The following synthesis essay is from Anderson, A.C., and Bushman, B.J. (2001).
APA reference is below.
Video game industry leaders deny the harmful effects of their products (Video games) however this has been a long debate among social scientists on the role of exposure to violence of TV and indulgence of children in playing violent video games on their overall behaviour. Television and video games are the most commonly accessed media by youths and thus become a focal point of study in determining their effects on behaviour. A myriad of writers have indulged in the debate surrounding the aggression levels showed by different children with exposure to violent video games. The effects of exposure to violent media on our youth can be measured scientifically. Anderson and Bushman focus their study in the referenced article on the review of the results of 35 research reports and 54 independent samples. This approach allows for the statistical analysis of the aggregate to help highlight the impact to prosocial behaviour of over 4,000 subjects who participated in the study of the effects of violent media. Anderson and Bushman leverage a number of analytical approaches to support their article including moderator analysis, experimental, and nonexperimental measures. The result of these studies were analysed with the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) to generate a broad statistical analysis, summarizing the results with improved accuracy due to the large demographic audience. The results of the study showed a correlation coefficient depicting an increase in aggression, aggressive cognition, and aggressive affect. All participants in the various studies experienced a measurably high increase in overall arousal, compounding the effects in responding behaviour. In direct contrast was the inclination of the subjects to exhibit helping behaviour, further solidifying the findings and stated thesis that violent media has an adverse effect on behaviour. In conclusion, Anderson and Bushman (2001) state that across the 33 independent tests of the relation between video-game violence and aggression, involving 3.033 participants, the average effect size was positive and significant. The eight independent tests surrounding the relation between video games and prosocial behaviour displayed an average effect that was significantly negative. While there were too few studies to support a moderator analysis and required the results to be separated into experimental and nonexperimental effects, the results of exposure to violent games highlighted a negative correlation
