Social Scientists - Assignment Example

TalalAlomairi _____/ 40 pts. 5A RW Fall Formal Outline Assignment Directions: Please complete the parts in red for Monday March 24th (end of lab time) . Use the blue headings to guide the reader in your typed outline. You must show the exact evidence that you plan to use with the correct citation. The parts that are not in red are to help guide you when you go to write your first draft. Recommendation: Take your outline to the Writing Center and receive some feedback. I. Introduction Thesis Statement Social scientists have been examining the effect that video games have on behavior. From the introduction of video games in the 1980s, there have been numerous research studies to this effect (Andersen & Taylor, 2008). The issue has become even more significant in the modern context because these video games have become bloodier and more realistic than ever before. Even though boys play these games more than girls in America, the consumption of video games has generally been high. Carey (2013) indicates that 32% of these gamers are below the age of 18. Therefore, it would be crucial to evaluate the effects that these video games have on the behavior of such children. II. Background Paragraph Socialization is a critical aspect of people learning to fit within a given society. Even more, internalization, involving taking social values, norms and roles into own mind, plays a significant role in shaping behavior, especially in children. According to Andersen and Taylor (2008), the imitation stage of children involves children merely copying the behavior around them. Children would just mimic what exists in the environment without an understanding of social meaning of any given behavior. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, AACAP (2011) indicates a significant increase in video games noted to constitute a multi-billion dollar industry. They come in all forms of technologies including through the Internet. In the same way, they also have varied content with others being educational while others involve criminal behavior and killing of people and animals among others. The major concern has been on the impact of video gaming on children’s behavior because while some promote problem solving and learning, other games with violent content have arouse much debate. See Background Paragraph handout III. Pro-argument 1 Pro-argument 1 – Exposure to violent video games has been noted to cause antisocial behavior among children. Explain the idea with details/ description/ examples Prove it! (Evidence) Quote: Exposure to violent media theoretically can and empirically does affect all three of these internal states. Rewarding violence within a video game might further increase aggression outside of the game. For example, it could increase the frequency of aggressive game behaviors, which might well increase aggressive thinking, hostile feelings, or both in the immediate situation, thereby increasing the likelihood of aggressive behavior in that situation. Rewarding game violence might also yield more positive attitudes toward and beliefs about using aggression to solve real-world conflicts. This sequence could lead to long-term increases in aggressive behavior (Carnagey & Anderson, 2005, 883). Paraphrase: Carnagey and Anderson (2005) review the impact of video games that reward violence noting that such rewards promote aggression in the outside context. It would increase hostile feelings and aggressive thinking in the immediate context. This would be learnt and nourished in such a child such that it would be believed that even in real-world conflicts, violence would lead to positive results, thus a long term increase in aggressive behavior. This could be attributed to the high competition intensity in violent games as opposed to non-violent games that are largely non-competitive. The long term aggressive behavior would be well explained by the information processing theory which argues that exposing children to violence through the media or in real life promotes acquisition of scripts that would be retrieved from the memory at any given time, especially during times that resemble the features of the script in the video game. Explain the evidence/ give opinion/ comment on it Explain second supporting point with details/ description/ examples Prove it! (Evidence) Quote: According to GAM, long-term effects of exposure to violent media result primarily from the development, rehearsal, and eventual automatization of aggressive knowledge structures such as perceptual schemata (Was this bump accidental or intentional?), social expectations (Are other people expected to be cooperative or vengeful?), and behavioral scripts (insult → retaliation). In sum, the second question concerns any of several potential underlying processes, but the most important one is whether brief and repeated exposure to violent video games increases aggressive cognitions. (Anderson & Bushman, 2001, 356). Paraphrase: According to Anderson and Bushman (2001), long term effects of aggression from violent media results from developing, rehearsing and eventually automatizing aggressive knowledge structures. Therefore, children constantly exposed to violent video games acquire stable aggressive scripts that guide their behavior