Articles

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic declared on March 11th, 2020, has had a substantial impact on the lives of all over the world. The student population, being one of the most vulnerable and substile ones, was forced to face specific unexpected circumstances for the first time in their lives.

Objective. In this paper, the authors explored the reflections of the COVID-19 experience and basic segments of everyday life of university students after the first academic year under pandemic measures and a follow-up year with their subjective perception of to what extent their lives have changed and how they were able to adapt to COVID-19 emergency measures.

Design. The field research was conducted among students in two European countries: Slovenia and Serbia. The qualitative semi-structured interviews with students (N=20, 50% male) were executed in June-July 2020 and June-July 2021.

Results. The basic segments of students' daily lives underwent significant changes, yet they successfully coped and adapted to the COVID-19 emergency measures. Notably, improvements were observed in study strategies, reducing fear and loneliness. Above all, the primary longing was for social contact and gathering with friends. In their private lives, they were more concerned about opportunities but on the other hand, they gained more free time for various non-academic activities. Finally, sports science students have proven better-coping mechanisms with extraordinary circumstances.

Conclusion. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the changes in the daily lives of students during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background. More than half of future teachers in our country receive professional training in classical universities, which determines a great variability of motivational-professional and planned career trajectories. At the same time, the type of university (federal or regional) significantly influences the conditions for forming a professional teacher. This study identifies career orientations of students attending classical universities of different types in order to determine trends in career preferences according to choice of university type.

Objective. This study aims to identify the peculiarities of career orientations of students studying at pedagogical bachelor degree programs of classical universities of different types (federal and regional), determining the interrelations of their indicators with socio-demographic and motivational-professional characteristics of the test subjects.

Design. The study was conducted in the form of a comparison of career orientations of the first-year students in teacher education programs (83 students of Kazan Federal University and 89 students of Smolensk State University). The empirical methods used included the adapted Schein's career anchors tool and a questionnaire revealing socio-demographic and motivational-professional variables to identify factors related to career orientations.

Results. The obtained results revealed common preferences for both universities in career orientations on the service, job stability and lifestyle integration scales, indicating stable trends in choosing the teaching profession. Students at both universities, who chose the teaching profession and plan to work in their specialty, demonstrate a readiness for professional development and overcoming difficulties. However, the university is an independent factor which determines differences according to the scales of entrepreneurship, autonomy and management. Students at a federal university are characterized by greater independence and initiative, but also more uncertainty in choosing a profession, in contrast to students at a regional university.

Conclusion. Considering student career orientations according to their socio-demographic and motivational-professional characteristics, allows us to obtain an objective and comprehensive picture of the professional choices of students from different types of universities, leading to more effective delivery of their professional development.

Background. Although quite a few classifications of coping strategies have been proposed, with different premises, much less is known about the methods of interpretation and how people using different types of coping perceive their life difficulties.

Objective. To develop a verifiable algorithm for classifying perceived difficulties. The proposed classification was developed deductively, using “approach–avoidance” as the basis for cognitive activity aimed at taking on (approaching) a difficult situation or escaping from it, avoiding a solution to the problem. The classification comprises 1) driven, 2) maximum, 3) optimal, 4) ambivalent, and 5) evasive types of perception of difficult life tasks (DLTs). Types 1, 2, and 3 correspond to approaching a difficult situation, and 5 to avoiding it. Type 4 involves a combination of approach and avoidance.

Design. The type is determined by an expert psychologist in a complex way, based on a combination of 1) the respondent’s profile according to the “Types of Orientations in Difficult Situations” questionnaire (TODS) and 2) features that are significant for the type as shown in qualitative data – descriptions of DLTs (answers to open questions). Machine learning methods and A.S. Podkolzin’s computer modeling of logical processes are used to develop the algorithm. The sample comprised 611 adult participants (M_age = 25; SD = 5.8; 427 women).

Results. Using machine-learning algorithms, various options were tested for separation into classes; the best results were obtained with a combination of markup and questionnaire features and sequential separation of classes. Using computer modeling of logical processes, decisive classification rules were tested, based on the psychologist’s description of the features of the type of perception. The classification accuracy using these rules of the final algorithm is 77.17% of cases.

