Moscow University Psychology Bulletin, 2019, 4, 208 p.

Background. The widespread use of personal computers in everyday life has led to the need for their use in the programs of children's institutions. However, so far little is known about the impact of the use of personal computers on the cognitive abilities of preschoolers.

Objective. The goal of the study to analyze key empirical data presented in the current scientific literature and to identify the relationship between the use of information technology and the cognitive abilities of preschool children.

Design. We used three tests that, in our opinion, allow us to assess the cognitive abilities of children in this age group: “TV,” “Your vocabulary,” and “Labirint”.

Results. Our results reveal the nature of the relationship between cognitive changes in children and their user activity on a personal digital device (computer) which is firmly established in the life of not only the family, but also a preschool educational organization. As a result of the deep theoretical analysis of the data presented in foreign and domestic literature and electronic sources, we were able to structure a study, the logic of which, along with the use of mathematical statistics, allows us to come to reliable conclusions.

Conclusion. From the perspective of the development of cognitive skills in children of preschool age, the results showed that the time spent at the computer has a positive effect which is cumulative, since it has an impact on test results one year later.

Background. The relevance of this study is associated with the widespread use of social media by adolescents with a high risk of turning to aggression and violence.

Objective. The purpose of the study is to investigate the characteristics of adolescents' perceptions of peer profiles in social networks that vary in degrees of “security,” and their readiness to carry out various communicative actions depending on their psychological characteristics. We hypothesized that: 1) There is a connection between the psychological characteristics of adolescent users of a social network, and their ability to differentiate profiles of peers-users of social networks and communicative actions in social networks; and 2) The oculomotor activity of adolescent users of social networks is associated with the degree of attractiveness of a peer profile.

Design. We used the methods of “Peer attachment” (G. Armden, M.T. Greenberg, 1987 as adapted by G.V. Burmenskaya, 2015); Emotional intelligence (D.V. Lyusin, 2009); Recognition of emotions by sight (S. Baron-Cohen et al., 2001); cognitive methods for assessing social information (S.V. Molchanov et al., 2018); eye-tracking technique; and conversation. The study included 40 adolescents 14 to 17 years old.

Results.We distinguished three groups which differed in their attachment to peers, emotional intelligence, and cognitive methods of processing social information; they comprised three types – “idealizing,” “selective,” and “cautious.” We showed that the "selective type" is characterized by the highest degree of differentiation of "dangerous" and "safe" profiles of peers in social networks, and high selectivity in implementing various communicative actions. The greater attractiveness of the main information in a peer’s profile is reflected in more fixations, fixation time, and returns to the zone. 

Acknowledgments.This work was financially supported by the Russian Federal Property Fund No. 18-013-01080 “Cognitive methods for processing social information from the Internet as a factor in the formation of adolescents' ideas about the moral regulation of relations in the modern information society”.

Background. Virtual reality technologies (VR) allow users to absorb a lot of visual information in a short time and have become an important feature in education. The advisability of using virtual reality as a tool to improve the learning processes in the modern digital environment is an open question. Despite some studies devoted to assessing the effectiveness of virtual reality applications to the education process, there are no clear conclusions on this issue.

Objective. The study of features of foreign language learning material using VR.

Design. 29 young participants (22 females, 7 males) with a high level of foreign language competence were selected. They received three types of stimuli: text, 2D video, and VR. The efficiency of their learning was tested with questions before and after each experiment. VR stimuli were presented by Samsung Gear VR.

Results. It was shown that “VR” and “Text” conditions were the most efficient material for foreign language learning as compared to the “2D-video” condition. The results also showed a strong negative correlation between the participants’ baseline level of knowledge and their knowledge gain under all experimental conditions.

Conclusion. VR offers an effective method for improving the process of learning, but traditional teaching methods still play an important role in education. Young people in the modern world have developed ways to use the VR as an educational tool.

Acknowledgments: The study was supported by the Russian Federal Property Fund grant No. 18-29-22049.

Background. Digital texts have become widespread in today’s society, both in day-to-day and professional life, as well as in education. Still there is some risk and we cannot realize all the potential outcomes since psychology has not thoroughly explored their use.

Objective. We studied the differences between the effectiveness of reading parallel and consequent texts.

Design. Our sample was 45 adults of ages 18 to 59. We adapted “Similarities,” the “Analytic-Holistic” cognitive style scale, and “Complex analogies” for online use.

Results. We found individual preferences for either parallel or consequent text presentation. The results of the parallel text presentation were worse than those with the consequent, and positively correlated with holistic style and verbal intellect. Success in working with parallelly presented text depends on the individual’s cognitive features and abilities. Parallel reading is a comprehensive cognitive task and requires more cognitive skills and higher intellect than consequent reading.

