Articles

Background. Self-efficacy refers to students’ perceived confidence in their ability to tackle learning tasks. Research shows that self-efficacy serves as an important predictor of academic achievement and relates to students’ academic success, self-regulated learning, and motivation. It is therefore important to understand how self-efficacy develops and manifests itself in Russian schoolchildren and relates to their academic achievement.

Objective. To establish evidence of the validity and reliability of domain-specific self-efficacy scales developed for elementary and middle school students.

Design. Messick’s unified framework was used to establish validity. The surveys were administered to elementary and middle school students in two regions of Russia.

Results. The pilot testing of the self-efficacy scales for elementary school, using exploratory (n = 972) and confirmatory (n = 972) factor analyses, resulted in a four-factor model, which was later confirmed with a different sample of elementary students (n = 1,392) with good reliability estimates (α = 0.75–0.82). The pilot testing of self-efficacy scales for middle school, using exploratory (n = 583) and confirmatory (n = 584) factor analyses, resulted in a three-factor model, showing excellent reliability estimates (α = 0.88–0.93).

Conclusion. The evidence of construct validity suggests that the domain-specific self-efficacy scales for elementary and middle school students can be recommended for use by researchers and practitioners. The article presents ideas for additional validation studies and future research using domain-specific self-efficacy scales.

Background. Facebook* is one of the largest social media platforms in the world. The use of Facebook* can lead to several problems, such as Facebook* addiction. Previous studies have investigated the effects of reinforcing factors on problematic Facebook* use, but negative factors have been little studied.

Objective. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between motivation and Facebook* addiction, and examine the influence of positive and negative emotions, which serve as reinforcement and punishment when using Facebook*.

Design. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 294 university students in Vietnam, with a mean age of 19.93 and a standard deviation of 1.27. The Bergen Facebook* Addiction Scale, the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience, and the Motives for Facebook* Use Scale were used to collect the data. SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 20 software were used for data analysis.

Results. The results indicated that the students’ motivations to maintain relationships and pass time were positively associated with Facebook* usage, while motivations for virtual community, entertainment, “coolness,” and companionship did not significantly influence Facebook* usage. This use of Facebook* was found to elicit both positive and negative emotions. Both these emotions were associated with an increase in Facebook* addiction among the students.

Conclusion. These results support the view that Facebook* addiction is positively associated with satisfaction with Facebook* use, and that both positive and negative emotions are associated with an increase in Facebook* addiction. Several limitations of the study are clarified.

Background. Migration intentions are extremely common among modern youth practically all around the globe. They do not always result in actual migration, but they should definitely be considered as an important indicator for the society, since the potential loss of the most valuable human resources entails long-term consequences for the development of a country or region. This study aims to examine the system of psychological factors that determine the desire of young people to stay in their region. It also addresses the previously discovered paradoxical association between migration intentions and subjective well-being.

Objective. To analyze the psychological determinants of the intention not to leave the home region, and its association with relationship satisfaction, personal goals, subjective well-being, and academic achievement of high school students.

Design. The cross-sectional study design was used. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among Russian high school students from urban and rural schools (N = 5,635).

Results. The study found that the most important psychological predictors of the intention to stay, to study, and work in their home city/region are community contribution goals and psychological factors that characterize the immediate social environment, which include satisfaction with school and teachers, and family support. Controlling for these variables, migration intentions do not correlate with subjective well-being.

Conclusion. These findings suggest that considering the quality of interpersonal relationships allows deepening the understanding of migration intentions sources of high school students. The study also contributes to understanding the complex relationship among migration intentions, subjective well-being, and academic achievement.

Background. Currently, psychological knowledge integrates theories on codependent behavior, advancing our understanding of this phenomenon. However, empirical research is lacking to understand its specific manifestations in relation to different types of addiction.

Objective. To identify the features of self-attitude and reflection in codependent women.

Design. The study included 233 women (ages 18–70), including 102 in relationships with a person addicted to alcohol, drugs, or suffering from a non-chemical addiction). The study was conducted using the following methods: Self-Attitude Questionnaire (Stolin & Panteleev, 1988); Differential Type of Reflection Questionnaire (Leontiev, 2009); and Codependency Self-Inventory Scale (CSIS; Weinhold & Weinhold, 1989; translated by A. G. Cheslavskaya, 2002).

