The video game industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the U.S. economy, with violent video games topping the charts among fan favorites. Due to frequent violence and mass shootings that have struck our nation in recent years, the gaming industry has been subject to much blame for endorsing violent acts. While many researches and psychologists have conducted experiments and meta-analytic reviews to test the correlation between violent video games and mass shootings, the debate remains prevalent in the media, to date. This thesis will not aim to prove whether or not violent video games are largely responsible for malicious attacks, but rather analyze why the blame is often adverted specifically to the video game industry in the aftermath of public massacres. This paper will analyze the positive and negative effects of gaming, the social and behavioral tendencies often developed from playing video games, and the current controversies surrounding the industry.

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<p>Working from a child participatory perspective, the study aimed to explore children's perceptions and experiences of screen violence. Within this process there is an attempt to understand how children assign meaning to these violent screen images at an interpersonal and broader social level.</p>

In the last fifteen years, the problem of domestic violence has moved from being a 'behind closed doors' phenomenon to an issue of increasing public concern. This concern has inevitably coincided with increasing research efforts. The majority of this research has focused on men who batter female partners. Attempted explanations for this problem have arisen from general theories of aggression as well as research identifying the unique characteristics of domestically violent men. This study proposed a new direction for domestic violence research, considering domestic violence as a process. The application of such a conceptualisation was intended to capture both the dynamic and complex nature of these events. A qualitative methodology based on Grounded Theory was used to delineate a descriptive model of the offence process in domestic violence from interviews with ten participants currently incarcerated at Paparua Prison, Christchurch. These men had current or prior convictions for domestic violence offences. The model that emerged from this study consists of four temporally sequential phases which are described and discussed. These consist of: background factors, buildup/ offence context phase, offence phase and post-offence phase. It is suggested that this offence process model will provide a framework for the evaluation of current causal explanations, has the potential to enhance the development ofnew hypotheses and has utility in terms of alterring current conceptualisations of effective intervention packages.

The study of empathy has had a long history in both psychology and philosophy; however, debate has continued in relation to the exact nature of the construct. Several distinct variants of empathy have evolved over time, with some researchers viewing the construct as cognitive, while others emphasise the affective nature of empathy. An examination of the history of the construct reveals evidence which supports both positions. Multidimensional models of empathy, such as that posed by Davis (1994), encompass both cognitive and affective accounts of empathy, as well as their interaction. Despite the apparent acceptance of multidimensional models of empathy, confusion still remains as to the definition of empathy. This has restrained theories of the relationship between empathy and constructs such as aggression. The current program of study sought to clarify the relationship between aggression and empathy, focusing on a multidimensional approach. It was argued that previous research relied on the assumed inhibitory nature of empathy on aggression, and although intuitive, had failed to acknowledge alternative explanations for a relationship between empathy and aggression. Three possible explanations to account for a possible relationship between empathy and aggression were therefore examined. firstly, that the distress cues of another produce distress in the observer (personal distress) and that distress is interpreted as aversive. Personal distress produces a drive to reduce the aversive state which may result in the use of violence by some individuals. (Empathic arousal functioning as a facilitator of aggression); secondly, that the distress cues of another fail to produce an affective reaction in some observers. (Empathic arousal failing to function as an inhibitor of aggression); and thirdly, that the distress cues of another produce an affective reaction in some observers, which is interpreted as an excitation (contrast empathy), and functions to reinforce the use of violence. (Empathic arousal functioning as a facilitator of aggression). During phase 1 of the research the psychometric properties of the empathy measure, currently used with offenders, were examined in an offender sample. Results from 88 violent offenders indicated that the measure was not suitable for use with offender samples, and therefore new scales needed to be produced before research could continue. Two scales were constructed; the Negative Affect Intolerance Scale (NAIS) assessed offenders’ level of intolerance toward distress cues of others, while the Offender Contrast Affect Scale (OCAS) assessed offenders’ level of excitation and enjoyment of the distress cues of others. Once scale construction had been complete, the psychometric properties of the scales were examined using sample of 166 university students. These preliminary results indicated that both scales were reliable and valid. Phase 2 of the research program began with a pilot study to examine the psychometric properties of the two newly constructed scales with sample of 49 incarcerated male offenders. Both scales once again produced results which supported their reliability and validity. A larger study was then conducted to examine the three theorised roles that empathy may play in either the production or maintenance of aggression. Cluster analysis identified 5 clusters in a sample of 106 sentenced male offenders, based on their responses to a set of scales (including the NAIS and OCAS). Each of these clusters was compared to a Western Australian community sample (43 low SES males). Results supported all three explanations of a relationship between empathy and aggression, within different clusters of offenders. The final phase of research involved postulating a theoretical role for cognitive aspects of empathy (perspective taking) in the production or inhibition of aggression. It was argued that, despite the apparent simplicity with which the construct has been dealt with in the literature, perspective taking should be considered a two dimensional construct (frequency & accuracy). When considered in this way, perspective taking may provide additional guidance in the study and treatment of human aggression

Is it what adult violent offenders think or how they think that discriminates them most from non-offenders? This study investigates whether violent and criminal sentiments, attributional biases and violence based grievance resolution strategies represent dynamic criminogenic risk factors. The results indicate that it is what offenders think that discriminates them more than how they think. The participants were 546 adults comprising 105 violent offenders, 238 university students and 203 men and women from a stratified random community sample. Using interview data from high-risk violent offenders, two scales were specifically developed to measure the variables of interest. The differences between offenders and non-offenders in violent attitudes was measured by expanding the scope of the Criminal Sentiments Scale. The differences in attributional biases and problem solving was assessed by a second scale developed for this study. The results showed that offenders were clearly different from non-offenders with the offenders endorsing significantly higher criminal and violent sentiments with an effect size of h2 =.46. The offenders also reported a significantly higher level of violence-based resolution strategies to end grievances than non-offenders. However, the surprising finding was that the adult male high-risk offenders did not demonstrate more pronounced hostile attributional biases than either adult men and women students or men and women from the community. The results imply that believing violence is acceptable and being prepared to use violence is more criminogenic than how you interpret the social behaviour of others. These findings have important implications for our understanding of why grievances escalate and the development of more effective intervention programs.

Thesis (M.S.)--Drexel University, 2007. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-69).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. Philo A. Hutcheson, committee chair; Theophus Smith, Susan Talburt, Douglas R. Davis, committee members. Electronic text (355 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Nov. 1, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 348-355).