The Effect of Games with Rules on Voluntary Regulation of 6—7-year-old Children

1630

Abstract

This article discusses the results of experimental study aimed at investigating the effect of games with rules on voluntary regulation of preschool children. The following components of voluntary regulation were studied: short-term and working memory, verbal interference control, the ability to follow verbal instruction, and knowledge of rules of conduct. One hundred and twenty 6—7-year-old children participated in this study. After the intervention, children in experimental group improved their knowledge of rules of conduct, short-term memory for numbers, verbal interference, and the ability to follow verbal instruction when executing a visual-motor integration task. Children in the control group also improved their verbal interference ability and short-term memory for numbers and words. However, size effects were smaller than in the experimental group.

General Information

Keywords: games with rules, voluntary regulation, working memory, interference control

Journal rubric: Empirical Research

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2017130406

For citation: Savina E.A., Savenkova I.A., Shchekotikhina I.V., Gul'yants A.M. The Effect of Games with Rules on Voluntary Regulation of 6—7-year-old Children. Kul'turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya = Cultural-Historical Psychology, 2017. Vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 56–63. DOI: 10.17759/chp.2017130406. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

References

  1. Vygotskii L.S. Igra i ee rol’ v psikhicheskom razvitii rebenka [The game and its role in the mental development of the child]. Voprosy psikhologii [Questions of Psychology], 1966, no. 6, рр. 62—68.
  2. Vygotskii L.S. Orudie i znak v razvitii rebenka. Sobranie sochinenii: v 6 t. T. 6. [Tool and sign in child development. Collected Works: in 6 vol. Vol. 6]. Moscow: Pedagogika, 1984, pp. 6—86.
  3. Vygotskii L.S. Sobranie sochinenii: v 6 t. T.3. Istoriya razvitiya vysshikh psikhicheskikh funktsii [Collected Works: in 6 vol. Vol. 3. The history of development of higher mental functions]. Moscow: Pedagogika, 1983, p. 467.
  4. Zaporozhets A.V. Izbrannye psikhologicheskie trudy. T. 1. Psikhicheskoe razvitie rebenka [Selected psychological works. Vol. 1. Mental development of the child]. Davydov V.V. (eds.). Moscow: Pedagogika, 1986. 320 p.
  5. Smirnova E.O. Razvitie voli i proizvol’nosti v rannem i doshkol’nom vozraste [The development of will and arbitrariness in early and preschool age]. Moscow: Publ. «Institut prakticheskoi psikhologii»; Voronezh: NPO «MODEK», 1998. 256 p.
  6. Smirnova E.O., Ryabkova I.A. Psikhologicheskie osobennostei igrovoi deyatel’nosti sovremennykh doshkol’nikov [Psychological features of modern gaming activities preschoolers]. Voprosy psikhologii [Questions of Psychology], 2013, no. 2, pp. 15—24.
  7. Smirnova E.O. Syuzhetnaya igra kak faktor stanovleniya mezhlichnostnykh otnoshenii doshkol’nikov [The game plot as the factor of formation of interpersonal relations of preschool children]. Kul’turno—istoricheskaya psikhologiya [Cultural-historical Psychology], 2011, no. 4, pp. 2—8. (In Russ., abstr. in Engl.).
  8. Smirnova E.O. Igra v sovremennom doshkol’nom obrazovanii [Elektronnyi resurs] [The game in the modern preschool education]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie PSYEDU.ru [Psychological Science and Education PSYEDU.ru], 2013, no. 3. (In Russ., abstr. in Engl.). Available at: http://psyedu.ru/journal/2013/3/3402.phtml (Accessed 10.02.2017).
  9. El’konin D.B. Psikhologiya igry [The psychology of the game]. 2-e izd. Moscow: Publ. VLADOS, 1999. 360 p.
  10. El’koninova L.I. Polnota razvitiya syuzhetno-rolevoi igry [The full development of role-play games]. Kul’turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya [Cultural-historical Psychology], 2014. Vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 54—61. (In Russ., abstr. in Engl.).
  11. Baddeley A.D. Working memory, thought and action. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. 412 p.
  12. Barkley R.A. ADHD and the nature of self-control. New York: Guilford Press, 1997. 410 p.
  13. Berk L.E., Mann T.D., Ogan A. Make-believe play: Wellspring for development of self-regulation. In Singel D.G. (eds.), Play=learning: How play motivates and enhances children’s cognitive and social-emotional growth. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2006, pp. 74—100.