Conclusion. An algorithm was obtained that allows step-by-step tracing of the process by which a classification problem is solved by the psychologist. We propose a new model for studying situational perception using a mixed research design and computer-modeling methods.

Background. Advanced AI models such as the large language model GPT-4 demonstrate sophisticated intellectual capabilities, sometimes exceeding human intellectual performance. However, the emotional competency of these models, along with their underlying mechanisms, has not been sufficiently evaluated.

Objective. Our research aimed to explore different emotional intelligence domains in GPT-4 according to the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso model. We also tried to find out whether GPT-4's answer accuracy is consistent with its explanation of the answer.

Design. The Russian version of the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) sections was used in this research, with questions asked as text prompts in separate, independent ChatGPT chats three times each.

Results. High scores were achieved by the GPT-4 Large Language Model on the Understanding Emotions scale (with scores of 117, 124, and 128 across the three runs) and the Strategic Emotional Intelligence scale (with scores of 118, 121, and 122). Average scores were obtained on the Managing Emotions scale (103, 108, and 110 points). However, the Using Emotions to Facilitate Thought scale yielded low and less reliable scores (85, 86, and 88 points). Four types of explanations for the answer choices were identified: Meaningless sentences; Relation declaration; Implicit logic; and Explicit logic. Correct answers were accompanied by all types of explanations, whereas incorrect answers were only followed by Meaningless sentences or Explicit logic. This distribution aligns with observed patterns in children when they explore and elucidate mental states.

Conclusion. GPT-4 is capable of emotion identification and managing emotions, but it lacks deep reflexive analysis of emotional experience and the motivational aspect of emotions.

Background. The formation of multiplicative concepts of complex structure is a challenge for educational design. Students’ typical mistakes and strategies spontaneously obtained through hands-on trials in solving balance scale problems have been at the center of many studies within this trend. However, the consideration of relevant concept-mediated actions based on Learning Activity Theory (Davydov) remains a relevant problem.

Objective. We aimed to develop a feasible framework for digital support of students’ learning actions in this domain. The productiveness of individual and joint forms of work with dynamic objects in a digital environment, mediated with conceptual modeling tools, was compared.

Design. The participants were 181 fifth-grade students (11–12 years old). The first group (123 students) was taught a special procedure of modeling, which they then could test during individual computer-supported problem-solving. The second group (58 students) worked in pairs (jointly), using the same procedure. The pre- and post-tests included challenging problems on prediction of the balance state and ways to regain equilibrium.

Results. Comparison of the pre- and post-test results of the joint computer-supported activity instruction revealed students’ progress in solving critical tasks as guided by the conceptual modeling procedure of load evaluation instead of “empirical” correlations of weights and distances. The individual computer-supported work, however, failed to overcome the belief of some students in the efficacy of trial-and-error methods as applied to the digital simulation with instant feedback.

Conclusion. The special organization of the computer-supported concept-mediated joint activity may promote multiplicative concept formation.

Background. A cancer diagnosis is a powerful, unanticipated, and occasionally traumatic event which impacts an individual with evidence of a life-threatening illness. As a potentially terminal illness, cancer entails substantial physical, emotional, and psychological costs. Even though psychological resources such as social support and resilience promote post-traumatic growth, chronic stressors experienced by cancer patients have the potential to weaken the function of such positive resources. Therefore, it is crucial to assess how stress impacts post-traumatic growth among cancer patients. 

Objective. The present study aimed to examine the moderating effect of stress on post-traumatic growth and resilience among cancer patients mediated by perceived social support. 

Design. A cross-sectional research design and purposive sampling technique was used to collect data on Urdu versions of the Short Form of the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory, Brief Resilience Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Stress subscale of the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale. Cancer patients (N = 200) were approached and recruited from public and private hospitals in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Gilgit Baltistan to participate in the research. 

Results. Post-traumatic growth had a positive association with resilience and perceived social support. However, stress was negatively related to all study variables. Moderated mediation analysis highlighted that high levels of stress decrease the indirect impact of resilience on post-traumatic growth through perceived social support.

