Print this page

The National Institute on Media and the Family

The National Institute on Media and the Family, an independent, non-partisan, non-sectarian, non-profit organization, is the world's leading and most respected research-based organization focused on the impact of media on children and youth. Founded in 1996 by Dr. David Walsh, Ph.D., its mission is to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm of media on children and families through research, education, and advocacy.

For the past decade, the Institute has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of children and families, in part by conducting groundbreaking studies, pioneering innovative and effective educational programs, and providing expert advice and testimony at all levels, from local PTAs to the World Health Organization. Publications by members of the Institute are among the most popular and influential in their fields. And, due to the Institute's diligent efforts and inspiring message of family empowerment, the MediaWise® Movement has begun to spread across the nation, helping parents everywhere to "Watch What Your Kids Watch."

THE VIDEO AND COMPUTER GAME REPORT CARD: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Each year, the Institute describes the Video and Computer Game Report Card as a "snapshot of the interactive gaming industry with a focus on issues related to the welfare of children and teens. The tenth anniversary of our first Report Card provides the opportunity to create a montage of the past decade's revolutionary changes.

Ten years ago, when the National Institute on Media and the Family was founded, we recognized two important facts: 1) video and computer games were the fastest growing form of media among young people; 2) the general public had not yet realized the importance of this phenomenon. As with any popular new technology, and very much as TV and radio had in the past, video games began to transform the world, but in the early days the effects were slow and subtle. The Institute's research-based approach offered a perspective that many others did not have.

Among our elected leaders, Senators Joe Lieberman and Herb Kohl took the lead in shining the public spotlight on the growing popularity - and power - of video games in the mid-nineties. In 1996, they called on the Institute to provide solid scientific information to accompany their public appeal to consider the impact of electronic games on children's health and welfare. The result of our partnership that year was our first annual report card, in which the Institute was the first group to ever compile relevant data and call for specific industry reforms.

In the decade that has followed, the National Institute on Media and the Family used the Video and Computer Game Report Card as a powerful tool to educate the public and shape industry practices. The Institute is proud to say that in our decade of scrutiny we have always remained committed to the principles of the First Amendment; rather than calling for censorship, we have disseminated little-known information to the general public. This approach is rooted in our firm belief that, provided with access to accurate information and appropriate tools, parents will do what is right for their children. After a decade of effort, the Institute is proud to have been a part of creating a much savvier, more knowledgeable public.

While the Report Card is primarily a tool for families, it has played an important role in specific reforms within the video game industry. For instance, a decade ago, video games did not have one standard rating system. The Institute called for easy-to-use, accurate ratings, and today, every video and computer game is emblazoned with a symbol designating its age-appropriateness as well as content indicators describing levels of violence and sexual content.

We have seen other positive change over the years. A decade ago, the Institute noticed that games with content appropriate for adults were being marketed to children. Since we alerted the public to this industry practice, the industry has developed a volunteer code of advertising and marketing conduct. Similarly, few retailers had a policy, let alone proper enforcement, of attempting to keep games with mature content out of the hands of kids. For years, the Institute helped publicize this failing, and today all the major retailers are working toward selling only age-appropriate games to young people.

And yet, the past decade has brought a host of alarming revelations as well, including a disturbing trend of sexualized violence toward women, a tendency toward bafflingly inaccurate ratings, and an unfortunate prevalence of ultra-violent games listed among children's most popular games. The Institute has highlighted these trends in past years' Report Cards, and will continue to alert the public to these and other notable obstacles to the health and welfare of young people.

VIDEO GAMES AND KIDS: AN EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS

From the beginning, the Institute has made people aware that video and computer games have an incredibly powerful influence on kids. Now, we see that video games are part of a larger cultural shift. On the one hand, our society benefits undeniably from access to information and innovative entertainment. On the other hand, we cannot help but notice that cultural norms are being pushed toward what we used to think of as the frontiers of the extremes; increasing exposure to high levels and amounts of violence, and a growing prevalence of outright disrespect are two of the most visible aspects of this cultural shift.

