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Shooting in the Dark By Benedict Carey The young men who opened fire at Columbine High School, at the movie theater in Aurora, Colo., and in other massacres had this in common: they were video gamers who seemed to be acting out some dark digital fantasy. t was as if all that e!posure to computeri"ed violence gave them the idea to go on a rampage # or at least fueled their urges. $ut did it really% Social scientists have been studying and debating the effects of media violence on behavior since the &'()s, and video games in particular since the &'*)s. The issue is especially relevant today, because the games are more realistic and bloodier than ever, and because most American boys play them at some point. +irls play at lower rates and are significantly less likely to play violent games. A burst of new research has begun to clarify what can and cannot be said about the effects of violent gaming. ,laying the games can and does stir hostile urges and mildly aggressive behavior in the short term. -oreover, youngsters who develop a gaming habit can become slightly more aggressive # as measured by clashes with peers, for instance # at least over a period of a year or two. .et it is not at all clear whether, over longer periods, such a habit increases the likelihood that a person will commit a violent crime, like murder, rape, or assault, much less a /ewtown0like massacre. 1Such calculated rampages are too rare to study in any rigorous way, researchers agree.2 3 don4t know that a psychological study can ever answer that 5uestion definitively,6 said -ichael 7. 8ard, an economist at the 9niversity of Te!as, Arlington. 38e are left to glean what we can from the data and research on video game use that we have.6 The research falls into three categories: short0term laboratory e!periments: longer0term studies, often based in schools: and correlation studies # between playing time and aggression, for instance, or between video game sales and trends in violent crime. ;ab e!periments confirm what any gamer knows in his gut: playing games like 3Call of <uty,6 3=ill"one >6 or 3$attlefield >6 stirs the blood. n one recent study, Christopher $arlett, a psychologist at owa State 9niversity, led a research team that had ?@ undergraduates play 3-ortal =ombat: <eadly Alliance6 for &( minutes. Afterward, the team took various measures of arousal, both physical and psychological. t also tested whether the students would behave more aggressively, by having them dole out hot sauce to a fellow student who, they were told, did not like spicy food but had to swallow the sauce. Sure enough, compared with a group who had played a nonviolent video game, those who had been engaged in 3-ortal =ombat6 were more aggressive across the board. They gave their fellow students significantly bigger portions of the hot sauce. -any similar studies have found the same thing: A dose of violent gaming makes people act a little more rudely than they would otherwise, at least for a few minutes after playing. t is far harder to determine whether cumulative e!posure leads to real0world hostility over the long term. Some studies in schools have found that over time digital warriors get into increasing numbers of scrapes with peers # fights in the schoolyard, for e!ample. n a report published last summer, psychologists at $rock 9niversity in Antario found that longer periods of violent video game playing among high school students predicted a slightly higher number of such incidents over time. 3/one of these e!treme acts, like a school shooting, occurs because of only one risk factor: there are many factors, including feeling socially isolated, being bullied, and so on,6 said Craig A. Anderson, a psychologist at owa State 9niversity. 3$ut if you look at the literature, think it4s clear that violent media is one factor: it4s not the largest factor, but it4s also not the smallest.6 -ost researchers in the field agree with <r. Anderson, but not all of them. Some studies done in schools or elsewhere have found that it is aggressive children who are the most likely to be drawn to violent video games in the first place: they are self0selected to be in more schoolyard conflicts. And some studies are not able to control for outside factors, like family situation or mood problems. 3This is a pool of research that, so far, has not been very well done,6 said Christopher B. Cerguson, associate professor of psychology and criminal Dustice at Te!as AE- nternational 9niversity and a critic of the field whose own research has found no link. 3 look at it and can4t say what it means.6 /either <r. Cerguson, nor others interviewed in this article, receive money from the gaming industry. -any psychologists argue that violent video games 3sociali"e6 children over time, prompting them to imitate the behavior of the game4s characters, the cartoonish machismo, the hair0trigger rage, the dismissive brutality. Children also imitate flesh and blood people in their lives, of course # parents, friends, teachers, siblings # and one 5uestion
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that researchers have not yet answered is when, e!actly, a habit is so consuming that its influence trumps the sociali"ing effects of other maDor figures in a child4s life. That is, what constitutes a bad habit% n surveys about *) percent of high school0age boys say they play video games, most of which are thought to be violent, and perhaps a third to a half of those players have had a habit of &) hours a week or more. The proliferation of violent video games has not coincided with spikes in youth violent crime. The number of violent youth offenders fell by more than half between &''? and F)&), to FF? per &)),))) population, according to government statistics, while video game sales have more than doubled since &''G. n a working paper, <r. 8ard and two colleagues e!amined week0by0week sales data for violent video games, across a wide range of communities. Hiolence rates are seasonal, generally higher in summer than in winter: so are video game sales, which peak during the holidays. The researchers controlled for those trends and analy"ed crime rates in the month or so after surges in sales, in communities with a high concentrations of young people, like college towns. 