Studies on violent video games can be very fickle. One minute violent video games are a healthy way of releasing pent up energy, and the next minute they're murder simulators. Sometimes you just have to wonder if the studies are actually credible.

According to the ECA, the latest one - the one that says violent video games make you more aggressive - is one such example of a study whose credibility is questionable. Right on.

Video games seem to be the favorite topic of discussion when child and teen violence is concerned, and video games have also prompted several researches and studies to focus on the topic of gaming. So what's new in this latest research? According to a psychologist from Omaha, violent video games desensitize gamers from real violence. Check out the details in the full article.

Iowa State University's Dr. Craig A. Anderson steps into the limelight today with the release of his new book, "Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy". The book delves into the correlation between violent video games and aggressive behavior among children, and cites three studies to confirm this link.

The first study conducted tested 161 9- to 12-year-olds and 354 college students by making both groups play both violent and non-violent video games. According to the study results, non-violent games raised aggression levels among the participants as much as violent games.

The second study was conducted via survey on 189 high school students. It found that those who played more violent video games developed more hostile personalities, were less forgiving, considered violent behavior to be normal, and behaved more aggressively.

The book's third study was conducted on 430 children in grades three to five. This study found that that children who played violent games more often were aggressive both physically and verbally later on in the school year.

The book is currently being published by the Oxford University Press, and was co-authored by Douglas A. Gentile and Katherine E. Buckley. Anderson and Gentile are expected to present their book's findings at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting in Boston on March 29 to April 1.

It will be recalled that Dr. Anderson's previous studies relating video games to violent behavior were used as part of gaming legislation in Michigan, which called for the restriction of violent games to minors. The bill was subsequently junked by District Judge George Caram Steeh.

And while we report this latest publication on the never-ending discussion regarding violent gaming and human behavior, make sure to read up on other related views to help balance out your perspective. We recommend sociologist Karen Sternheimer's previous analysis as a starting point.

This October 20-21, the National Institute on Media and the Family and Iowa State University will be holding a summit to discuss the growing problem of sexual and violent content in videogaming.

During this upcoming National Summit on Video Games, Youth and Public Policy, these groups hope to tackle the growing trends in videogame rating systems in light of the government's own policies, and the accuracy of independent game ratings groups.

The organizers hope to be able to create a 10-year action agenda based on the findings in this summit.

They've invited ESRB president Patricia Vance as they did Congresswoman Betty McCollum of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, and speakers from prestigious schools such as Harvard and Yale.

And for those of you asking: No, Attorney Jack Thompson is nowhere in the list of speakers.

Given what's been happening lately in the field of gaming politics such as the recent legislation by congress and the revelations on ESRB's inner workings, we're hoping this summit will foster a greater degree of awareness for the concerned parties, and hopefully offer a more sensible means of studying the gaming industry on their part - it's not all bad.

The summit will take place at: University of Minnesota Continuing Education and Conference Center, 1890 Buford Avenue,
Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

As for time skeds per day:

• October 20: 8:00AM to 5:00PM
• October 21: 8:30AM to 1:00PM

More details can be found in the pdf file found on the source link.