One of the most important areas of discovery in the last decade has been the revolution in brain science, especially in its implications for the development of children and youth. Contrary to the assumptions of past decades, we now know that children's experiences during their brain's growth spurts have a greater impact on their brain's wiring than at any other time of their lives. The groundbreaking discoveries about the teenage brain reveal that the growth spurts continue throughout adolescence, making teens more impressionable than we thought. Teenagers are wiring the circuits for self control, responsibility and relationships they will carry with them into adulthood. The latest brain research shows that violent games activate the anger center of the teenage brain while dampening the brain's "conscience." Therefore, every child who plays video games is undergoing a powerful developmental experiment, the results of which we do not yet fully comprehend.

THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY TODAY

The industry's power is most evident in its influence over culture. Each year, for instance, more and more video games are the basis for motion pictures, as well as the other way around. Video game characters and terms continue to enter, and remain in, the American lexicon. Unveilings of new video game consoles bring the excitement and speculation reserved for new automobiles in past decades.

Perhaps even more important is the industry's power in terms of numbers. Since 1995, nearly three billion video games have been sold globally. The worldwide video game market racked up twenty-five and a half billion dollars last year. Projections foresee that number growing past 54 billion in the next four years. The U.S. market alone represented 8.2 billion dollars of the worldwide total in 2004, and it is expected to bring in more than 15 billion by 2009. It's important to note that those numbers only account for the games themselves and online access fees - they don't include the hefty prices parents shell out each year for the consoles on which the games are played. When you factor in those numbers, the U.S. market alone spent just shy of ten billion dollars on video games last year. Online gaming, currently bringing in under 300 million per year, is expected to account for over 2 billion just four years from now.

While the industry is right to congratulate itself for such explosive growth, it's important to note exactly which games are fueling its growing power. For the past several years, the most popular games have been ultra-violent first-person shooters, exactly the games that seem to be the most harmful to young players. Disturbingly, these games, including several in the widely known Grand Theft Auto series, are the very same games that our research has found are most popular with kids. In other words, the industry's power and profits have come at the expense of children's welfare.

RAPID TRANSFORMATION

If you blink, it will change: this is the lesson of the media revolution. The video game industry's massive and increasing power relies on rapid change, especially in the area of technological innovation. In the past ten years, we've seen an unforeseeable revolution in video game technology. In one decade, we've gone from clunky gray cartridges to sleek CD-ROMs, to entirely ethereal high-speed Wi-Fi Internet streams. Every year - seemingly overnight - the games become more complex, more sophisticated, and more realistic, meaning that this form of interactive entertainment becomes more engrossing, more seductive and more consuming than ever before.

The future of video games will, if current trends continue, be characterized by increased immersion and technological convergences. Ten years ago, the average kid played video games, at home in front of the TV, for three hours a week. Today, the lines between technologies have already begun to blur as, for instance, increasingly sophisticated games are available on increasingly sophisticated mobile phones, some of which serve as PDAs, Internet devices, and cameras. Digital technology, and thus video games, has become a substantial part of nearly all our daily lives. Babies born today will never know a world that doesn't put information, videos, games and communication at their fingertips. The industry had already set its sights on a convergence of the Internet, TV, movies, music, sports, and, of course, advertising.

As the technology advances and the lines blur, it becomes more and more difficult for parents to determine what is and isn't good for their kids. At the same time, convergent technologies will become increasingly attractive as they reduce the clutter of digital devices now available. It is therefore essential that we pay attention now to the role video games, among other media, play in our lives. We cannot afford to let technological advances outrun our understanding of the impact of media on child and family development.

The current upswing in video games with adult themes is among the most important new trend to watch. The video gamers who were 15 upon the release of the first report card are now in their mid-twenties, and many of them still play games. As a result, we have seen games with more mature themes: intricate plotlines; more prominent sexual themes; graphic violence; violence against authority figures, particularly police; and even sexualized violence toward women, an unfortunate trend highlighted in our 2002 report card. These games are clearly intended for adults only. The problem, as is demonstrated by the popularity of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in this year's student survey, is that these games continue to be accessible to and popular with kids.

