Nathaniel Battles

Debra Dagher
UWRT 1102-002
7 June 2015
Annotated Works Cited
Game over : Gender, Race & Violence in Video Games. Dir. Nina Huntemann and Media
Education Foundation. 2000.
Fuster, H., X. Carbonell, A. Chamarro, and U. Oberst. "Interaction with the Game and
Motivation among Players of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games." The
Spanish Journal of Psychology 16.E43 (2013): 1-8. Print.
Kutner, Lawrence, and Cheryl K. Olson. Grand Theft Childhood : The Surprising Truth about
Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.
Print.
Thompson, KM, and K. Haninger. "Violence in E-rated Video Games." JAMA 286.5 (2001):
591-98. Print.
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,.
"Violent Content Research Act of 2013 : Report of the Committee on Commerce,
Science and Transportation on S. 134." Violent Content Research Act of 2013 : Report of
the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on S. 134. Washington : U.S.
Government Printing Office, 2013, n.d. Web.

Game Over: Gender, Race & Violence in Video Games

This video addresses the issue of violence in video games and what affects that can have
on a person. It brings the level of violence in video games, how that violence is used, and what
that can mean for people who play them. It showed that video games are becoming more realistic
and that makes it harder to discern the game from reality. This makes it easier to associate ingame violence with real-life situations. It talks about how the player must complete certain
objectives with violence in order to progress, which can lead to people becoming violent in order
to solve real world problems. It went on to show that military and police use simulations in order
to train people to shoot at people, and just how effective this training has been. It than went in
depth on how these violent scenarios can have an effect on our minds and how we think. That
violent video games bring out aggression and can be used to make us think in a more violent
manner.
This video is very informational and an insight into how and why people see the violence
in video games as a cause for violent behavior. It had me on the band wagon when I found out
that not only were military and police officials being trained using them, but when the military
used one change in their training to increase their soldiers firing rate from 15% to 95%. To
elaborate, in World War II only 15% of soldiers were firing at an exposed enemy. To fix this
issue the military changed their practice targets from a simple bulls-eye to the silhouette of a
human. When America went to war with Vietnam, soldiers had a 95% firing rate, that much of a
dramatic increase by simply changing one thing to look like a human. Think of what can be seen
in video games now, and that they are being used by the military to train people. With that being
said, the military and police have rules and regulations for training, and the training is placed in
specific situations that keep this hard trained reflex from occurring in everyday civilian life. The

psychological effects this can have on a person are nothing to shake a finger at. This video has
helped to remind me of the very real use of violence in video games on a persons mind. My
viewpoint hasnt changed all around though, I still see video games as a way to have fun and
connect with people. And I still think that you should only play the games you are old enough to
buy, something I think many parents should do with their kids.
The validity of this article is hard to question as this is just short of a documentary, it
didnt show any actual experiments in the topic, but it did come up with some real, compelling
evidence. It is a good insight as to why people are so afraid of the violence in video games. And
they had a real army lieutenant come forward and talk about the training program the military
has for its soldiers. And although this video came out over ten years ago it still shows good
evidence that still holds true today.
Interaction with the Game and Motivation among Players of Massively Multiplayer Online
Role-playing Games
The second peer reviewed article I picked talks about just this, why gamers play
MMORPGs. That is massive multiplayer online role playing game, I know its a mouthful, hence
the acronym. The study into the reason as for why people play this game came up with results
that I could completely relate to. The reason most people did so was to connect with others and
socialize. Many kids that play these games developed key socializing skills that could help them
in the real world. They also found that these games could help players to learn how to strategize
and plan things out. Key skills in the business world, no matter what job you take.
This article is relevant to my inquiry because it shows that video games are being played
by kids not to be violent. But to engage in social activity and have fun with friends. It goes into
detail on how the skills players pick up in the game have real world applications.

