Motivation for online gaming activities of students from professional educational institutions in the context of self-realization

This article presents the results of an empirical study of the motivational characteristics of online gaming among students in vocational educational institutions within the context of selfdetermination theory. The relevance of the study stems from the need to understand the factors infl uencing students’ motivation in online games and its connection with self-realization processes, which is important for the development of educational strategies in the context of digitalization. The study involved 117 students aged 18 to 22 years in secondary vocational education institutions. Psychodiagnostic methods aimed at studying the types of motivational regulation of gaming activity and personal self-realization were used. The results revealed signifi cant differences in the motivational profi les of students with varying degrees of passion for online games. It was found that students with a high degree of passion demonstrate higher rates of intrinsic motivation, identifi ed and integrative regulation. A specifi c relationship between passion for games and students’ social self-realization was established. Professional players and content creators demonstrate signifi cantly higher social selfrealization compared to amateurs and novices, while no signifi cant differences were found in activity and personal-realization measures. Content makers demonstrated the highest rates of amotivation, which may be explained by the transformation of gaming into a duty to create content. The fi ndings are important for developing pedagogical strategies that take into account the motivational characteristics of modern learners and the potential for using gaming activities for personal development and the prevention of the negative consequences of excessive online gaming.