The article discusses the results of a study of the relationship between executive functions (inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, working (speech and visual) memory and the development of Russian speech in children with natural bilingualism and monolinguals in older preschool age. The study involved 63 preschool children (50.8% - boys) aged from 5.6 to 7.3 years (M = 6.42, Med = 6.4) from preschool institutions of Izhevsk (Udmurt Republic). The sample included 31 children with natural bilingualism (Udmurt/Russian language) and 32 monolinguals (Russian language). Standardised methods in the Russian-language version were used to identify the executive functions: the method of verbal-colour interference of by J. Stroop (inhibitory control), the method of studying the learning ability by A.Y. Ivanova (cognitive flexibility) and the test tasks Speech Memory and Visual Memory (working memory). The level of speech development was measured using the test tasks Speech Antonyms, Speech Classifications and Arbitrary Mastery of Speech developed by L.А. Yasyukova. The following mathematical statistics methods were used: descriptive statistics, Mann - Whitney U-test and Spearman rank correlations. According to the results of the study, the facts of the advantages of bilingualism in older preschool age in executive functions, in particular, in inhibitory control cognitive flexibility and speech memory were confirmed. At the same time, no general patterns were determined in the development of Russian speech (L2) in connection with the development of the executive functions of bilingual children: this is explained by the individualisation of the processes of linking the components of speech activity in the second language and cognitive control. In monolingual preschoolers, the speech development in their native language (L1) is associated with the formation of higher mental (executive) functions and the development of the ability to control information processing.

Introduction. The problem of the digital divide between different generations and the aggravation of intergenerational relations was one of the most debated in modern science. The key question is how modern social institutions (family, educational system) ensure the socialisation of the child in a new social situation of development, the transfer of cultural experience in the modern digital world. The urgency of the problem is heightened by the fact that in ethnically homogeneous regions of the Russian Federation, the strategies to transfer traditional values and cultural practices of a collectivist orientation to the younger generation are being maintained, contrary to the “model of desired future” with the successful autonomous behaviour of a sovereign person proposed by the new reality.Aim. The current research aims to explore the socio-psychological patterns of the value transmission in modern families from ethnically homogeneous regions. The study involved representatives of the autochthonous peoples of the Kama region (Udmurts, Komi-Permyaks, Tatars, Bashkirs, Russians) of the older generation – mothers (N = 173, average age 41.4), the younger generation – adolescents (N = 218; average age 14.5, 52.8% females).Methodology and research methods. The theoretical and methodological framework of the research is based on the theory of cultural value orientations, which determine the ways to solve basic problems in regulating human activity (S. Schwartz); the concept of ecological systems explaining the processes of value transmission in the interaction of a child with the outside world (U. Bronfenbrenner). To test the theoretical model, the Structural Equation Modelling method was used. To measure cultural values, a questionnaire for diagnosing cultural values constructed by S. Schwartz in the adaptation of V. N. Karandashev was used; to measure mother-to-child relations, the authors used the questionnaire “Child-Parental Relations of Adolescents” by O. A. Karabanova and P. V. Troyanovskaya; the features of intergenerational interaction in the family (mother-to-child) was studied using the questionnaire “Parent’s Interaction with a Child” by I. M. Markovskaya in two versions – for adolescents and mothers.Results. On the territory of the Russian Federation, stable patterns of value transmission based on traditional collectivist orientations, are preserved. Benevolence (kindness) holds its priority in the hierarchy of values and becomes a significant predictor of intergenerational interaction. At the same time, adolescents are transmitted with active patterns of behaviour to expand their opportunities to enter a world of fierce competition with growing uncertainty and high risks. The identified “clashes” in intergenerational interaction are explained by age patterns in the relationship between parents and adolescent children.Scientific novelty. The obtained results indicate a peculiar integration of collectivist values-goals and individualistic values-means among representatives of the autochthonous peoples of Russia. Models of the intergenerational transmission of values of mothers and adolescents have been constructed and explained revealing the patterns of the transfer of cultural experience in multicultural regions of the Russian Federation.Theoretical significance of the obtained results lies in the possibility of expanding the existing knowledge about the features of the digital generation socialisation in the context of traditional inculturation, about the transformation of the social situation of the development of a growing person in the focus of a new reality and the possibility of interaction between generations of “different worlds”.Practical significance of the acquired knowledge is revealed in the possibility of using it for constructing modern concepts of education and development of psychological and pedagogical technologies for socialising a growing person in the context of epoch-making trends.