Background. The transition from the analog economy to the digital one has been accompanied by the digitalization of all spheres of life, in particular the sphere of education, and according to the decree of the government of the Russian Federation, it requires a revision of goals, educational content, and the development of new tools that provide for lifelong learning, as well as the construction of new competency models.

Objective. To carry out a comparative logical-categorical analysis of various models describing digital competencies based on a review of domestic and foreign studies, and determine the content and place of digital competencies in modern competency models.

Design. Critical analysis and synthesis of the literature on the problems of digital competence.

Results. The vector of economic development in the Russian Federation will shift to the development of the knowledge economy over the next 10 years. This transition creates a number of problems: 1) The students are much more savvy than their teachers in the use of digital technologies, as they were immersed in the digital environment from early childhood; and 2) There is no single approach to the definition of the term "digital competence." The first part of this paper presents an analysis of the existing definitions, content, and types of digital competency. The second is a comparison of different models of digital competencies. The third part is about the inconsistency of the results of empirical research on the benefits and harms of digital technology for the mental development of children.

Conclusions. 1. Ubiquitous digitalization creates the need to develop a new competency model for the knowledge economy. 2. The concept of "digital literacy" is included in the concept of "digital competence" on the principle of "part-whole." 3. Science provides more and more evidence of the positive impact of the digital environment on the development of the psyche and human behavior. 4. A systematic approach to the formation of digital competence is needed in the form of specialized educational programs based on generalized instructions (indicative principles of action), taking into account the age characteristics of students.

Background. The socialization of personality in the modern world occurs on the Internet and social networks, transforming traditional methods of communication on the basis of ethical standards for constructing interpersonal Internet communication. The basic rules are: personal responsibility for actions performed on the network, including illegal actions; respect and equality of partners; confidentiality; copyright protection; and privacy. The relevance of the problem of ethical standards in Internet communication in adolescence is due to its importance for youth and their formation of moral consciousness as a developmental task.

Objective. This study is aimed at identifying attitudes toward ethical standards of Internet communication among youth users with different levels of moral consciousness. Our research goals were: 1) elaboration and testing of the author's technique “Ethical Dilemmas in Internet Communication” (EDI); 2) discovering attitudes towards ethical standards in Internet communication and strategies for resolving ethical dilemmas; and 3) study of the relationship between the level of the moral consciousness of respondents and their orientation toward following the basic ethical standards in Internet communication.

Design. The methods used were the author’s EDI technique, including ethical dilemmas, and the questionnaire "Justice-Care" (S.V. Molchanov). The sample consisted of 61 subjects.

Results. We found an ambiguous attitude by users of the Internet network toward the ethical standards of communication and a differentiated attitude toward following ethical standards. A high level of willingness to follow the norm was identified for copyright protection, but a low one for respecting the inviolability of personal life and taking personal responsibility for actions performed on the network. The strategies for solving ethical dilemmas in Internet communication were clear. The hypothesis about the connection of the level of moral competence and the attitude toward following basic ethical standards in Internet communication was verified.

Background. This article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of “clip thinking.” The connection of this topic with modern sociocultural processes is indicated. The methodological foundations of the study are the cultural-historical approach and the "style paradigm" of the study of cognitive processes. The most significant conceptual ideas and experimental data in the study of “clip thinking” in recent years have been highlighted.

It is noted that so far, there has not been an unambiguous scientific understanding of the phenomenon of “clip thinking,” and there are not enough techniques for studying it.

Objective. The main objective was the study of the “clip-integrity” thinking of high school and university students.

Design. The article describes the author’s method of studying the “clip-integrity” of thinking, as well as the results of its testing on a sample of senior schoolchildren (89 people) and university students (76 people).

Results. The study revealed that the proportion of university students with systemic (holistic) thinking is significantly higher than in the sample of schoolchildren. In schoolchildren, expressed “clip” thinking occurs one and a half times more often than among university students. The authors consider the age-typical characteristics of the respondents and the characteristics of the socio-cultural development situation, characterized, inter alia, by a change in the main information medium, as the main factors determining the identified features of thinking.

Conclusion. The possibilities of the methodology they developed allowed the authors to clarify the tasks of studying the cognitive characteristics of high school students and university students as relates to the phenomenon of “clip thinking” and its relationship with “holistic thinking,” and to set new research objectives.

Background. The relevanceof this study is determined by society’s growing interest in the process of socialization of persons with mental disorders, which determines the need to find new means and methods of support for them based on modern technology.

Objective. To determine the possibilities of using virtual and augmented reality in the educational environment for children with mental disorders.

