now we see it as a bad thing to teach children about
violence.
This article will be most likely be the base source for all my work for the rest of the semester as
it is the most detailed and in-depth, showing the opinions of both the people against violent
video games and the advocates for violent video games.

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Meeks, Torrey. "Violent Video Games Are Not Linked to Real-World Violence." Popular
Culture. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011.
Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Study: Video Games Don't Cause Violence." Blast (1
Apr. 2007). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
This article talks of how the blame game has shifted from movies to music to video games. He
talks of how Columbine brought the debate of violent video games to the surface. He then talks
of how people believe that violent video games have produced more violent youth, yet the cold
hard facts show otherwise.
This article was written by a writer for an online tech magazine. He does seem to have bias,
clearly supporting the industrys right to produce violent games, and also says that society is just
looking for a scapegoat when it comes to blaming violent video games.
While not the best article for non-bias fact, this article does give a good viewpoint from the
industry, and gamer side of the debate. It shows how the industry and gamers feel about being
blamed for supposedly creating violent youth. This article could be used in my voices paper
representing the advocates for violent video games.

Peckham, Matt. "Researcher Says Linking Video Games To Gun Violence Is A 'Classic Illusory
Correlation'." Time.Com (2013): 1. Business Source Complete. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
This article is a report on how a group of 228 media scholars, psychologists and criminologists
disagreed with a statement made by the American Psychological Association, and petitioned the

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group to review and revise their statement. The American Psychological Association (APA)
statement essentially said that they were against violence in video games because of its effects on
children. The group who petitioned the APA disagreed with the statement because no study has
definitively proven that violent games create violent people. The group states that linking violent
games to real world violence is a classic illusory correlation.
The author of the article is a news reporter so his opinion is not the most useful source, but the
information he provides is the opinion of a group of social scientists who as a whole represent
one of the most reliable opinions on the debate.
This articles shows that even the experts on social science disagree on the effects of violent video
games. The article ends with this, In other words, this isn't about painting video games as
harmless any more than it is critiquing their portrayal as harmful - it's about doing good science
and reclaiming the ball from the misinformed and ideologically motivated. This source could be
used as part of my voices paper representing the side of the social scientists.

Schaffer, Amanda. "Violent Video Games Are Linked to Real-World Violence." Popular
Culture. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011.
Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Don't Shoot: Why Video Games Really Are Linked to
Violence." Slate. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
This article talks of how some high profile mass shooters have been linked to playing violent
games. It then goes on to talk of different studies that haves linked playing violent games to
violent behavior. It concludes that while each study had its flaws, they all came to the same

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conclusion that there is a correlation between violent games and violent youth, and that more
research is needed.
The article was written by Amanda Schaffer, a writer for another online magazine. While not the
most reputable source, she does offer some interesting evidence at the other end of the spectrum.
This article offers a good viewpoint showing how video games can affect people, and why
society should be concerned. The source could be used to buffer the side of opposition in my
voices paper.

"Violent Crime, Decreased as Computer and Video Game Sales Soared, 1996-2004." Teens at
Risk. Ed. Auriana Ojeda. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
This is simply a graph comparing the rate of video game sales to the rate of violent crime from
1996-2004.
The graph is taken from the U.S. Dept. of Justice. It shows that from 1996 to 2004 the violent
crime rate was cut almost in half, while the sale of video games steadily increased.
I could use this statistic to help prove my theory that contrary to popular belief, violence in
American society has been decreasing as of late.