Preschool age is the most favorable period for mastering languages due to a number of psychological factors. This is the age of potential children's opportunities, the period of intensive development of language abilities. Therefore, an indispensable pedagogical condition for the development of early bilingualism is the creation of a favorable educational environment for children. The aim of the study is to study the development of cognitive regulation in connection with the communicative competence of balanced bilinguals (Tatar / Russian) and monolinguals (Russian), whose socialization is carried out in different developing subject-spatial environments. The research methodology is based on sociocultural concepts of “environmental” influences on the mental development (Vygotsky, 1999; Bronfenbrenner, 1999). The empirical study involved 60 children aged 5 to 7 years, among them 30 balanced bilinguals socializing in a bilingual (Tatar/Russian) environment, and 30 monolinguals in a Russian-speaking linguistic environment. To diagnose the development of children’s cognitive regulation, children’s subtests of the NEPSY-II neuropsychological battery were used: “Repetition of sentences”, “Memory for construction”, “Inhibition”, “Sorting cards according to a changeable attribute”; communicative competence in communication - the methods of “Pictures” by E.O. Smirnova and E.A. Kalyagina, “Peculiarities of interpersonal relations for children” by G.R. Khuzeeva; level of general intelligence - a children’s version of the Raven Test methodology. Statistical processing of the obtained data was carried out using the non-parametric U-Mann-Whitney test, Spearman correlation analysis. Conclusions and recommendations. It has been established that balanced bilinguals in older preschool age, compared with monolinguals, have advantages in cognitive regulation, in particular, in updating non-verbal information in the linguistic context of the target language (visual working memory), blocking and suppressing irrelevant verbal and non-verbal information (inhibitory control). Bilingual preschoolers are more active in communication, but less prone to leadership and dominance in a peer group, while monolingual children readily take on a leading role in a group with a desire for a high social position in a peer group. Differences in the convergence of indicators in groups of preschoolers were revealed, in particular, in the group of monolingual children, indicators of cognitive regulation are significantly associated with indicators of communicative competence, while in the group of balanced bilinguals they are with indicators of general intelligence as the ability to use mental operations in solving cognitive problems. We assume that the content of the educational program for the older group of monolinguals in the preschool educational institution is focused primarily on social and communicative development, while for bilinguals it is focused on cognitive and speech development.

The paper describes the main results of the intense discussion of current challenges related to using new digital technologies and emerging online risks in various spheres of human life within a framework of the International Online Conference «The Topical Issues of Applied Psychology in the Current Social and Cultural Context» (November 30 – December 3, 2020) organized by the Udmurt State University (the city of Izhevsk, Russian Federation). The conference has been held primarily due to the necessity of drawing the authorities’ attention to the critical concerns regarding psychological prevention of suicidal behavior in the region. The conference included a variety of the events: three symposia, sections for university and secondary school students; workshops and a documentary film discussion. According to the results of the conference debates and discussions, it has been pointed out that incorporation of digital technologies in psychological practice (counselling, therapy, etc.) provides psychology professionals with new opportunities through expanding their self-boundaries and enriching the field of professional reflection with additional meanings and senses. It is recognized that using artificial intelligence tools for initial appointments, basic diagnosis, and psychological prevention will facilitate professional activities of a psychology practitioner. The problem of psychological effects of everyday life application of digital technologies to maintain individual well-being, notably, the regulation of one’s own inner space and coping with difficult situations is specified. It has been stated that transdisciplinary studies of the effectiveness of diverse organizational forms of teaching and learning (onsite, distance, online, etc.) in connection with the subjective well-being of students are believed to be forward-looking and promising.

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