Conclusion. The study’s findings imply that stress must be given considerable attention while fostering post-traumatic growth among cancer patients. Based on these findings, future studies should also take into account specific age range of the sample, types of cancer (and other terminal illnesses), the cross-sectional nature of the study, and individual differences in coping with illness for a comprehensive understanding of post-traumatic growth among cancer patients.

Background. Children’s and adolescents’ development of autonomy depends on the relationship with their parents and the parents’ child-rearing practices. These might be aimed towards supporting or restricting autonomy, as well as its different aspects, such as independence or volitional functioning.

Objective. To compare the practices described by foreign researchers as being the most beneficial for supporting autonomy with those used on a daily basis by Russian parents of primary school children and early adolescents.

Design. We conducted 26 semi-structured interviews with 16 mothers and 10 fathers of primary school children (n = 10) and early adolescents (n = 16).

Results. The practices of autonomy support and control used by parents were mostly similar to those described in foreign literature. However, new features were found: Guidance, Explanation of Patterns, and “Area of Responsibility”. The behavior of Russian parents can be described through practices specific to different situations. Qualitative research suggests the absence of a unified style of behavior in relation to children’s independence. Two types of autonomy support practices were used: encouraging independence and support for volitional functioning.  Encouraging children’s volitional functioning was perceived by parents as something that guides their behavior, yet mention of this practice was much less explicit than mention of encouraging independence.

Conclusion. Further reflection is required on the observed situationality of practices – whether it should be assessed as chaotic, hindering autonomy, or flexible, promoting it.

Background. Mental health stigma and mental health literacy can be potential targets of public education and health development. These areas are culturally specific and have so far been almost unexplored in Russia.

Objective. This study aimed at examining mental health stigma and mental health literacy in Russia, their prevalence, and their associations with somatic, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.

Design. The participants were 1,068 Russian adults. They completed the online questionnaire with measures assessing their mental health stigma (Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination Scale; Link et al., 2001); somatic symptoms (Somatic Symptom Scale-8; Gierk et al., 2014); anxiety symptoms (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7; Spitzer et al., 2006); and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9; Kroenke et al., 2001). To examine their mental health literacy, we used a series of questions exploring a person’s awareness of mental health and mental health problems.

Results. Mental health stigma was found in 67% of the participants, who were less confident that most mental disorders can be prevented and more confident that mental disorders can be cured in most cases. Higher devaluation, discrimination, and mental health stigma were related to more severe somatic symptoms. Lower mental health literacy and higher devaluation, discrimination, and mental health stigma were associated with more severe anxiety and depressive symptoms. These associations were the same when adding covariates such as sex, age, partnership, parenthood, and educational background.

Conclusion. This study highlighted the obvious need for measures to reduce mental health stigma and improve mental health literacy in Russian society. In general, these measures can contribute to the promotion of better mental health in Russia.

Background. Previous studies have assumed that a materialistic value orientation is correlates with personality traits such as honesty, neuroticism, and agreeableness. Less is known about the relationship between features of a materialistic orientation such as acquisition centrality, acquisition as the pursuit of happiness, and possession-defined success, and the Dark Triad traits. This article presents a study on the relationship between materialism, the Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), and money management. 

Objective. The study aimed to investigate whether groups exhibiting various combinations of materialism and Dark Triad traits have disparities in financial control and accountability, which serve as indicators of money management.

Design. Questionnaire-based surveys were conducted online, with a total of 442 undergraduate students age 18 to 25 participating. The participants filled out the Short Dark Triad measure, the Material Values Scale, and the Money Management Scale, in addition to providing their demographics.

Results. Four combinations of materialistic and Dark Triad traits were revealed (Bright and Dark Materialists and Non-materialists). Bright and Dark Materialists were more self-centered and manipulative than Non-materialists. Strong materialism, paired with the lowest degree of Dark Triad characteristics, resulted in the worst financial management. On the contrary, individuals with low materialistic tendencies in addition to high Dark Triad traits tended to have better ability to managing their finances.

Conclusion. It is possible to assume that materialism is a strategy for obtaining riches, positions, and reputation at the cost of others in the case of "dark" personalities. Nevertheless, those with low levels of materialism and low Dark Triad characteristics showed better abilities to handle their finances in terms of control and responsibility.  

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.