Results. Significant differences were observed in self-attitude and reflection. Women with high codependency have lower self-esteem and tend to underestimate their abilities, compared to the control group. They also exhibit a lower sense of control over their lives, lower self-consistency; they tend to focus on their weaknesses and shortcomings and are more inclined to self-blame. Quasi-reflexivity is more common in codependent women who have relationships with non-chemical addicts or do not identify an addict in their lives.

Conclusion. There are significant differences in self-attitude and reflection between the control group and subgroups of women in relationships with different types of addicts; the same differences were observed in comparison of women with low and high codependency levels. The study contributes to a better understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying codependent behavior in women and has implications for future research and clinical practice.

Background. Some studies connect the popularity of food-tracking apps to an increase in restrictive eating and other disordered eating behaviors and find those apps harmful for psychological well-being, but there is a lack of empirical studies, especially of Russian samples.

Objective. To examine the connection between disordered eating symptoms, psychological well-being, and the use of a mobile food-tracking application.

Design. The participants were 26 women aged 18–30 (M = 21.96; SD = 3.33); 24 completed the study. During the pre-test, the participants completed the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (Van Strien et al., 1985), the Eating Attitude Test (Skugarevskiĭ, 2007), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Ma et al., 2023), the Situation Inventory of Body-Image Dysphoria (Baranskaia & Tataurova, 2011), and a socio-demographic survey with additional questions related to food tracking, weight, and disordered eating. The experimental group was then tasked with tracking their food consumption with a mobile app for a month. The test battery was completed again immediately after the experiment ended, and for a third time one month later.

Results. The comparative analysis showed a decrease in anxiety throughout the study, with a tendency-level increase in depressive symptoms by the end of the experiment. Contrary to expectations, emotional and external eating decreased during the experiment, while restrictive eating did not change. However, the risk of general disordered eating behavior increased one month after the experiment. The correlations between psychological well-being and eating behavior changed during the study. Immediately after the experiment, more correlations between eating behavior, body dissatisfaction, anxiety, and depression emerged, while at the later cutoff, correlations with depression and anxiety became insignificant.

Conclusion. The study had mixed results, contradicting some previous research. Both emotional and external eating decreased along with anxiety levels; however, general disordered eating symptoms increased after food tracking.

Background. Modern society is characterized by the widespread use of social media, which provides users with new communication, leisure, work, and study opportunities. The growth of online communication time leads to the development of new special communicative needs. These circumstances prompted us to develop the “Questionnaire on Adolescents’ Needs to Communicate with Their Parents Online and Offline” (QANCP).

Objective. We set out to study the relationship between adolescents’ hierarchy of communicative needs and the characteristics of child-parent relations by developing and testing the psychometric characteristics of the QANCP.

Design. One hundred and twenty-eight teenagers (56 boys and 72 girls, age 15-17) took part in the research. The research methods included theoretical analysis, modeling, questionnaires, and statistical analysis. The tools used were: 1) the customized (authorial) “Questionnaire of adolescents’ needs to communicate with their parents online and offline” (QANCP); and 2) the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) by Armsden and Greenberg (1987) in the Sadovnikova and Eliseeva adaptation (Eliseeva, 2013).

Results. The results of the qualitative research proved the acceptability of the QANCP scales. Expert assessments showed that the test had sufficient face and content validity. Statistically significant differences in the parameters measuring adolescents’ communicative needs in groups with different types of relations with their parents were established.

Conclusion. Testing of the QANCP questionnaire showed that the QANCP is a valid and reliable instrument to measure adolescents’ communication with their parents in online and offline formats. It was established that there is a connection between the characteristics of child-parent relations in adolescence and the hierarchy of communication needs of “adolescent-parent” communication online and offline.

Background. Theory of mind is the capacity to explain and predict the behavior of others. Charles Fernyhough’s dialogical model of psychological functions offers a vision of theory of mind that considers the social dimension and the importance of language, especially inner and private speech, for a person’s ability to represent and manipulate multiple perspectives, and its connection to executive function.

Objective. There is little direct research on Fernyhough’s model. The present study addressed that gap by studying the relationship between theory of mind, private speech, and executive function (planning) in the preschool years.

Design. Data were collected from a total of 86 preschool children from the Mexican state of Tlaxcala; 24 were from the first grade of preschool, 30 from the second, and 32 from the third. Their degree of internalization and their speech types (i.e., social and private) were obtained by coding their utterances during free play and during performance of a Tower of London task. Lastly, their theory of mind was assessed with a change of location and an unexpected contents task.