Design. The authors carried out a pilot study, including a survey of teachers and an evaluation of the perception of children with mental disorders of images of augmented and virtual reality. The mental disorders referred to in the article are understood to be autism spectrum disorders, combined with mental retardation. In total, 10 teachers and 14 children of the study group were interviewed.

Results. Data from the survey of teachers showed that children with mental disorders have difficulty in processing visual information; they like the interactivity of forms, and they can be attached to certain things (books, places), which should be considered when developing scenarios for using devices with hyperreality. Data from the survey of the children showed that they like the most familiar objects, and that they usually don’t perceive complex images and unknown symbols; they tend to pay attention to the small details of objects. They usually select images which use primary colors and cool tones. Observations have shown that children with mental disorders often navigate the interface of unfamiliar devices faster than the owners of the devices. By changing the size of the image, they seem to help themselves find the answer to the question.

Conclusion. Our data confirmed the possibility of using hyperreality in the education of persons with mental disorders, and concretized ideas about the features of pattern recognition in virtual and augmented reality. Particular attention was paid to the characteristics of the form of not only the images, but also the technical devices, since the design is interpreted as an "adapter" of virtual and augmented reality images to the current state of the recipient.

Background. The digitalization of society is making changes in the lifestyle of the whole population today. However, while the older generation uses the Internet as a tool, the teenagers, youth, and young adults perceive it to be a full-fledged living environment. Today, Internet resources are the main way of involving young people in extremist groups, and radicalizing them. The role of the Internet as a means of socialization is actively discussed in scientific discourse, and questions about the prevention of the negative impact of the Internet environment are being raised, as well as about the technologies and mechanisms used for exerting extremist influence. However, it is important to understand that the features of the sense of identity of the recipient are essential for the formation of sensitivity to Internet exposure, including to extremism.

Objective. The aim of our study was to identify personal predictors of the involvement of teenagers, youth, and young adults with the Internet, as well as to analyze their personality traits and vulnerabilities for extremist influence via the Internet.

Design. Our research methods included a sociological questionnaire for analyzing the involvement of respondents in the Internet environment, and adaptations of the psycho-diagnostic methods HEXACO, “The Dark Triad,” and a modified projective technique “Houses.” Our study sample was comprised of 2051 people (528 teenagers 13-15 years old, 686 youth 16-20 years old, and 836 young adults 21-29 years old).

Results. The results of the study showed that 16.9% of respondents are characterized by maximum involvement and immersion in the digital environment. Compared with the contrasting group of respondents who are less actively immersed in the Internet environment, the “involved teenagers, youth, and young adults” are characterized by a stable complex of personal characteristics (narcissism, “Machiavellianism,” inability to forgive, lack of organization, negative mood patterns, etc.). Also, behavioral markers and zones of vulnerability are defined for respondents who are characterized by maximum involvement and immersion in the digital environment while experiencing extremist influence on them.

Conclusion: The identified personal characteristics of teenagers, youth, and young adults actively involved in the Internet environment allow us to define and specify measures to prevent the radicalization of this group.

Relevance. Over the past few years, table tennis has undergone significant changes related both to the natural process of its development and to significant changes in the rules of the competition. All this led to the need to make adjustments to the content of competitive and training activities.

The aim of our study is to study the individual psychological characteristics of tennis players that affect their choice of an individual style of activity during the game. To achieve this goal, the following methods were selected.

Methods. Analysis and synthesis of scientific and methodological literature; psychological research methods: “Tapping test” by E. P. Ilyin and proof-reading - Landolt rings; “CRIS” program by V. Sivitsky, E. Zaguzov (for a comprehensive assessment of the athlete’s psychological preparedness); multivariate questionnaire RB Kettella (adolescent-14-factor model); Spearman statistical analysis and graphic representation.

Sample. The study was conducted on a contingent of young table tennis players of both sexes aged 10-16 years of different levels of training (length of service varies from 3 to 7 years) in the amount of 61 people. The subject of the study was the individual psychological characteristics of tennis players (length of service, gender, mental performance), and significant factors affecting success in competitions were identified: leadership, emotional stability, extraversion. The obtained results of the study revealed the following correlations: between psychomotor indicators and mental performance in boys (p <0.05); the relationship between the reaction time to a moving object (RDO) and the coefficient of functional asymmetry of the left and right hands in tennis players of both sexes is functional (p <0.05). As statistically significant factors: for boys - this is group cohesion, for girls - “extraversion” (need for communication).

Results. In tennis boys, length of service is correlated with leadership and emotional stability (p <0.05). Thus, age, length of service and gender can contribute to successful performance in competitions, however, it should be borne in mind that effective athletes are characterized by realism, adequate goal setting, and maintaining a stable self-esteem for the failure factor (O.V. Matytsin, 1990).

This year is anniversary of Alexander Ivanovich Dontsov.