摘要：Today computer games occupy a significant place in children’s lives and fundamentallyaffect the process of the formation and development of their personalities. A numberof present-day researchers assert that computer games have a developmental effect onplayers. Others share the point of view that computer games have negative effects on thecognitive and emotional spheres of a child and claim that children with low self-esteemwho neglect their schoolwork and have difficulties in communication are particularlypassionate about computer games. This article reviews theoretical and experimentalpedagogical and psychological studies of the nature of the correlation between a passionfor computer games and the school performance of younger schoolchildren. Our analysisof foreign and Russian psychology studies regarding the problem of playing activitiesmediated by information and computer technologies allowed us to single out the maincriteria for children’s passion for computer games and school performance. This articlepresents the results of a pilot study of the nature of the correlation between a passion forcomputer games and the school performance of younger schoolchildren. The researchinvolved 32 pupils (12 girls and 20 boys) aged 10–11 years in the 4th grade. The generalhypothesis was that there are divergent correlations between the passion of youngerschoolchildren for computer games and their school performance. A questionnaire surveyadministered to the pupils allowed us to obtain information about the amount oftime they devoted to computer games, their preferences for computer-game genres, andthe extent of their passion for games. To determine the level of school performance weanalyzed class registers. To establish the correlation between a passion for computergames and the school performance of younger schoolchildren, as well as to determinethe effect of a passion for computer games on the personal qualities of the children, thePearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r-Pearson) was used. Analysis of theresults of the study indicates that there is a correlation between computer-game genresand the school performance of younger schoolchildren, that a passion for role-playingcomputer games adversely affects the school performance of younger schoolchildren,and that the time period for a single game determines the extent to which younger schoolchildren have the personality traits necessary to maintain educational motivation and interest in an academic subject.
关键词：computer-gaming activities; passion for computer games; school performance;younger schoolchildren
