CultureScape with Peter Pischke

VIDEO EPISODE:

Orcs aren't' racist, Dungeon's and Dragons never radicalized anyone, and playing video games does not make you racist. These are general statements cited over the years as basic facts in the news media, yet they are almost universally wrong.

We interview Stetson University Psychologist Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, who published more against bad pop-science fads than almost anyone. Ferguson is the premier expert in the United States on video game violence and has written extensively at Psychology Today and other outlets.

We go with Dr. Ferguson into these false narratives, especially when they orbit politics and nerd culture. Even the scientific establishment, like the American Psychological Association, will feature junk science in gussied up papers. Why politics is de-railing good science and how Ferguson would hope to solve the problem.

Ferguson is into the science of video gaming.

Ferguson's Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CJFerguson1111

Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/christopher-j-ferguson-phd

Ours:

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Description From Psychology Today:

Christopher J. Ferguson, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Stetson University. He is interested in media violence and, in particular, video games. He has been invited to speak at Vice President Biden's task force and a 2013 Institute of Medicine/CDC panel on the subject. In summer 2018, I testified at the School Safety Commission.

His research has generally indicated that exposure to media violence has little effect on societal violence. Ferguson has emphasized that media effects must be studied independently rather than taking a "one size fits all" approach. Thus, advertising may get us to switch from one product to another even if video games don't turn kids into mass killers. Dr. Ferguson is also interested in the sociology of media research itself...how political pressure, social, moral panics, and culture war can distort media effects research into "opinions with numbers."

Dr. Ferguson is a consummate geek, interested in everything from science fiction to Dungeons and Dragons in his spare time. He and his son are fans of the Lego series of video games. Dr. Ferguson also likes strategy games such as Europa Universalis. His career proves to parents once and for all, yes, your child CAN make a career out of video games...