Another significant trend that will only increase in importance is the explosion in the popularity of online role-playing games. Over the past ten years, broadband connections have become the norm, which has made possible the rise of MMORPG - Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. These games are literally played by millions of people, in cooperation and competition with each other. The most popular of these games is World of Warcraft. Four million players worldwide pay fifteen dollars a month to play Warcraft. Seven hundred twenty million dollars per year may seem like a big number, but it's not nearly as inflated as the number of hours some MMORPG players spend online in their games.

EMERGING TRENDS

• WHO'S PLAYING VIDEO GAMES NOW?
  
• GAMING AND THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC
  
• VIDEO AND COMPUTER GAME ADDICTION
  
• THE TEACHING POWER OF VIDEO GAMES
  
• FAMILY SETTINGS

  WHO'S PLAYING VIDEO GAMES NOW?

  Each year more kids play more video games for more hours. This is the most important trend in video games, one that has remained consistent with every new Report Card. Over the last ten years, video games have become one of the most prevalent and popular forms of entertainment. In the mid-nineties, fourth-grade girls were playing video games at home for 4.5 hours per week and boys for 7.1 hours per week. Our most recent data from third- to fifth-graders shows that boys now play 13.5 and girls play them for nearly 6 hours each week. In other words, in the past decade, the average child has significantly increased the amount of time he or she spends playing video games. And the extreme cases, according to anecdotal reports, far exceed these already large numbers.

  The latest research shows the percentage of homes with children that have video game systems has risen to 83%. The percentage of homes with at least three video game systems now stands at 31%. Overall, 92% of 2- to 17-year-olds play video games.

  While it is clear that boys play more video games than girls, it is important to note that the industry sees the female market as one of its main areas for potential growth. Mobile phone games, particularly popular with girls and women already, will be one of a number of strategies used to lure them into the larger world of video games. At the same time, it is important to note that boys, who consume more media, including video games, than girls, are part of an increasing trend of low academic performance. Considering the growing body of research linking high media use to decreased school performance, it is difficult to resist imagining a possible link between the growing academic crisis for boys and the ever-growing male video game appetite.

  GAMING AND THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC

  Increasingly, it seems that the average gamer is getting heavier. That's because the amount of time kids spend playing games, even non-violent and educational games, is contributing to the obesity epidemic among American youth. For too many kids, the only parts of their body that get consistent exercise are their thumbs. This isn't surprising given that every year kids are spending more and more time in front of electronic screens. Kids today spend almost 44.5 hours a week with media. In fact, 20% of 2- to 7-year-olds, 46% of 8- to 12-year-olds, and 56% of 13- to 17-year-olds have electronic screens in their bedrooms. This is alarming given that a growing body of research shows that "screen time" is the leading risk factor for obesity.

  Every, year video games take up a larger share of young people's total screen time. These games are so engaging it's easy to burn hours on end in virtual activity. The immediate pay-off of video games-the hyper-real spectacle and multi-sensory barrage of excitement-can be too seductive to turn down. Unfortunately, the long term health consequences don't make it worth it. It's not that kids don't like playing out in the backyard anymore but once they start in on their video games, they're hooked. Before they know it, a whole Saturday is gone. As obesity becomes more of a health problem for our children, it is increasingly important to encourage children to balance virtual action with real-life activity. Limiting screen time and removing televisions from bedrooms are important first steps to encouraging children into a more physically active lifestyle.

  VIDEO AND COMPUTER GAME ADDICTION

  Although the Institute was initially very skeptical about whether computers and video games were "addicting" to some individuals, there is now scientific evidence that the concept has validity. While the majority of kids play their video games, do their homework, keep up their responsibilities, and have other interests, some kids get hooked. Initial reports suggest anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of gamers are addicted. This is a gigantic number considering the millions of child and adult gamers. More research needs to be done in order to identify who is most likely to become "addicted" and how best to diagnose and treat it.