Results. No correlation was found between children’s theory of mind and their degree of internalization. However, inaudible private speech was correlated (negatively) to theory of mind performance in the third grade of preschool. Furthermore, their scores on the Tower of London task were negatively correlated with social speech and positively correlated with inaudible private speech, while the reverse was true for time of execution.

Conclusion. The results suggested that the degree of internalization is a measure of the regulative function of language, not the ability to manipulate perspectives, and that it is inadequate for capturing subtle differences between performance and speech types. Role-playing conditions were recommended as better tasks for exploring the capacities for manipulating and understanding different perspectives during the preschool years.

Background. Media multitasking (MMT) is common among adolescents, especially with the introduction of digital educational tools in mixed reality environments. However, there has been limited research on MMT in educational settings with electronic learning tools including augmented reality (AR).

Objective. To study MMT in conjunction with metacognition, technology attitudes, and effectiveness of learning activities for 13–14 year olds in a mixed reality learning situation.

Design. The experiment involved organizing learning activities in MMT format using digital tools, including AR. The MMT experimental group was given the option of searching the internet for information about a problem; the control group was given only a video, the e-textbook and AR application. Eye tracking measured task switching, while MMT efficiency was assessed by the number of completed tasks and test results. Metacognition was measured using the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI), and attitudes toward digital devices were examined using the Technology Attitudes Questionnaire.

Results. Most of the adolescents (80%) preferred MMT, and no significant differences in test performance were found between the groups. Multitasking correlated with better cognitive control and metacognition scores and negatively correlated with technophobia. Learning activity effectiveness in mixed reality was assessed by the number and time of fixations on tasks in conjunction with metacognition and cognitive control. Interactive digital tools in education improve learning efficiency.

Conclusion. Adolescents' preference for multitasking does not reduce learning productivity, but it does not guarantee success either. This suggests an internalization process of using digital technologies among adolescents. As a result, MMT may be gradually mastered as a new tool that is necessary for adaptation and success in an increasingly complex technological reality. Cognitive control and metacognitive planning significantly contribute to MMT efficiency, highlighting the importance of a conscious MMT strategy for effective learning.

Background. Executive functions are actively developing in children of preschool age.  Executive functions’ development is also influenced by the way children are using digital devices.  Joint media engagement is one of the parameters of digital device usage that has been poorly studied so far, although this is of great importance from the point of view of cultural-historical psychology.

Objective. Our research aimed to explore the association between young children’s development of executive functions over a year, and their joint media engagement with parents and siblings in preschool children.

Design. Four hundred ninety (490) typically developing children (52% of them were boys) participated in the study. It was a longitudinal study: during the first stage, the children were 5-6 years old; the second stage followed one year later. The NEPSY-II subtests (Inhibition, Statue, Memory for Designs, Sentences Repetition) and the Dimensional Change Card Sort were used to assess executive functions. A questionnaire for mothers was used to get information about the children’s joint media engagement and screen time.

Results. Children who watched video content and played video games together with their siblings developed more inhibitory control over the year than those children who did it alone. Co-viewing of video content with parents was associated with a decrease in cognitive flexibility over the year, as opposed to watching it alone.

Conclusion. The obtained data allows us to conclude that joint media engagement is important for executive functions development, and that there are optimal formats of joint media engagement. Based on the limitations of this study, recommendations for future research were suggested.

Background. The majority of mistakes students make while using “well-learned” decimal counting, can be attributed to their miscomprehension of the structure and arrangement of the “positional” numeral system. Digital support may merely serve an illustrative and training function, or it may provide the special environment for locating the problem of positional counting as a part of meaningful actions by the students. Following the Activity approach, we aimed to scaffold the students’ own learning actions, in such a way as to reveal the origin of the multi-digit number concept. Thus, we used counting in other-base systems as a way for students to reconsider the reasoning behind familiar operations in the most common base-ten system.

Objective. The purpose of this paper is to present the approach to computer support which we have designed, based on our analysis of the activity content related to the multi-digit number concept, and to discuss some preliminary results of the first training series.

