Do Video Games Cause Violence?

Can playing a violent video game lead unstable young people to commit acts of violence? Whatever side of the debate you're on, learn words on this list drawn from the Wall Street Journal's "Videogame Makers Fight Efforts to Study Link to Violence" (Dec. 10, 2013) to make your points with clarity and precision.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. rash
    imprudently incurring risk
    Legislative proposals to study whether videogames are linked to real-life violence or mental health—prompted by a rash of mass shootings—have stalled amid a campaign by the industry to quash the efforts, according to lobbying records and lawmakers.
  2. quash
    declare invalid
    Legislative proposals to study whether videogames are linked to real-life violence or mental health—prompted by a rash of mass shootings—have stalled amid a campaign by the industry to quash the efforts, according to lobbying records and lawmakers.
  3. association
    a formal organization of people or groups of people
    The Entertainment Software Association fought such bills in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey this year and in Oklahoma last year, records and interviews show.
  4. subsidiary
    functioning in a supporting capacity
    The association, whose 34 members include Microsoft Corp. and the U.S. subsidiaries of Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. , now are taking aim at a similar federal bill, according to records and a co-sponsor of the bill.
  5. ban
    prohibit especially by law or social pressure
    Supreme Court in 2011 struck down a California ban on such sales on First Amendment grounds.
  6. aftermath
    the consequences of an event, especially a catastrophic one
    Instead, in the aftermath of massacres such as the December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Conn., legislatures began proposing panels to study the potential impact of violent videogames on behavior.
  7. potential
    existing in possibility
    One in Connecticut called for a review of data on potential links.
  8. rampage
    violently angry and destructive behavior
    After the July 2012 movie-theater rampage in Aurora, Colo., items removed from the apartment of the alleged shooter included videogames with violent elements, police records show.
  9. scapegoat
    someone who is punished for the errors of others
    The industry says it considers the issue settled, with no firm link ever established, and that it doesn't want to be used as a scapegoat for social ills.
  10. perpetrator
    someone who commits wrongdoing
    It said that while more than half of the perpetrators showed some interest in violent media, including movies, books and videogames, they didn't favor one type over another.
  11. scrutiny
    the act of examining something closely, as for mistakes
    Critics accuse the industry of trying to discourage scrutiny of a booming business.
  12. correlation
    a reciprocal connection between two or more things
    Some have shown correlations between videogames and aggression, while others said the results are flawed.
  13. aggression
    a disposition to behave forcefully and energetically
    Some have shown correlations between videogames and aggression, while others said the results are flawed.
  14. outcome
    something that results
    "In more than 50 years of research, no study has focused on firearm violence as a specific outcome of violence in the media," the report said.
  15. testimony
    something that serves as evidence
    A Maryland bill would have taken testimony on the effects of violent videogames on socially withdrawn people and set up a support line for parents concerned that a child was addicted to videogames.
  16. bipartisan
    supported by both sides
    Senate, a bipartisan bill would direct the National Academy of Sciences to study both violent video programming and videogames, including how games affect aggression-prone children.
  17. impressionable
    easily influenced
    "Our goal is to provide answers to parents about what exposure to these violent images are doing to their children's impressionable minds and emotions," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), a co-sponsor.
  18. lobbyist
    someone who is employed to persuade how legislators vote
    The group has deployed at least three lobbying firms and its own lobbyist to represent its interests on the Senate bill, according to public records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group.
  19. nonpartisan
    free from party affiliation or bias
    The group has deployed at least three lobbying firms and its own lobbyist to represent its interests on the Senate bill, according to public records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group.
Created on Wed Dec 11 09:19:35 EST 2013 (updated Wed Dec 18 16:37:55 EST 2013)

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