  The symptoms of addiction can be just as devastating as in other cases of dependence, with players literally giving up their families, jobs, even sleep for their beloved games. In one report, a 28-year-old South Korean man died in August 2005 after playing an online computer game for 50 hours. As games become better and more sophisticated, more and more kids will become addicted to them. We must take these games and such cases very seriously going forward.

  THE TEACHING POWER OF VIDEO GAMES

  The media revolution that laid the technological foundation for graphic first-person shooter games and addictive online games has also been a wellspring for games that teach learning skills, make exercising fun, train professionals, and offer fun, safe and engaging entertainment. Electronic screens play an influential role in the life of every child in this country, for good or for bad, because kids are always learning. In addition, all of the recent studies and latest research point to the same fact: video games are excellent teachers.

  The Institute has always said that video games are not inherently good or bad. Instead, they are powerful; the good or bad depends upon how we use them. In the last decade, we have seen video games that engage kids in physical activity, teach new languages, help children recover from painful procedures, get kids interested in complicated plot lines and problem solving, and offer fun for the whole family. It is for this reason that it is absolutely critical that we encourage the gaming industry to continue to develop games that teach kids more than just violence and disrespect.

  Imagine a world where a child can walk through a virtual independence hall at school and witness the signing of the declaration of independence. Now imagine a world where young boys can surround themselves with virtual sex and violence, a world increasingly difficult to differentiate from reality. We are at an important crossroads. For the last ten years, the Institute has alerted the public to the negative consequences associated with video games, called for industry reform and corporate responsibility, and encouraged parents to seek out positive games and play them with their kids. Unfortunately, while there have been some examples of progress within the industry, violent and sexually explicit games continue to end up in the hands of children. Ten years from now we would like to say that we have been able to harness the incredible power of the gaming industry to benefit our children, not harm them.

  FAMILY SETTINGS

  One encouraging trend is the incorporation of electronic tools to help parents manage the video game play of their kids. Microsoft, for example, has built a set of easy to use and effective "family settings" into their new Xbox 360. This is an example of an industry leader that realizes that giving parents tools to manage game play and Internet activity is both good policy and good business. The present generation of tools can protect children and youth from harmful content and limit online activity. Hopefully, further developments will assist parents in managing time, blocking inappropriate DVDs, and using family setting with other integrated digital appliances like the television and computer.

  Two things have to happen for these tools to be effective. The first is that parents have to use them. We call upon the industry to join our efforts in educating parents about the importance of "watching what their kids watch" and taking full advantage of family media management tools.

  Second, media producers need to digitize the ratings information on the disks in order to activate family settings. The video game industry already does this, but the motion picture industry only rarely encodes ratings onto DVDs. We are calling upon the motion picture industry to provide the digital information so that parents can use family settings for DVDs as well as video games.

  RATING THE RATINGS

  Ten years ago, two competing, and confusing, rating systems evaluated video and computer games. Worse yet, many games did not have a rating at all. The Institute and others called for a clear universal raging system for video and computer games, and eventually the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) was formed by the major companies in the video game industry. Today, every game sold bears an ESRB rating. Over the years, the ESRB system has undergone some modifications, including the addition of content descriptors to accompany the overall rating. Two years ago, the system underwent a major revision, and this year they added a new category: E 10+.

  Unfortunately, the ESRB rating system is deeply flawed. As an arm of the industry itself, the ESRB has routinely shown itself to be under the influence of major game producers. Representatives of the game makers who have commercial interest in particular ratings fund the operation and sit on the board of the parent organization, The Entertainment Software Association.

  We see the flaws in the ESRB ratings in the following ways:

  1. Ratings Accuracy. Over the years, the amount of violence in T (for Teen) rated games has increased, and M-rated games continue to push the envelope each year in graphic depictions and adult situations.
     