Design. The approach to educational environment design developed within the Learning Activity theory defines the ways in which a computer becomes essential. The computer should provide a transparent interface which allows students to perform transformations with objects which will react accordingly. The additional opportunities to perform concept-mediated orientation procedures should also be scaffolded by digital means.  For the purposes of our study, the computer-based educational module “Interstellar wanderers” was designed. Four groups of students from 2nd to 5th grade (8-12 years of age, 20 children in total) participated in the experimental computer-based lessons (over 30 hours); classroom observations, videotaped discussions, and logs of students’ individual work in the computer simulation were used for analysis.

Results. The preliminary results of the experimental teaching showed that the computer support which we developed may scaffold students’ progress toward acquisition of the multi-digit number concept through a reflective re-thinking of the well-learned decimal system. Yet further research is needed to get a quantitative analysis of students’ performance.

Conclusion. The general principles of computer support design based on the Activity approach in education (Galperin, Davydov, & Talyzina) demand a thorough analysis of the origin of the concept being studied, as well as the design of appropriate content and means of students’ actions and corresponding contexts and tasks. The digital means which we designed to support students’ learning activity, are in demand and bring promising results.

Background. The range of digital technologies that children use from an early age has expanded significantly. Most studies demonstrate that preschoolers now spend substantially longer on digital devices and start using them at a younger age. Finding a solution for this challenge has research merits and relevance, as the data on benefits and harm of early preschoolers’ exposure to digital devices is contradictory. This poses a need to determine theoretically sound and practically validated criteria that could guide the duration and quality of children’s exposure to the digital environment.

Objective. To review studies that contain recommendations on preschoolers’ exposure to the digital environment, namely, exposure limits and evidence to justify the limitation of preschoolers’ time on digital media.

Design. The analysis starts by identifying theoretical foundations that researchers use in their studies of children’s behavior in the digital environment. This is followed by an overview of 40 studies that include research papers, official reports, and methodological recommendations made by healthcare and governmental organizations.

Results. The review identified the following ground rules for children’s exposure to the digital environment: to provide for child’s interaction with a digital device, to use educational applications that will develop skills appropriate to the child’s age, to ensure mandatory supervision of children’s engagement by an adult who limits the exposure according to child’s age-related capabilities and creates conditions for active exploration of the real rather than a virtual world. Children’s cognitive development suffers the most from passive intake of digital content.

Conclusion. The data herein can help to develop strategies to promote healthy and educational engagement of children with digital devices and media; however, the review highlights the insufficiency of psychophysiological research that would make it possible to practically validate the recommendations on the duration of preschoolers’ exposure to the digital environment.

Background. The phenomenon of sexting consists of sending and sharing sexual images, videos, or messages using smartphones and social networks. Sexting is spreading dangerously among adolescents who share private and explicit sexual content, ignoring the negative and risky consequences associated with this behavior. According to recent literature, sexting behavior is strongly related to the participants’ level of self-esteem and social media’s influence on them.

Objective. Our study was a descriptive community-based study focused on the central-south Italian context, which aimed to investigate sexually risky behavior and the main motivations for sexting, and to compare differences in self-esteem and social media’s influence among three groups of Italian girls: non-sexters, occasional sexters, and frequent sexters.

Design. Our research involved 569 Italian girls (14–19 years old) who completed the following questionnaires: the Questionnaire on Health and Sexual Behavior; the Sexting Behavior Scale; the Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale; and the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-3. 

Results. Our results showed that most participants sexted with their partner, and had a responsible attitude toward sexuality and kept sexual risk low. Moreover, frequent sexters had higher scores on social media’s influence relative to the internalization of the body image and model for beauty and athleticism, as well as lower levels of global, academic, and competence self-esteem.

Conclusion. Our results could promote interventions in the school context in order to: a) improve awareness among youth about social media use, sexting, and safe sexuality; b) reduce the risk associated with sexting and the influence of social networks; and c) stimulate reflections by teachers and parents on adolescents’ sense of identity and self-esteem.

Background. Personal exposure is a crucial aspect of digital socialization. It pertains to the amount of time spent on social networks, the number of active accounts, interactions on different platforms, the content published on social networks, the purpose for which the content is shared, the degree of personal exposure, and the changes in social life caused by the exposure. Gender plays an important role in predicting online behavior, but previous studies have yielded contradictory results.

Objective. To characterize personal exposure to social media in young Cubans (networks used, hours of exposure, published content, how much of one's private life is exposed, alterations due to its use). To define the differences in personal exposure based on the gender variable.

