Koenig 1

Joey Koenig
Cunningham
Brit. Lit. Period 1
14 December 2016
Annotated Bibliography

Sasaki, David. Changes in Media Over the Past 550 Years - MediaShift. MediaShift,
14Nov.2009,mediashift.org/2009/11/changes-in-media-over-the-past-550-years318/.
In Sasakis piece about media through the ages, he attempts to bring into question the
validity of such an extensive growth of this outlet. Sasaki exploits figures as historical and
famous as Gutenberg and Luther, as well as analyzing the history of the printing press and
other revolutionary aspects of our ancestrys growth. At an attempt to bring reason as to why
their is a scarcity of substance in the current day news outlets, Sasaki goes as far back as
ancient egyptian times and recounts the gradual procession, from the hieroglyphic scrolls, to
movable type, and thus the mass production of books and newspapers. What Sasaki attempts
to gain by explaining the evolution of media publication is to emphasize how certain
revolutionary ideas can change our entire way of perceiving the world. This analysis of the past
media affecting the present is a very informative piece that may very well help me in
understanding our shift from human to less so. It is also important for me to have a basic
understanding of where the media first planted its roots, and how we can still see its implications
today.

Krahe, Barbara. Mller, Ingrid. Huesmann, L. Rowell. Kirwil, Lucyna. Felber, Juliane.
Berger, Anja. Desensitization to Media Violence: Links With Habitual Media

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Violence Exposure, Aggressive Cognitions, and Aggressive Behavior. J ournal of

Personality and Social Psychology, vol 100, no. 4, 2011,pp.633-644,Http://www.
rcgd.isr.umich.edu/aggr/articles/Huesmann/2011.Krah%C3%A9%20et%20
al.Desentization.JPSP.pdf
In a study done by a variety of professors from the Universities of Potsdam, MIchigan,
and Warsaw, they reveal the results of a study in which they attempted to gain some insight on
the effects of violence resulting to aggressive actions and or behavior. The professors use a
variety of methods to support their results, from an assortment of graphs and tables to the end
results of the experiment itself. Those participating in the experiment were ordered to view
varying clips of violence or humor, rating each one on a scale of how violent sad or funny they
found it. This was done once more showing another group of clips, both being monitored by a
PAR-PORT device, which is used for measuring arousal levels. This experiment could prove
very useful as evidence to support my theory of desensitization being a result of what we see on
tv, video games, or movies, taking a more in depth look at why an oversaturation of such
images can result in a change in our mental selves.

Smith, Brian P. The Rise of Civilization and the Evolution of Personality.Evolution of

Personality and Society, June 2004,
www.personalityresearch.org/papers/smith.html.
Brian Smiths essay of sorts, elaborates on what is known as evolutionary psychology,
or our societal shift from a more empirical point of view. Smith compiles well-known scientists,
psychologists, and philosophers past findings in order to help give a more well rounded look at
our biological makeup. The piece tackles both personality and social based psychology,
explaining how some of our current functions are such a way due to our ancestry and evolution

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as a whole. Smith also describes specific examples of such changes, from stigmatism, to
memory retrieval alterations. This essay would prove useful to my project for it branches out to
the more nitty gritty of our biochemistry. Smiths research might help me answer questions, or at
least give certain evidence, as to why our minds seem to be greatly altered by the media and
other outside forces influencing our actions and or common mindset of the world.

Impact of Media Use on Children and Youth. Paediatrics & Amp; Child Health, Pulsus
Group Inc, 2003, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2792691/.
This informative guide from the National Library of Medicine is essentially targeted at
parents, for it maps out the certain ages when different forms of media have the greatest
impression on a child. The Organization mainly uses statistics or information from trusted
doctors in order to support their points on the different categories of commercials or television.
The Pediatric center of the NCBI sections off the varying aspects of the media, from violence on
t.v. to common fears on the internet, in order to educate and inform any parent attempting to
grasp a better understanding of the effects these outlets might have on their children. This
article, while it may be biased toward parents focused on coddling their children until their 30,
does provide viable percentages and values that may prove helpful when attempting to make a
point about desensitisation resulting in the current influx of violence in advertisements or even
due to subtle internet memes.

Strickland, Jonathan. Does Violence in Movies and Video Games Desensitize Us to

the Real Thing? How Stuff Works, 2010,
electronics.howstuffworks.com/violence-desensitize1.htm.

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Stricklands piece tackles the debate of whether or not the violence we see on t.v. or video
games truly has an effect on us. Looking at past experiments, as well as diagnosing the main steps
to desensitisation, Strickland strengthens his argument that it can go either way. Strickland starts off
by explaining what desensitisation is and how researchers attempt to either prove or disprove its
existence in the media. He then goes off to give specifics on an experiment, testing if our excited
state when seeing a violent movie stays with us when we leave the theater-proving it most definitely
does. This article proves helpful in not only providing a study I can use to back up my argument on
desensitisation, but also gives a closer look at the research behind the research, explaining how the
scientists or psychologists read such data or attempt to test it. The steps these experimenters take
may help me in understanding the important factors to note when looking at desensitised people.