Video Game Debate

Rachel Kowert received her PhD in Psychology from the University of York (UK), where her research focused on the relationships between social competence and online video game involvement. Thorsten Quandt holds the chair of Online Communication at the University of Münster (Germany) and is a distinguished scientist with extensive experience in digital games research.

• 1. A Brief History of Video Games James D. Ivory 2. The Rise (and Refinement) of Moral Panic Nicholas D. Bowman 3. Are Electronic Games Health Hazards or Health Promoters? Cheryl K. Olson 4. The Influence of Digital Games on Aggression and Violent Crime Mark Coulson and Christopher J. Ferguson 5. Gaming Addiction and Internet Gaming Disorder Mark D. Griffiths 6. Social outcomes: Online game play, social currency, and social ability Rachel Kowert 7. Debating How to Learn From Video Games John L. Sherry 8. Video Games and Cognitive Performance Gillian Dale and C. Shawn Green 9. Exploring Gaming Communities Frans Mäyrä 10. No black and white in video game land! Why we need to move beyond simple explanations in the video game debate Thorsten Quandt and Rachel Kowert

"This is a terrific introduction to the new wave of social science research on games and gamers, putting objectivity ahead of subjectivity, and open-mindedness ahead of dogma. For over a decade, there has been a widening gulf between research on the effects of video games and the experience of game-players themselves. Finally, with this book, we see media studies that aren’t themselves born of media effects – and it’s both revolutionary and revelatory." —Richard A. Bartle, University of Essex