Design. A survey specifically created for this research was used. The sample was composed of 3345 young Cuban residents between 18 and 35 years old. 

Results. The young people spent a considerable amount of time per day on WhatsApp, Instagram*, and Facebook/Messenger*. Users shared content related to humor, music/art, and their personal lives. These interactions served as a source of entertainment, a means of communication and socialization, and a platform for expressing opinions on various topics. Personal content was shared frequently. The young people reported experiencing disturbances such as family demands, decreased attention span, difficulty sleeping, and decreased social interactions. There were gender differences in the level of personal exposure, with females reporting higher levels of exposure.

Conclusion.There are high levels of personal exposure among Cuban youth. Different qualities are manifested according to gender. Females reflect the highest levels of personal exposure.

Background. New technologies offer endless possibilities for students and schools, but as the use of smartphones increases, psychological and behavioral problems may also increase.

Objective. To investigate the relationship of mobile-based social network addiction and family communication patterns on the one hand, and behavioral problems in students on the other, with a focus on the mediating role of emotional self-regulation.

Design. This study used a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional design. The participants were 384 students (female/male: 226/168; mean age: 16 ± 1.98) in secondary high schools in Tehran in the academic year 2022–2023. The students were selected using convenience sampling. The data were collected online using the Revised Family Communication Pattern Scale (1994), Mobile-Based Social Network Addiction Questionnaire (2016), Child Behavior Checklist - Adolescent Version (2001), and the Affective Style Questionnaire (2010). The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with SPSS-25 and AMOS-24 statistical software.

Results. The study showed that emotional self-regulation plays a mediating role in the relationship between mobile-based social network addiction and internalized and externalized behavioral problems (P ≤ .05). The indirect effect of conversation orientation on internalized and externalized behavioral problems mediated by emotional self-regulation was not significant, but the indirect effect of conformity orientation on internalized and externalized behavioral problems with the mediation of emotional self-regulation was significant (P ≤ .05).

Conclusion. Based on the findings, it is suggested that school officials and parents should develop emotional self-regulation and communication skills in students and parenting skills in their parents to prevent and reduce potential harm such as internet addiction and behavioral problems in students.

Background. Romantic attachment is reflected in various aspects of dyadic interaction in a couple, since it is a self-reinforcing system of cognitive, emotional and behavioral patterns. Romantic jealousy was shown to be associated with dimensions of attachment insecurity in various studies worldwide.

Objectives. To identify differences in expressions of romantic jealousy based on romantic attachment style. To determine the influence of attachment-related anxiety and attachment-related avoidance on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral jealousy.

Design. The sample comprised 171 heterosexual individuals. The “Experiences in Close Relationships – Revised” questionnaire (ECR-R; Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000; adapted for Russian by Chursina, 2022) and “Multidimensional Jealousy Scale” (MJS; Pfeiffer, & Wong, 1989) were used.

Results. A number of significant differences were identified between insecure and secure attachment styles. Avoidant attachment is characterized by cognitive jealousy, ambivalent attachment is characterized by cognitive and behavioral jealousy, while dismissing attachment showed no significant differences in the manifestations of jealousy in comparison with secure attachment style. Emotional jealousy is equally characteristic of all types. The primacy of romantic attachment in relation to cognitive and behavioral jealousy was also proved.

Conclusion. The experience of jealousy differs among romantic attachment styles. Attachment-related anxiety is a predictor of intrusive thoughts and behavioral manifestations of jealousy, while attachment-related avoidance is less, the greater the manifestation of jealousy behaviors.

Background. The quality of sleep significantly impacts children’s day-to-day performance, with at least 20% reporting issues with sleepiness. Valid tools for assessing the quality of sleep are needed.

Objective. In this study, we assessed the psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS). The initial adaptation of the PDSS was conducted on a sample from the Arctic regions of Russia. This location may have influenced the scale's generalizability due to variations in natural daylight across different areas of the country.

Design. To rectify this, we gathered a comprehensive, geographically diverse sample from Russia. This combined dataset comprised 3772 participants between 10 to 18 years of age, from nine different regions of Russia.

Results. We confirmed the unifactorial structure of the PDSS, which showed no regional effects. The psychometric analysis indicated that one item from the 8-item PDSS could be removed, thereby improving the scale's model fit. We also observed gender and age impacts on sleep quality: boys reported fewer sleep-related issues than girls, and younger children reported fewer problems than older children.

