Content Description
- Game Developers
- Game Publishers
- Retailers
- Parents
- Columbine Fallout
- Games as a Scapegoat
- The Link Between Games and Violence
- Violent Video Game Inspired Crimes
- Other Art Forms
Working Hypothesis 1
Violent video games are not a catalyst of violent behavior, but a scapegoat for it.
Working Hypothesis 2
Parents should be held responsible for violent video game inspired crimes, because they are the ones purchasing these games for their children without care.
Topics for Smaller Papers
Definition/Classification Argument
Other forms of art such as film and music are often criticized for inciting violent behavior in people just like video games. However, if all forms of art are seen as potential causes of violence, then it would seem that anything with some amount of violence when witnessed causes violent behavior. However, many would not attribute violence to the news, or history books.
Cause/Effect Argument
Due to a significant amount of criminals or even victims blaming crimes on violent video games, it has become a belief that violent video games can inspire crime out of people or at the very least, desensitize you to crime. However, research from the American Psychological Association states that while there is a link between decreases in empathy and increases in aggressive behavior, there is no indication that it makes people antisocial or prone to violent behavior.
Rebuttal Argument
While criminals may blame a crime for being inspired by violent video games, it does not necessarily mean that is the case. If someone establishes that they were inspired by a video game, it might lift some of the responsibility of the crime off of them, and as such, makes blaming video games very tempting despite not being true.
Current State of the Research Paper
As of now, I believe I have a decent understanding of the topic and my thesis on it. However, I do not have enough concrete data from research as of yet. I cannot find it, but I want to know more about the study that the American Psychological Association conducted and what kind of numerical data they found. Also, while I may have some interesting viewpoints, I do not think I have figured out my topic well enough to be very persuasive on it, so I am going to read more and figure things out better.
Rowan Counterintuitive 
feedback provided
—DSH
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This isn’t a White Paper yet, Nihlman, and it won’t be until it becomes the place where you import your links to sources, purposefully summarize them, pit them against one another, and actively engage with your subject here.
When you get to it, the strongest argument you will have to refute will not come from criminals. Obviously, they will try to scapegoat anything they can think of to excuse their crimes (bad parenting, childhood poverty, racial discrimination, years of abuse). Statistical studies that find a significant link between violent criminals and a history of violent video game consumption will be harder to refute. How you choose to do so is up to you, but since you haven’t imported any here, I’d have to go looking for the sources you’ve selected to help you find their weak points.
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