Click on the link below and read the article titled “Comfortably Numb: Desensitizing Effects of Violent Media on Helping Others (citation below) and complete the following questions:http://public.psych.iastate.edu/caa/abstracts/2005-2009/09BA.pdf

Bushman, B. J., & Anderson, C. A. (2009). Comfortably numb: Desensitizing effects of violent media on helping others. Psychological Science, 20, 273-277.If you have trouble opening the article, Google the title and read the article online.answer each question, beginning by indicating the item (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, through 20) you are addressing. 

1. Source information: Who did the research and wrote this research report?  In what year was this research published?  In what journal was the research report published?
2. What reasons do the authors give for conducting this research study?
3. Briefly summarize previous research that has been conducted on this topic.  
4. The Introduction ends with a hypothesis, or a prediction, about what the authors will find in the study.   Using your own words, what is the hypothesis?
5. Describe the participants in the study – what were the participants’ demographic characteristics?   Based on upon the information provided about the sample, who is the population the authors are focusing upon?
6. What variables are being studied?  
7. What materials did the authors use in this study?
8. What procedure did the authors use in this study to collect data?
9. What do you think about how the participants in this study were treated?  Were they treated ethically?  Why or why not?  Did the benefit of participating outweigh any risks they may have encountered as a result of participating?  Why or why not?
10. What kind of data was presented in the results section?  Were there averages (means), correlations, or statistical tests?  (You can just write down the letters that symbolize the tests and statistics – the statistical tests will be explained to you in class.)
11. What did the author find – what was concluded from the data analyses?  Was the hypothesis supported?  
12. What are some of the limitations to the study that the authors noted?
13. What are some of the authors’ suggestions for future research studies that can follow up this study?
14. Why are the results of this study important, according to the authors?
15. What kind of research method was used?
16. Did the researchers state that there was a cause-and-effect relationship among the variables?  Was this appropriate (yes or no)?
17. What is one weakness of using this research method to answer the research question?
18. What terms are difficult to understand?
19. What questions do you have about this article?
20. What do you think about this research – would you apply the results to yourself?