Resources for the Public

Video Game Violence Book Free in PDF Format

In light of continuing public uncertainty about the documented harmful effects of violent entertainment media, ISRA members Craig Anderson and Douglas Gentile have made their 2020 book Game On! Sensible Answers about Video Games and Media Violence free to everyone in pdf format. This book contains 57 FAQs, each with a very short, very readable (i.e., by teens and older) answer, and a much more detailed answer. The FAQs include simple questions such as, “Why should I care about media violence effects?” and “Should I be discussing media violence with my children?” Also included are more complicated methodological, statistical, and philosophy of science questions such as, “Can you prove that violent media causes aggression?” and “Can laboratory studies tell us anything about real-world aggression?”

The book can be downloaded for free at this link.

There is also a dedicated webpage that includes descriptions and reviews of the book, a direct download link to the free pdf version of the book, and links for purchasing Kindle and print versions through Amazon.com.

Report of the Presidential Commission on Police Aggression and Its Disproportionate Impact on Minority Populations

In June 2020, ISRA’s President Barbara Krahé commissioned a group of experts charged with the task of reviewing the literature on the nature, development, and impact of police aggression and issuing a public statement of their findings. The resultant report of this Commission (1) examines the inappropriate use of force by police in the context of research on modern policing as well as critical race theory, and (2) offers five recommendations suggested by contemporary theory and research that are aimed at policymakers, law enforcement administrators, and scholars.

The report was released April 21, 2021. Full text of the report is available currently here (PDF).

Members of the Presidential Commission

Commission Chairs
Paul Boxer, Rutgers University, USA 
Rod Brunson, Northeastern University, USA 
Noni Gaylord-Harden, Texas A&M University, USA

Commission Panelists
Kimberly Kahn, Portland State University, USA 
Desmond Patton, Columbia University, USA 
Joseph Richardson, University of Maryland, USA 
Luis Rivera, Rutgers University, USA 
Jocelyn R. Smith Lee, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, USA 
Mario Staller, University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany 
Barbara Krahé, University of Potsdam, Germany
Eric F. Dubow, Bowling Green State University, USA
Dominic Parrott, Georgia State University, USA
Kaylise Algrim, Rutgers University, USA

Report of the Youth Violence Commission

In March 2018, ISRA’s President Mike Potegal appointed a special commission to prepare a report on youth violence. This commission was “charged with the task of producing a public statement on the known risk factors for youth violence, based on the current state of scientific knowledge. If the Commission finds sufficient evidence of harmful effects, then its public statement may include public policy recommendations.”

The resultant report of the ISRA Youth Violence Commission provides strong evidence of factors that are associated with perpetration of violence by youth, and makes recommendations that policy makers can use to address this public health problem.

The full text document of this report is available currently here (PDF).

The Conversation

The Conversation is a news/analysis website with content written by academics, edited by journalists, and aimed at the general public. Their goal is to bring academic expertise to a broader audience, and their global newsroom also has offices in Australia, the UK, South Africa, and France. Articles are relatively short, around 1,000 words, and the tone is meant to be conversational and jargon-free, though they provide links to support primary sources.  

This outlet is an effective way for researchers to disseminate their findings publicly and is a resource for the public to learn more directly from the most cutting-edge science. Two sample articles relevant to the study of aggression are listed below.

FactCheck: Is There a Link Between Early and Easier Access to Violent TV and Domestic Violence? →
By Tom Denson (Associate Professor of Psychology and ARC Future Fellow, UNSW Australia)

Promoting Violence? Alcohol Specials Lead to Increased Aggression in Bars →
By Francis Markham (Ph.D. candidate, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University) and Martin Young (Associate Professor, Centre for Gambling Education and Research, Southern Cross University)

Report of the Media Violence Commission

In December 2011, ISRA appointed a special commission to prepare a report on media violence. This commission was "charged with the task of producing a public statement on the known effects of exposure to media violence, based on the current state of scientific knowledge. If the Commission finds sufficient evidence of harmful effects, then the Commission's public statement may include public policy recommendations."

The full text document of this report is available currently in English, Greek, Romanian, and German, and may be translated into additional languages in the near future.