Wayne Warburton, PhD Biography
- Title:
- Deputy Director of the Children and Families Research Centre at Macquarie University
- Position:
- Pro to the question "Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?"
- Reasoning:
-
“[I]t is absolutely irrelevant whether crime rates fall or rise when violent video game playing increases, as gaming can only ever be one of a multitude of possible factors that contribute to violent crime trends…
[M]y conclusions after carefully examining the evidence for the impact of violent video games on players’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, are that commonly reported effects – short- and long-term increases in aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, and increases to hostile attitudes and beliefs – are demonstrated both on the balance of probabilities and beyond reasonable doubt.”
“Apples, Oranges, and the Burden of Proof – Putting Media Violence Findings Into Context: A Comment on Elson and Ferguson (2013),” European Psychologist, 2014
- Involvement and Affiliations:
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- Deputy Director, Children and Families Research Centre, Macquarie University (Australia), July 2009-present
- Senior Lecturer of Developmental Psychology, Macquarie University (Australia), July 2009-present
- Spokesperson, Australian Council for Children and the Media
- Editor, Sharkwatch – The Australian Financial Counselling Journal
- Advocate, Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s Governing Council (Australia), 2006-2012
- Advocate, Telstra Consumer Consultative Council Credit Management Working Group (Australia), 2002-2010
- Registered psychologist
- Education:
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- PhD, Psychology, Macquarie University (Australia), 2007
- BPsych (Hons) (Bachelors of Psychology with Honors), Macquarie University (Australia), 2002
- Other:
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- Coauthor of the world experts’ Statement on Violent Video Game Violence in the “Gruel Amicus Curiae Brief” for the 2010 US Supreme Court case, California vs. Entertainment Merchants
- PhD thesis was titled “Control-Related Aggression: Evidence for a Mechanism, Its Origins, and Personality Correlates”
- Undergraduate thesis was titled “Aggressive Responding to Ostracism: The Moderating Roles of Control Motivation and Narcissistic Vulnerability, and the Mediating Role of Negative Effect”
- Recipient, Faculty of Human Sciences’ Executive Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence, Macquarie University (Australia), 2014
- Recipient, Jan Pentland Prize for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Australian Financial Counselling, 2013
- Recipient, Australian Psychological Society Award for Excellent PhD Thesis in Psychology, 2007
- Recipient, Vice Chancellor’s Commendation for Excellent PhD Thesis, Macquarie University (Australia), 2007
- Recipient, Higher Degree Research Excellence Award, Macquarie University Division of Linguistics and Psychology (Australia), 2006
- Quoted in:
- Pro & Con Quotes: Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?