  2. No AO. The ESRB has a rating for games that are only appropriate for adults. Unfortunately, almost no video games ever receive that rating. Of the 10,000 games the ESRB has rated, fewer than 20 have ever received an AO rating. Independent evaluations of many M-rated games find that they fit the criteria for the AO rating.
     
  3. Meaningless age distinctions. There is only a 12 month difference between the recommended 17-years-old for M-rated games and 18 and older for AO.

  The Institute's discovery of hidden sexually explicit content in the world's most popular, and M-rated, game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA), is the clearest evidence of the degree to which the ESRB system is irreparably flawed. It took the ESRB almost one month from the time the pornography sequences were reported to the official announcement that they had determined that the graphic scenes were indeed part of the original code on the disk. GTA's producer, Take Two Entertainment, repeatedly lied to the public, and yet the ESRB leveled no fine and no punishment on Take Two Entertainment, even though a basic premise underlying the integrity of the ratings was violated. Most egregious of all was the M rating GTA received in the first place. The GTA series of games contains content that far exceeds the appropriate levels for an M-rated game, as we announced in last year's Report Card.

  Next year, the National Institute on Media and the Family will convene a summit on video game ratings with the leading national organizations dedicated to children's health and welfare. We plan to issue and endorse a set of ratings recommendations.

  A DECADE OF SCRUTINY

  10 Year Grade………………………………………………………..D+

  There have been industry reforms and progress in response to the Institute's criticism and pressure. However, violent and sadistic games are still ending up in the hands of children, and parents continue to lack adequate information and tools from the industry to make informed choices. The industry continues to ignore the emerging health, behavioral and cultural negative consequences for our kids, our communities and our nation.

  
  PLANNING FOR THE DECADE TO COME

  In the next ten years, the video game industry is sure to transform technologically, grow even more powerful and profitable, and increase its influence on children's lives. In the coming decade, the National Institute on Media and the Family is committed to protecting our children's health and welfare. We will continue to provide parents, public officials, business leaders and communities with cutting-edge research, resources, and industry recommendations that help the public understand the impact of video games on our children's development.

  The Institute's most important goals for the next decade are:

  • A greater body of research on the impact of video games. We know video games are powerful, but we have only begun to understand exactly how they affect young people. Increased funding for research, especially long-term studies, is essential to keeping pace with the advance of technology.
  • An independent universal ratings system. The time has come for easy-to-use, consistent ratings determined by a body not beholden to the special interests of the industry. As media converge, a universal system that applies to movies, games, TV, music and more will be the best way to give parents the information they need to protect their children.
  • Bedrooms as "media-free" zones. A substantial body of research shows that TVs, games, and other media in the bedroom do much more harm to kids than is obvious. Low school performance, less sensible behavior, and deterioration of parent-child relationship have been linked to these high-tech bedrooms. In the next ten years, parents would no sooner put video games in their kids' bedrooms than they would put their kids in a car without seatbelts.
  • Building MediaWise communities and organizations. We're already calling on parents to "Watch What Your Kids Watch." In the coming decade, as media become more accessible and more omnipresent, it will be even more important for families to have a healthy approach to video games and other media. We will continue to bring evidence-based information to early child professionals, youth development agencies, schools, businesses, and health care providers so that MediaWise information becomes integrated into programs and communities across the country.
  • Educating parents. We call upon the video game industry to join us in educating parents about the need to supervise their children's game play. The industry's efforts so far have educated parents about how to use the ratings but not why the ratings and the new electronic tools built into game consoles are important for children's health.

  A DECADE OF VIDEO GAME RESEARCH

  Research on the multiple effects of video games has come a long way in the past 10 years. Recently, many more studies have been conducted than in the past, and most of them have been of higher scientific quality than the earlier studies. Although there are still some conflicting ideas in the research literature, the broad picture is becoming clear - video games are excellent teachers.

