Auguste Riedl

Robert Parmenter

LIBR-101-35079

Research Question: “Do video games promote violent tendencies and other negative effects in

humans or are there positive benefits?”

Specific Information Needed:

Effects of video games on happiness

Effects of videogames on violent tendencies

Studies on the effects of video games on human psychology

Landmark cases/ court cases that sprung from perceived negative effects of videogames.

Source One - full-text peer-reviewed scholarly article from a library

database

Citation:

INGRAM, JAY, and JOSEPH CANGEMI. “Video Games: Motivation, Effects, and Clinical

Implications on Self-Esteem.” College Student Journal, vol. 53, no. 1, Spring 2019, pp. 1–12.

EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=136193456&site=ehos

t-live&scope=site.

Link:

https://sbcc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h

&AN=136193456&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Annotation:

In this article by Jay Ingram and Joseph Candemi from Western Kentucky University, some

background is given on gaming in general, the growth of the gaming industry, esports, and what

self-esteem means. After giving the background information they dive into the effects that

videogames have, such as PC gaming allowing for people to make connections and pursue

friendships that they wouldn’t normally have. A study was also conducted on 1000 gamers,

which found that games that gave them an experience of gaining experience or skill resulted in

the gamer’s sense of self-esteem, both in-game and out of game. In an earlier study, a similar

test was performed, however some of the test subjects did not enjoy the game or learning its

systems, and those that gave up or stopped playing early showed a drop in self-esteem and

general mood, whereas those that persevered and overcame the game’s systems showed

boosted self-esteem and mood. The entire article seems to take information from many different

studies and makes sure to give the reader a background on all the subjects covered so that the

reader can make informed decisions on the findings they shared. Quality and thoroughness

were quite high, and the purpose was to show the effects games could have on the self-esteem

of participants. This article will be quite useful for my research later on, as it gave me several

studies that directly tested the effects of games on people, this article coupled with the others I

will find, should allow me to make a complete picture on the effects of games on mood,

self-esteem, bad or good habits, beneficial and harmful psychological effects such as gaining

friendships or violent tendencies, etc.

Source type: Scholarly article

Why I chose this source:

When looking through the database, the effects of games on self-esteem seemed like it was a

perfect fit for what I was trying to research.

Source Two - additional full-text written source

Citation:

Singh, Pankaj, et al. “Effect of Video and Mobile Games on Children’s Behavior.” Indian Journal

of Health & Wellbeing, vol. 7, no. 5, May 2016, pp. 488–492. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=115683935&site=ehost-live&scope

=site.

Link:

https://sbcc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h

&AN=115683935&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Annotation:

In this article, the results of a study on the effects of games on children aged from 7-10 are

examined in much detail with many statistics for a multitude of different issues, such as effects

on sleep, eating habits, hyper behavior, social skills, motor skills, depression, anxiety, and

communication. For each category, an excerpt is written stating what the authors of this article

take the statistics to mean. In the end, it is stated that in general too much video games causes

a slew of negative effects, but also cites a study that shows that exact opposite conclusion. If I

ignore the grammatical issues here and there as relics of translation from another language,

then this article still has some issues that reduce the credibility of this article. Firstly, it seems

that every statistic was taken in the most negative way possible, even if the statistics weren’t
quite as severe as what they were saying. This, coupled with the intro and the one positive

source in the final paragraph leads me to believe that there is some inherent bias in this article.

The sample size was only 160 as well, so I am not sure that any accurate conclusions as to the

effects of video games on children could have been reached, at the very least not to the degree

that they seemed to elevate it to. Despite it not being very credible, it is undeniable that there

are cases where things do get this severe, and to act as if those negative aspects of video

games would be even more biased than they were. This article helped me outline what many of

the negative effects of videogames could be, as the effects studied are most likely not only

applicable to children.

Source Type: Article/study

Why I chose this source:

I picked this source among the list I found as I was interested on what effects on children video

games could have, and while I am most likely going to take this study with a grain of salt, it did

outline a huge multitude of negative effects that do actually impact people, especially those who

play games in far excess. As with anything, it is important to not be too excessive in anything

you can do, as it is almost always harmful.

Source Three - non-fiction book

Citation:

Anderson, Craig Alan, et al. Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents : Theory,

Research, and Public Policy. Oxford University Press, 2007. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=191242&site=ehost-live&scope=si

te.
Link:

https://sbcc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nle

bk&AN=191242&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Annotation:

In “Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents : Theory, Research, and Public

Policy”, the author mainly talks about how violent video games ultimately impact violence in

children and adolescents by a substantial amount, and then backs up the statement with many

studies cited in the book. She goes on to mention that the reason why these studies aren’t that

accepted by the public is that people think that people think that those conducting the studies

were searching directly for negative results and as such should be ignored. She counters this by

saying that many of the studies are peer reviewed and are done by reputable sources, even

counting the ones she’s cited in the book. The ultimate take away from the book at the end is

that there should be greater restrictions in place to prevent those that are emotionally

susceptible to things like violent video games. She also gives advice on what parents or

guardians should do handling violent video games with their children, and things that can help

them make decisions such as not only letting the rating on the box of the game make your

decision. The book itself seems to be high in quality as it cites many different studies to support

its claim. This study helped my research as it showed many negative aspects that video games

can create.

Source type: E-book

Why I chose this source:

When looking through the database, the effects of games on self-esteem seemed like it was a

perfect fit for what I was trying to research.

Source Four - Photograph or Video

Citation:

Source: Entertainment Software Association, “Essential Facts about Games and Violence,”

Link: ​www.theesa.com

Annotation: This image shows violent crime rate plotted against video game scales on a graph

over time from 1995-2015, and it at the very least shows that video games are not directly

causing violent crimes to increase. Its credible as it cites its sources at the bottom of the image

and it is useful for my research as it runs a counterpoint to the ebook source.