This article is a good source, the level of detail it goes into and the research it is based on
are hard to argue with. The article is based off the research the author carried out himself. And
even though I find it hard to understand the values that were used in the experiment itself. I do
understand that there was an identifiable positive change in a players social skills after playing
this type of game.
Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about Violent Video Games and What Parents
Can Do
My last resource is a book called Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about
Violent Video Games. Although the whole book is dedicated to my inquiry, I decided to use only
the last chapter called Practical Advice for Parents. Before I started this project, I thought that
kids should not play games that are not appropriate for them and this chapter covers what a
parent can do to do this. It talks about where a parent can go to research a video game and which
video games are appropriate for their kid(s). It also talks about what a parent should do to
reinforce healthy core values and how both the parents and their kids can approach video games.
Parents should above all else remember that video games are on the bottom of the list of
potential problems for violence among their kids, and that their real problems may come out
while they are playing video games so parents should pay attention.
I find that the material covered in this book is 100% relevant to my inquiry. I could my
entire inquiry project based off of this book alone. But I have to have more than one source and I
am afraid that I dont have the proper time to go over the entire book. Still that last chapter,
which I am using for my essay, gives great advice for parents on what they can do about violent
video games. How they should approach the matter, how to research games in general, and the
things they can do to reinforce good qualities with their kids.

I cant question the validity of this source at all. The way it goes on about my inquiry
topic and some of the misunderstandings on both sides of the issue. There is just so much
information in here, I have to get a copy of this book for myself. The information and
conclusions are all based on research from others and their own research as well.
Violence in E-rated Video Games
The peer reviewed article I chose for this looks into the level of violence in video games
that are rated E for everyone by the ESRB rating system. I was surprised to find that a majority
of the games they pooled had violence in them. They looked at games from all genres and did not
include any action, like tackling, that is a regular part of a sport in their criteria for violence.
What surprised me more was that they even found symbols for alcohol and sexual images in a
couple of games (one game for each). The sexual image it would seem was not unsafe for kids,
but it still was considered to be of a sexual nature. A number of the games that were found to
have violence in them required the player to use violence in order to progress in the story.
This article is on the mark of my inquiry topic. It talks about violence in e-rated video
games, and provides good information on it. It provides perspective on the level of violence in erated video games and how much violence kids are exposed to in this level of kid friendly video
games.
I find it hard to question the integrity of this article. I couldnt figure out the research data
that was presented in the article but then again I usually cant. There were a few surprising facts
in there that I had to look up, but when I did I found that they were telling the truth. This sealed
the deal for me, I could no longer question the article for there was nothing left to question.
Violent Content Research Act of 2013

But they did pass a bill to begin research on the matter called the Violent Research Act of
2013. The purpose of the bill was to begin an investigation into the effects of violent video
games on children. And although the bill was created to start research it does give some
insightful information into previous studies and cases concerning violent video games. It cites
that national and federal agencies like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) have stated/reported harmful effects that violent media has
on children. The AAP looked to other studies and experiments to back up their statement. While
the FCC conducted their own study into the effects of violent video games on children. This act
also cites the International Society for Research on Aggression and the commission they carried
out on media violence. All of these found or stated that violent media increases aggressive
behavior in the short term. The bill also quotes decisions and studies that point to the contrary,
that there is no connection between violent media and aggressive behavior. In one case, the
Supreme Court overturned a law that California had passed banning certain violent video games.
The court, in its majority, had found that there was not sufficient proof that video games cause
violent behavior. They, in their majority, also found that there is little difference between violent
video games and other violent material that is covered by the First Amendment. The fact that the
Supreme Court overturned such a law based on the lack of sufficient evidence has me flipping.
This bill is perfect for my research, it delves into the legal action that has been taken by
the state of California and the Supreme Court. It also gives reliable information on two national
organizations that have brought their own research to the table. It is hard if not impossible to beat
a resource from the government itself.
I truly cant question this resource. For one the evidence it points out are available to
public access, and the research that is supposed to be carried out by it is still underway. So even

though it doesnt bring forth any evidence of its own, it still is a valuable resource on how the
senate sees the issue of violence and videogames.