Dear Reader:
Study says prosocial gaming increases helpful behavior, violent gaming makes people more aggresive
These studies show the same kind of impact on three different age groups from three very different cultures. In addition, the studies use different analytic approaches—correlational, longitudinal and experimental. The resulting triangulation of evidence provides the strongest possible proof that the findings are both valid and generalizable…
[The research] suggests there is an upward spiral of prosocial gaming and helpful behavior, in contrast to the downward spiral that occurs with violent video gaming and aggressive behavior…
Taken together, these findings make it clear that playing video games is not in itself good or bad for children. The type of content in the game has a bigger impact than the overall amount of time spent playing. - report from Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
I honestly don’t know that anyone could do a report that I would believe 100%, and that goes for either side of the argument. The same also goes for TV, music and movie studies. I just don’t think anyone can get 100% conclusive evidence to close this case. I know that won’t stop people from trying, though.