![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/image-3-150x150.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Chris Ferguson, Ph.D., is at it again.<\/p>\n
Ferguson, a professor of psychology, has written more than 100 book chapters and journal articles as part of his research on the effects of violent video games. Notably, he also has participated in talks given by former Vice President Joe Biden\u2019s task force on gun control following the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, as well as in hearings for the Institute of Medicine on the role of media violence in gun violence a year later.<\/p>\n
Now, he has co-authored \u201cMoral Combat \u2013 Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong,\u201d collaborating with Patrick M. Markey, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and director of the Interpersonal Research Laboratory at Villanova University.<\/p>\n
The 256-page book, published by BenBella Books Inc., will be released Tuesday, March 21.<\/p>\n
The book\u2019s promotional materials begin: \u201c\u2018Boom! Headshot!\u2019 In family rooms all across America, millions of children and teenagers are enjoying violent video games. Popular games like Call of Duty, Halo and Grand Theft Auto place players in elaborate fictional worlds \u2013 often with a gun in their hands.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/image-2-150x150.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
“The media and the government are quick to point fingers when it comes to young perpetrators of violence,\u201d the materials continue. \u201cIf it becomes apparent that school shooters, for instance, may have enjoyed violent games at some point\u2014well, those games were clearly the culprit or at least a warning sign, right? But the problem with this conclusion is that it\u2019s not based on facts. Here\u2019s what they\u2019re not telling you: Only a small minority of school shooters played violent video games.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoral Combat\u201d contends that the media and commentators aren\u2019t giving you the whole story, and the authors believe it\u2019s time for a new conversation about these games and their role in children\u2019s lives. Ferguson and Markey explore how video games, including those considered violent, actually have a positive social impact for today\u2019s youth, and they offer a comprehensive overview of their history, culture and scientific research.<\/p>\n
One finding: Countries in which video games are extremely popular have lower levels of homicides and violent assaults than countries in which people play fewer video games. Another finding: Contrary to the stereotype of video gamers as introverts who isolate themselves in their parents\u2019 basements, more than 70 percent of gamers play with friends.<\/p>\n
Ferguson and Markey, on the frontline of the violent video game debate for years, write to \u201cdebunk the stark picture media, politicians and other personalities tend to paint in order to sway public opinion about the impact of gaming.\u201d<\/p>\n
March 24, 2017 in Stetson Today<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chris Ferguson, Ph.D., is at it again. Ferguson, a professor of psychology, has written more than 100 book chapters and journal articles as part of his research on the effects of violent video games. Notably, he also has participated in talks given by former Vice President Joe Biden\u2019s task force on gun control following the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[146,174],"class_list":["post-6495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faculty-excellence","tag-stetson-spotlight","tag-stetson-today"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6495"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6501,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6495\/revisions\/6501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/brown-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}