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23INTERNET GAMING AND ADDICTION IN NEPAL Usha Kiran Subba
Professor, Department of Psychology and Philosophy of Tribhuvan University, President of the Nepal Psychological Society, Kathmandu, Nepal; e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: The Internet is now an integral and inescapable part of many people's daily lives; they turn to it to send messages, read news, conduct business and much more. Recent scientific reports, however, have begun to focus on the preoccupation some people develop with certain aspects of the internet, particularly online games. The "gamers" play compulsively, excluding other interests, and their persistent and recurrent online activity results in clinically significant impairment or distress. People with this condition endanger their academic/professional functioning due to the amount of time they spend playing. They experience symptoms of withdrawal when kept from gaming. In late 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that in the upcoming edition (11th Revision) of the International Classification of Diseases* (ICD), gaming disorder would be identified as a new disorder. Gaming prompts a neurological response that influences feelings of pleasure and reward, and the result, in the extreme, is manifested as addictive behavior. Further research will determine if the same patterns of excessive online gaming are detected using the proposed criteria. At this time, the criteria for this condition are limited to internet gaming and do not include general use of the Internet, online gambling, or social media. Whether internet gaming should be classified as an addiction/mental disorder is the subject of much debate and a growing body of research.
Keywords: Internet, gaming, gaming disorder
DOI:
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN COMPUTER ACTIVITY AND FEATURES OF PLAY IN PRESCHOOLERS: THE
RESULTS OF AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
Olga Salomatova
Junior research fellow of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research of Contemporary Childhood, , Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia; e-mail:
Olga Rubtsova
Head of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research of Contemporary Childhood, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia; e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: The current social situation has caused qualitative changes in the play activity of preschoolers. Contemporary children spend less time involved in free play, and developed forms of role play are rather seldom found . These trends are associated with the emergence of global informatization and digitalization. Many scholars argue that a new cultural and historical type of childhood - "digital childhood" - has developed. The current study focuses on identifying specific traits of play activity in children with high levels of screen time. Research methods include the "Method of diagnostics of role-playing games" by E.O. Smirnova, I.A. Ryabkova and "Diagnostics of the development of playing skills" by R.R. Kalinina, as well as a questionnaire elaborated by the authors to evaluate different aspects of children's interaction with digital content. The empirical study was conducted from December 2019 to January 2021.13 children between 4 and 6 years of age participated in the longitudinal study. The analysis of the collected data showed that the level of computer activity was associated with characteristics of play activity such as subject substitution; interaction, organizing the game; plot elaboration; role behavior; play actions; the use of attributes and implementation of rules. The more time the child spent interacting with gadgets, the lower the indicated characteristics of play. The results
of the study are interesting for psychologists, educators, and parents, and may be used particularly in elaborating recommendations concerning preschoolers' interaction with digital media.
Keywords: play, play activity, preschool age, the level of computer activity, screen time, gadgets DOI:
PERSONALITY TRAITS OF A MODERN GAMBLER Sofya Tarasova
Senior Researcher, Psychological Institute of Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia; e-mail:
Abstract: Nowadays, there is much concern about gaming addiction (gambling addiction). Anonymity of the gaming space encourages one to create a "new self" and materialize different tendencies of one's personality, including destructive ones. Gambling (game addiction) is a pathological desire for games. It is manifested in frequent and recurrent episodes of gaming that dominate a person's life and lead to diminishing of social, professional, and other values. The Roblox game platform announced that its number of active users exceeded 150 million people per month during the Covid-19 pandemic, i.e. 35 million more than before the lockdown. This study is an attempt at describing the psychological profile of a modern gambler. The following methods were used: MMPI test, Rokeach Value Survey (RVS), Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, Shmelyov Humorous Phrases Test, Zukerman Sensation Seeking Scale, hand test, and pathopsychological test. Persistent gamers, 40 young people aged from 16 to 28 (20 young men and 20 young women) participated in the study. Among them, 26 participants spent more than 3 hours per day gaming. In general, the MMPI test revealed below-standard personality profiles, which may be related to higher levels of cautiousness and suspiciousness. Increases in the below-standard profile were identified for 26 participants on the psychasthenia scale and for 23 participants on the hypochondria scale, making a case for suggesting somatization of anxiety in the gamer's profile. Hostility as a factor of readiness for aggression positively correlates with the majority of the main MMPI scales: depression (r=0.76, p<0.01), hysteria (r=0.76, p<0.01), psychopathy (r=0.63, p<0.05), paranoia (r=0.65, p<0.05) and psychasthenia (r=0.88, p<0.001). There were more female hypochondriacs than male (p=0.07). The results of the hand test were in agreement with those of the MMPI. The survey of 22 participants revealed expectation of aggression (anxiety + aggressiveness). The answers reflected a feeling of discomfort or had restrictive ritual connotations ("hide", "cover", "turn off", etc.).
Keywords: gambling, psychasthenia, hypochondria, hostility, expectation of aggression DOI:
THE RELATIONSHIP OF PERSONAL MEANINGS OF GAMING EXPERIENCE WITH THE PECULIARITIES OF
SELF-REGULATION IN ADOLESCENTS
Anna Uglova
Docent, Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg, Russia; e-mail:
Irina Bogdanovskaya
Docent, Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg, Russia; e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Relevance. Cyberspace is one of the main sources of socialization and development for modern teenagers. The interrelation of personal meaning associated with participation in video games and the
