Human psychology in the digital perspective: Review of the textbook Digital Transformation of Human Psychology by S. A. Bezgodova and A. V. Miklyaeva

Abstract

The peer-reviewed edition Digital Transformation of Human Psychology (Bezgodova, S. A. and A. V. Miklyaeva. 2023. Saint Petersburg: Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia Publ.) is a textbook aimed primarily at pedagogy and psychology students and students of other areas addressing the problems of human interaction with digital technologies. The authors rely on the results of modern scientific studies which are generalized and structured by them in the logic of an integrative approach to human psychology and social interaction. The authors argue that digital technologies constitute a fundamentally new context of human mental functioning and determine the adaptive nature of transformations of mental potential. The authors also maintain that digital technologies expand or narrow down the capabilities of mental potential depending on whether or not their use is controlled through volition (i. e., whether or not the user has enough agency). The textbook contains extensive material that can be used during classes. The material will also be instrumental in determining new vectors of research into digital transformation of human psychology and in creating theoretical and methodological foundations of the system of psychological and pedagogical development of the psyche in conditions of digitalization.