  Most of the research on the effects of video games has focused on whether violent video games increase aggression. There are three major types of studies: experimental studies, cross-sectional studies, and longitudinal studies. Each of these types can inform us of different aspects of video game effects. Dozens of studies have been conducted to date, and readers who desire more detailed information can view a longer review here.

  Experimental studies allow us to answer the question of whether video games can cause increases in aggression (usually short-term). Psychological theory suggests that violent games could increase physiological arousal, aggressive thoughts, aggressive feelings, or aggressive behavior. Different studies have measured each of these, and overall, the research suggests that violent games can cause increase each of them, at least immediately after playing the games.

  Cross-sectional studies allow us to look at long-term associations between video game play and aggressive behavior, school performance, and other variables. Again, overall, the research suggests that people who play a lot of violent video games are more likely to have aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, even after controlling for other aggression-related factors (such as sex and aggressive personality, etc.).

  For various reasons, both due to budgetary constraints and the relative infancy of the field, most of the last decade's studies concerned with the impact of video games have measured the short-term effects of games. But in recent years, data from long-term, or longitudinal, studies have begun to give us a sense of how video games affect players beyond the moments the play them. All but one of the five known longitudinal studies document increases in aggressive thoughts and behaviors in connection with violence exposure.

  Researchers rarely put much weight on any single study, because each type of study has distinct strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, what researchers look for is converging results of multiple studies using different methods and varied measures. Another tool is meta-analysis, which combines the results of all the studies. The results of these studies follow.

  • All of the meta-analysis studies have concluded that there is a significant relation between violent video game play and aggression.
    
  • Across studies, violent video games have significant effects on aggressive affect, physiological arousal, aggressive thoughts, and aggressive behaviors.
  • Video games are also significantly negatively related to prosocial behaviors.
    
  • These conclusions hold for studies with children and adults and we see larger effects in more recent studies as video games become more violent.

  Unfortunately, although warranted, the popular attention paid to the effects of violent video games has distracted from the broader issues about the effects of video games. We argue that the question should not be "are video games good or bad," but should be "on what dimensions might games have what types of effects?" There are at least four dimensions on which games can have effects: Amount, Content, Form, and Mechanics.
  
  Amount
  The amount of time one spends with video games seems to be related to several effects, such as obesity, muscular and skeletal disorders, and school performance.

  • There is evidence that amount alone has distinct effects independent of other types of effects.
    
  • In path analyses with 607 8th and 9th grade students, total amount of time playing video games directly predicted poorer grades, but was not directly related to antisocial or aggressive behaviors. However, playing violent games directly predicted aggressive behaviors, but did not predict poorer school performance.

  Content
  Most of the research on video games has documented what are likely to be effects of the content of games.

  • Research on violent video games, educational video games teaching reading or math skills, virtual reality programs helping to reduce phobias, and the asthma and diabetes health promotion video games all document effects of game content.
    
  • In the case of educational games, these are intentional content effects; in the case of violent games, these are unintentional content effects.

  Form
  Several of the studies on video games suggest patterns of effects that are not due to the content per se, but to the form in which it is presented.

  • Skill in a game requiring 3D navigation is related to 3D mental visualization skills.
    
  • One study showed that demonstrated skill on video games and past experience with video games were the best predictors of surgeons' advanced laparoscopic surgical skills.
    
  • Playing games that require the player to constantly scan the screen for information improves visual attention skills to computer screens.

  Mechanics
  The types of mechanical input/output devices used to play the games could also show effects.

  • For example, playing a driving simulation game with a wheel and pedals should improve driving skill more than playing the same game with a mouse and a keyboard.
    
  • To date, no studies have been conducted to test this hypothesis. This issue is further complicated because mechanics are not entirely independent from form.

