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:
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“[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
- Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
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Experts
Individuals with PhDs, MDs, or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to violence and video games. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to media violence and related issues. - 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?