in responding to situations with aggression. Explain the evidence/ give opinion/ comment on it Tie it up! (Close the idea) or move in the next paragraph that further supports Pro-argument 1 (Optional) Topic sentence Explain the idea with details/ description/ examples Prove it! (Evidence) Quote: Paraphrase: Explain the evidence/ give opinion/ comment on it Tie it up! (Close the idea) IV. Pro-argument 2 Pro-argument 2 – Aggressive behavior caused by violent video games takes place through cognition. Explain the idea with details/ description/ examples Prove it! (Evidence) Quote: Briefly, social-cognitive learning theories (e.g., GLM) propose that input variables (personal and situational) affect a person’s internal states (cognition, affect, and arousal) and ultimately guide the person’s learning (through multiple mechanisms) and behavioral responses [Buckley and Anderson, 2006; Bushman and Huesmann, 2006; Gentile and Gentile, 2008; Huesmann and Kirwil, 2007; Maier and Gentile, 2012; Swing et al., 2008]. Specific to the present study, these theories suggest that playing a prosocial video game should prime knowledge structures related to prosocial actions, including associated cognitions, feelings, and physiological arousal. Of course, the efficacy of priming prosocial behavioral scripts depends on the existence of such scripts and chronic accessibility. For example, Bushman and Huesmann (2006) showed that brief experimental manipulations of media violence tend to produce somewhat larger short-term effects on older participants (mostly college students) than on younger ones. This difference in short-term effects occurs because short-term effects of media exposure are primarily attributed to activation of existing knowledge structures and children have less developed knowledge structures and fewer existing encoded cognitions based on their limited experience (Saleem et al., 2012, 281). Paraphrase: Even though arousal and affect have also been cited as significant routes through which aggressive behavior resulting from violent video gaming could occur, cognition has been noted by Saleem, Anderson and Gentile (2012) to be the critical determinant. As such, the researchers indicate that even the non-violent video games could cause an increase in aggressive affect because of what Carnagey and Anderson (2005) indicate as the associated frustration. Frustrating nonviolent video games indirectly induce aggressive cognitions by linking thoughts and feelings. Such games also increase arousal but it is violent games that directly cause the emergence of aggressive thoughts, stimulating long term development of structures associated with aggressive knowledge. Explain the evidence/ give opinion/ comment on it Explain second supporting point with details/ description/ examples Prove it! (Evidence) Quote: The young men who opened fire at Columbine High School, at the movie theater in Aurora, Colo., and in other massacres had this in common: they were video gamers who seemed to be acting out some dark digital fantasy. It was as if all that exposure to computerized violence gave them the idea to go on a rampage — or at least fueled their urges (Carey, 2013). Paraphrase: Carey (2013) gives perfect examples of video games causing aggressive behaviors in children. According to the reporter, the young men responsible for opening fire at Columbine High School and even those that opened fire at the Auorora, Colo movie theatre as was in the news were all found to be video gamers who were deemed to be acting out of some digital fantasy. The exposure to computer games gave the idea for them to go on rampage or at least aroused the urge for such acts. Explain the evidence/ give opinion/ comment on it Tie it up! (Close the idea) or move in the next paragraph that further supports Pro-argument 1 (Optional) Topic sentence Explain the idea with details/ description/ examples Prove it! (Evidence) Quote: Paraphrase: Explain the evidence/ give opinion/ comment on it Tie it up! (Close the idea) V. Pro-argument 3 Pro-argument 3 – On the other hand, video gaming promotes pro-social behavior and positive behavior. Explain the idea with details/ description/ examples Prove it! (Evidence) Quote: A recent study conducted in the United Kingdom concluded that playing video games does not lead to long-term behavioral problems like attention deficit disorder or depression. The University of Glasgow survey was based on the observation of thousands of mothers who tracked the behavior of their children over time. Scientists wanted to know if there was a valid link between the amount of time spent gaming and the development of emotional maturity and healthy intellectual advancement (Elise, 2013). Paraphrase: Avid gamers exhibit improved reflexes, healthier brains and better cognitive skills. It causes the regions of the brain in charge of memory function, strategic planning and spatial orientation to increase. Being a pervasive activity, it promotes numerous motor and cognitive demands. As such, Elise (2013) indicates that this counteracts the risk of mental diseases such as schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder and neurodegenerative disease, making one able to interact with others effectively. Explain the evidence/ give opinion/ comment on it Explain