Features of the Imagination in Preschoolers Playing Various Digital Games

Abstract

Due to the fact that in the life of modern preschoolers the traditional role-playing game with peers is increasingly being replaced by playing on digital devices, many researchers have expressed concern about how well their imagination develops. However, other scientists, on the contrary, see the potential for developing children’s imagination in digital games and applications. For this reason, the study is focused on differences in the productive imagination among preschoolers who prefer different types of games on digital devices. The authors propose a typology of digital games played by the preschoolers. A survey was conducted on the use of digital devices among 450 children aged 5-6 years who attended preparatory groups of kindergartens from four regions of Russia, and their imagination was assessed using the “Completing Figures” technique (by O.M. Dyachenko) and a questionnaire developed as part of the study for educators on behavioral manifestations of imagination in their pupils (42 educators were involved). Based on the results of a survey of the educators, it was found that they evaluated the results of creative productive activity lower in the children who liked games for reaction speed than in those who did not play such games. At the same time, the educators rated this parameter of imagination higher in children playing simulation games compared to those who did not play them. The results of the “Completing Figures” technique showed that the children playing logic games had significantly higher ratings for the elaboration of drawings than those who did not play games of this type, and the parameter of originality of the drawings was lower in the children playing strategic games compared to those who did not play them. The typology of digital games proposed by the authors of the study and the data obtained can be useful in conducting scientific research on the digitalization of modern childhood and in developing recommendations for parents of preschoolers.