Conclusion. This study validates the usefulness and reliability of the Russian version of the PDSS, thereby enhancing its general applicability. Furthermore, we replicated previously reported age and sex effects on the sleep quality of school-aged children.

Background. The role of conscious self-regulation in determining students’ psychological well-being and academic performance is considered in the context of the fundamental problem of the regularities of young adolescents’ development.

Objective. To reveal the role of meta-resources of conscious self-regulation in determining young adolescents' psychological well-being and academic performance.

Design. Sample: 500 students in 4th- to 6th grade (10-12) in general schools, 149 of whom participated in a three-year longitudinal study. The Self-Regulation Profile of Learning Activity and the Well-Being Manifestation scales were used.

Results. Conscious self-regulation and academic performance increase significantly in fifth grade and decrease in sixth grade. On the contrary, psychological well-being is characterized by a systemic positive dynamic. A typological analysis identified the levels of psychological well-being of students growing, stable, and declining during the transition period. It was found that the general level of conscious self-regulation made a significant positive contribution and is a universal resource for students' psychological well-being and academic performance. Special regulatory resources for academic performance are described, depending on the trajectory of changes in psychological well-being. Increased well-being is determined by the regulatory competencies of Planning and Evaluation of results and its stability by Planning, Modelling, Flexibility, and Responsibility. The general level of self-regulation, regulatory competencies, Planning, Programming and Responsibility mediate in the relationship between student psychological well-being and academic performance. A longitudinal study found that self-regulation has a long-term positive effect on student psychological well-being and academic performance.

Conclusion. Conscious self-regulation is a meta-resource that makes a significant contribution to both the psychological well-being and academic performance. Mediator and prognostic effects of self-regulation on these properties create a psychological basis for practical work.

Background. Voluntary control of goal-directed behavior and mental activity in preschool children plays a key role in knowledge acquisition and future academic achievement. Studies of voluntary control have mainly concerned 6-8-year- old children; much less is known about the ability to exercise voluntary control at early ages. Due to the high prognostic value of the level of development of voluntary control and heterogeneous development of their individual components, it seems actually useful to study age-related changes of these components in children from 3-4 to 4-5 years old.

Objective. To compare age-related changes in executive functions (EF) in children age 3-4 years (mean age: 3.5±0.2 yrs; n = 49; 31 boys) and 4-5 years (mean age: 4.5±0.3 yrs; n = 70; 35 boys).

Design. To assess the different components of EF we used: 1) a qualitative group and individual testing procedure based on the principles of Luria’s theory of the dynamic localization and organization of higher mental functions; and 2) a computerized testing procedure which included the Bourdon-Wiersma cancellation test, the “Hearts and Flowers” conflict test (the Dots task), and the Corsi block-tapping test.

Results. The results showed that different components of voluntary control developed at different rates (heterochronically): there were significant progressive changes from 3-4 to 4-5 years for working memory, assimilation of instructions, switching between separate actions, selective concentration on a target or task, and the distribution of attention. Some other components of EF did not show significant positive dynamics during this period.

Conclusion. The results indicate the importance of applying the activity theory approach to the development of cognitive processes in preschool age.

Background. The process of teaching mathematics represents a challenge for primary education, due to the different perspectives and disciplines involved. In addition, as an active and flexible process, it requires feedback on what the students actually achieved. An analysis of the different learning and development outcomes allows the teacher to understand the mathematical content and the method of teaching it in the classroom, with the objective of promoting the students’ conceptual development.

Objective. The objective of our study was to analyze the general skills for problem solving which students developed, by applying dynamic evaluation. 

Design. A verification method was used to identify the students’ abilities and difficulties. A protocol for evaluating the process of solving mathematical problems was organized. The assessment included four simple problems and four complex ones. The participants were 15 students in the third grade of primary school attending a private school located in Mexico City.

Results. The results showed that the students identified the types of mathematical operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) required to solve the problems as their objective. Therefore, their preparation of a solution plan, its execution, and its verification were based only on empirical thinking and quantitative information. 

Conclusions. We concluded that problem-solving is an intellectual activity that requires conceptual development to carry out a solution plan, execute it, and verify it, in addition to the  main objective of answering the question posed by the problem. We propose that these characteristics be included in the organization of mathematics teaching in order to develop mathematical thinking.