  14. Berry D. Inhibitory control and teacher-child conflict: Reciprocal associations across the elementary-school years. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2012. Vol. 33, pp. 66—76.
  15. Blair C. School readiness: Integrating cognition and emotion in a neurobiological conceptualization of children’s functioning at school entry. American Psychologist, 2002. Vol. 57, pp. 111—127.
  16. Bronson M. Self-regulation in early childhood: Nature and Nurture. New York: The Guilford Press, 2000. 296 p.
  17. Diamond A., Barnett S., Thomas J., Munro S. Preschool program improves cognitive control. Science, 2007. Vol. 318, pp. 1387—1388. doi:10.1126/science.115148
  18. Elias C.L., Berk L.E. Self-regulation in young children: Is there a role for sociodramatic play? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2002. Vol. 17, pp. 216—238.
  19. Engle R.W., Kane M.J. Executive attention, working memory capacity and a two-factor theory of cognitive control. In Ross B. (ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation. Vol. 44. Advances in research and theory. New York: Academic Press, 2004, pp. 145—199.
  20. Feldman R. The development of regulatory functions from birth to 5 years: Insights from premature infants. Child Development, 2009. Vol. 80(2), pp. 544—561.
  21. Gerstadt C.L., Hong Y.J., Diamond A. The relationship between cognition and action: Performance of children 3½—7 years old on a Stroop-like day-night test. Cognition, 1994. Vol. 53, pp. 129—153.
  22. Hughes F.P. Spontaneous Play in the 21st Century. In Spodek B. (eds.), Contemporary Perspectives on Play in Early Childhood Education. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing, 2003, pp. 21—39.
  23. Krafft K.C., Berk L.E. Private speech in two preschools: Significance of open-ended activities and make-believe play for verbal self-regulation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 1998. Vol. 13, pp. 637—658.
  24. Lengua L.J. Associations among emotionality, self-regulation, adjustment problems, and positive adjustment in middle childhood. Applied Developmental Psychology, 2003. Vol. 24, pp. 595—618.
  25. McClelland M.M., Cameron C.E. Connor C.M., Farris C.L., Jewkes A.M., Morrison F.J. Links between behavioral regulation and preschoolers’ literacy, vocabulary, and math skills. Developmental Psychology, 2007. Vol. 43, pp. 947—959.
  26. Nigg J.T. On inhibition/disinhibition in developmental psychopathology: Views from cognitive and personality psychology and a working inhibition taxonomy. Psychological Bulletin, 2000. Vol. 26(2), pp. 220—246.
  27. Piaget J. Play, dreams, and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton, 1962.
  28. Ponitz C.C., McClelland M.M., Matthews J.S., Morrison F.J. A structured observation of behavioral self-regulation and its contribution to kindergarten outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 2009. Vol. 5(3), pp. 605—619.
  29. Posner M., Rothbart M. Developing mechanisms of self-regulation. Development and Psychopathology, 2000. Vol. 12, pp. 427—441.
  30. Saltz E., Dixon D., Johnson J. Training disadvantaged preschoolers on various fantasy activities: Effects on cognitive function and impulse control. Child Development, 1977. Vol. 48, pp. 367—380.
  31. Tominey S.L., McClelland M.M. Red light, purple light: Findings from randomized trial using circle time games to improve behavioral self-regulation in preschool. Early Education & Development, 2011. Vol. 22(3), pp. 489—519. doi: 10.1080/10409289.2011.574258
  32. Wass S.V., Scerif G., Johnson M.H. Training attentional control and working memory — is younger better? Developmental Review, 2012. Vol. 32, pp. 360—387. doi: http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2012.07.001

Information About the Authors

Elena A. Savina, Doctor of Psychology, Professor, Associate Professor, Department of Graduate Psychology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, USA, e-mail: savinaea@jmu.edu

Irina A. Savenkova, PhD in Psychology, Department of General and Development Psychology, Orel State University named after I.S. Turgenev, Orel, Russia, e-mail: savenkova57r@mail.ru

Irina V. Shchekotikhina, Lecturer, Department of General and Developmental Psychology, Orel State University named after I.S. Turgenev, Orel, Russia, e-mail: ira_1305@mail.ru

Anastasia M. Gul'yants, School Psychologist, Lyceum № 32, Orel, Russia, e-mail: janglll@rambler.ru

Metrics

Views

Total: 2898
Previous month: 30
Current month: 8

Downloads

Total: 1630
Previous month: 1
Current month: 4