  When attempting to understand all of the effects of video games, conceptualizing the effects along the four dimensions of amount, content, form, and mechanics is useful. There are at least two clear benefits to this dimensional approach to understanding video game effects. First, it allows researchers and the public to move beyond the discussion of whether video games are simply good or bad. This is too simplistic a question. The same video game could have both positive and negative effects, depending on what dimension one considers. For example, playing the Grand Theft Auto series of games (in which one plays a criminal sociopath) a lot each day could hamper school performance (amount effect), increase aggressive thoughts and behaviors (content effect), improve visual attention skills (form effect), and improve driving skills if one plays with a driver's wheel and pedals or shooting skills if one plays using a gun input/output device (mechanics effects).
  
  Report Sources

  • Game Politics. www.gamepolitics.com/about.htm
    
  • Lamb, Gregory. "Are multiplayer online games more compelling, more addictive? Christian Science Monitor. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved November 9, 2005, from
    www.csmonitor.com/2005/1013/p13s02-stct.html
    
  • PriceWaterHouseCoopers. Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2005-2009 - Sample Chapter Content. [Electronic version]. Retrieved November 8, 2005, www.pwc.com/extweb/industry.nsf/docid
    /6BB1D7B2F2463E1885256CE8006C6ED6
    
  • Reuters, 2003- www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/fun.games
    /03/12/game.sales.reut/

  Research Update

  • Anderson, C.A. (2004). An update on the effects of playing violent video games. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 113-122.
    
  • Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2001). 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, 12, 353-359.
    
  • Anderson, C.A., Carnagey, N.L., Flanagan, M., Benjamin, A.J., Eubanks, J., & Valentine, J.C. (2004). Violent video games: specific effects of violent content on aggressive thoughts and behavior. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 36, 199-249.
  • Anderson, C. A., Gentile, D. A., & Buckley, K. E. (under contract). Violent video game effects on children and adolescents. New York: Oxford University Press.
    
  • Ballard, M. E., Panee, C. D., & Engold, E. D., & Hamby, R. H. (2001). Society for Research in Child Development Conference.
    
  • Gentile, D. A. (2005). Examining the effects of video games from a psychological perspective: Focus on violent games and a new synthesis. Minneapolis, MN: National Institute on Media and the Family. Available online: www.mediafamily.org/research/Gentile_NIMF_Review_2005.pdf
    
  • Gentile, D. A., Lynch, P. J., Linder, J. R., & Walsh, D. A. (2004). The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 5-22.
    
  • Gentile, D. A., & Stone, W. (in press). Violent video game effects on children and adolescents: A review of the literature. Minerva Pediatrica.
    Gentile, D. A. & Anderson, C. A. (2003). Violent video games: The newest media violence hazard. In D. A. Gentile (Ed.), Media violence and children. (pp. 131-152). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishing.
    
  • Green, C. S., & Bavelier, D. (2003). Video games modify visual attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.
    
  • Greenfield, P. M., DeWinstanley, P., Kilpatrick, H., & Kaye, D. (1994). Action video games and informal education: Effects on strategies for dividing visual attention. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 15, 105-123.
    
  • Ihori, N., Sakamoto, A., Kobayashi, K., & Kimura, F. (2003). Does video game use grow children's aggressiveness?: Results from a panel study. Proceedings of the International Simulation and Gaming Association, Tokyo, Japan, 34, 221-230.
    
  • O'Keefe, B.J., & Zehnder, S. (2004). Understanding media development: A framework and case study. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 25, 729-740.
    
  • Rosser, J.C. Jr., Lynch, P.J., Haskamp, L.A., Yalif, A., Gentile, D.A., & Giammaria, L. (2004, January). Are Video Game Players Better at Laparoscopic Surgery? Paper presented at the Medicine Meets Virtual Reality Conference, Newport Beach, CA.
    
  • Sherry, J. L. (2001). The effects of violent video games on aggression: A meta-analysis. Human Communication Research, 27, 409-431.
    
  • Slater, M.D., Henry, K.L., Swaim, R.C., & Anderson, L.L. (2003). Violent media content and aggressiveness in adolescents. Communication Research, 30(6), 713-736.
    
  • Williams, D., & Skoric, M. (2005). Internet fantasy violence: A test of aggression in an online game. Communication Monographs, 72, 217-233.