second supporting point with details/ description/ examples Prove it! (Evidence) Quote: One of the examples in which aggressive behavior and pro-social behavior were used as dependent variables in a study is the study by Wiegman & van Schie (1998) [10]. They used the amount of use and preference for violent games as video game variables, and examined correlations between the video game variables and dependent variables. As a result, they suggested that there was a significant negative correlation between the amount of video game use and pro-social behavior, and that boys exhibiting strong preference for violent games were likely to show aggressive behavior and unlikely to show pro-social behavior compared to those exhibiting weak preference for violent games(Ihori, Sakamoto, Shibuya & Yukawa, 2007, 170). Paraphrase: Ihori, et al. (2007) critically observed the importance of exposure, noting that long term exposure to non-violent video games caused children to dislike violent video games and thus foster pro-social behavior. Explain the evidence/ give opinion/ comment on it Tie it up! (Close the idea) or move in the next paragraph that further supports Counterargument (Optional) Topic sentence Explain the idea with details/ description/ examples Prove it! (Evidence) Quote: Paraphrase: Explain the evidence/ give opinion/ comment on it Tie it up! (Close the idea) V. Counterarguments (Note: You may start your essay with the counterargument paragraph if you wish) Counterargument – Even so, there has been increasing evidence that video games have no effect on children’s behavior no matter the content. Explain the idea with details/ description/ examples Prove it! (Evidence) Quote: The outcome of the study found that regular exposure to video games had virtually no effect on the behavior of participants. However, viewing three or more hours of television per day at the age of 5 did lead to a minor increase in behavioral problems in children aged 5 to 7, regardless of gender (Elise, 2013). “The result was that we did not find any adverse effects of video games in which they heightened the level of aggressive behavior” (Ihori et al., 2007, 170). Paraphrase: Elise (2013) reports of a recent study by the University of Glasgow on 11,000 children that found no behavioral impact on participants regularly exposed to video games. In their study on whether video games cause aggression among elementary school students, Ihori et al. (2007) found no correlation. Explain the evidence/ give opinion / comment on it Refute to counterargument(s) This guideline on age restriction could be considered as being based on children’s socialization theory put forth by Anderson and Taylor (2008). According to these scholars, the imitation stage where a child has no understanding of behavior but just imitates what is seen would be critical in avoiding games that could foster undesirable behavior. However, at the game phase when the child comprehends the social relationship system, video games would not have a major impact on behavior as the child would autonomously choose what behavior to adopt based on social dictates. VII. Conclusion “The concluding paragraph of an argumentative essay is the writer’s last opportunity to persuade readers. Therefore, the conclusion must be strong. In addition to briefly summarizing your side of the argument, you should do one or more of the following: Make a recommendation Suggest a compromise between your stance and the opposition’s stance Offer a solution to the issue Predict the effects of the implementation of one or both sides of the argument” (Tunceren&Cavusgil, 2006, p. 238). VIII. References American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2011, March). Children and video games: Playing with violence. Retrieved 26 March 2014 from http://www.aacap.org/ Andersen, M. & Taylor, H. (2008). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education. Anderson, C. A. & Bushman, B. J. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, an pro-social behavior: A meta-analytic review of scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12 (5), 353 – 359. Carey, B. (2013, February 11). Shooting in the dark. The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/ Carnagey, N. L. & Anderson, C. A. (2005). The effects of reward and punishment in violent video games on aggressive affect, cognition, and behavior. Psychological Science, 16 (11), 882 – 889. Elise, A. (2013, November 22). Video games have no effect on children’s behavior, new study finds. International Business Times. Retrieved 26 March 2014 from http://www.ibtimes.com/video-games-have-no-effect-childrens-behavior-new-study-finds-1482630 Ihori, N., Sakamoto, A., Shibuya, A. & Yukawa, S. (2007). Effect of video games on children’s aggressive behavior and pro-social behavior: A panel study with elementary school students. Retrieved 26 March 2014 from http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/07312.31554.pdF Saleem, M., Anderson, C. A. & Gentile, G. A. (2012). Effects of prosocial, neutral, and violent video games on children’s helpful and hurtful behaviors. Aggressive Behavior, 38, 281 – 287. doi: 10.1002/ab.21428 Tunceren, L., &Cavusgil, S. (2006). College writing 4. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Read More