38e found that higher rates of violent video game sales related to a decrease in crimes, and especially violent crimes,6 said <r. 8ard, whose co0authors were A. Scott Cunningham of $aylor 9niversity and $enDamin IngelstJtter of the Center for Iuropean Iconomic 7esearch in -annheim, +ermany. /o one knows for sure what these findings mean. t may be that playing video games for hours every day keeps people off the streets who would otherwise be getting into trouble. t could be that the games provide 3an outlet6 that satisfies violent urges in some players # a theory that many psychologists dismiss but that many players believe. Ar the two trends may be entirely unrelated. 3At the very least, parents should be aware of what4s in the games their kids are playing,6 <r. Anderson said, 3and think of it from a sociali"ation point of view: what kind of values, behavioral skills, and social scripts is the child learning%6 8ork Cited Carey, $enedict. 3Shooting in the <ark.6 Newyorktimes.com. The /ew .ork Times Co., && Ceb. F)&>. 8eb. &? Ban. F)&?. Note: When formatting a Web site, include the following information and in this order: &. Author: last name, first name. F. 3Title.6#the title of the article must be in 5uotation marks. >. Website#8ebsites must be in italics. <o not include the complete url address ?. The Sponsor,#all 8ebsites must have a publisherKsponsor. 8ebsites that do not have a sponsor are not acceptable as a source. $e sure to include a comma after the sponsor4s name (. <ate of the source. All sources must have a date. G. -edium: 8eb. nclude the word 38eb6 after the date#see above. @. <ate accessed: This is the date you foundKread the article. This must be followed by a period. Critical hinking !uestions: Type your responses to these 5uestions and turn in with your diagnostic essay. Due "#$#$%& &. 8hat is the issue that the writer discusses in this article% Crame this as a 5uestion 1choose one these words to begin the 5uestion: 3should, what, why, how, could62. Cor e!ample: Should the 9.S. =0&F schools monitor social media% F. 8hat is $enedict Carey4s thesis statement% A Thesis is the answer to the 5uestion posed in 5uestion &. >. 8hat are the reasons the writer uses to support his thesis% ,ut these into the same order as the writer does and then rewrite them using your own words. ?. 8ho is the intended audience for this article% How does the author appeal to this audience% (. A summary is a condensed version of a writer4s argument. Collowing the guidelines on the handout on summari"ing and paraphrasing, write a >0? sentence summary of the article, 3Shooting in the <ark.6 -ake sure to include in your signal phrase, the author4s full name, an active and present tense verb and his thesis statement. Then follow this with the writer4s main reasons that he uses to support his thesis. Collow the summary with the correct parenthetical citation 1 2. Then follow this with the tag line that e!plains his perspective and the writer4s purpose for writing the article. 7efer to the handout on writing a summary that is on eCompanion.
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Diagnostic Essay: 8rite a response paper in which you take a side on the issue presented in this article by $enedict Carey: <o violent video games lead to aggressive behavior in schools% This diagnostic paper is not to analy"e the article, but for you to take a side 1answer the prompt2 and support your thesis 1the answer to the promptKissue2 with three relevant reasons and evidence to support each reason. TH S S A/ A7+9-I/T ,A,I7. 'ormat: itle: nclude a title. (ntroduction: 8rite an introduction that begins with some conte!t to the issue and topic. Then lead up to the >0? sentence summary that you wrote in 5uestion (. 7emember to cite this and follow the citation with a tag line. Ind the introduction with a clearly, concisely worded thesis statement. The reasons you want to include a summary of the article is to provide necessary background to the issue and the subDect of violent video games. Body )aragra*hs: $ody paragraphs should be G0* sentences and follow the -0I0A0; format. 7ead the handout on eCompanion, called 3The -eal ,lan for Crafting a $ody ,aragraph.6 There should be three solid and distinct reasons that support your thesis. Topic sentences should begin with a transition and include the main pointKreason to support the thesis. .our evidence will be from your personal e!perience, andKor from the article. 7emember that you are /AT analy"ing the article. There are /A outside sources for this paper. t will draw from your own e!perience. 7emember to include in your last sentence for each body paragraph, a linking sentence 1;2 that transitions to the ne!t reason 1body paragraph2 Conclusion: 1=eep to (0G sentences2. This should begin with an appropriate transition 1not 3in conclusion2 and include your thesis statement. Summari"e each of the reasons, using one sentence per reason2. Ind with a final remark that validates your position on this issue. )oint of +iew#)ur*ose: The point of view for the diagnostic essay is first *erson. <o not use 3you6 3your6#second person point of view. n addition, the purpose for this essay is to argue and defend your thesis 1the side of the issue of violent games that you take2 with sound reasons and relevant evidence. TH S S /AT A/ A/A;.S S AC THI A7T C;I. ,-. format#Work Cited: An the last page of the blue book, include a work cited entry for the article. .ou are basically copying the format from the editorial. /ubric: The rubric for the diagnostic essay is posted on eCompanion. ,aterials: .ou will write the diagnostic essay in a S-C *!&& $lue composition booklet. nclude the draft and the critical thinking 5uestions.