The effects of learning programming (software development) on mental and intellectual development of students are the an acute issue in contemporary psychology and pedagogics. The objective of the presentis paper is the analysis of the effect of learning programming on mental, social and emotional development of students, and detection of psychological and pedagogical factors that influence the height strength of this effect. The paper presents an analysis of cognitive skills and abilities that undergo development in the process of learning programming. Thus, the study of the relationship between development of mathematical abilities and programming showed contradictory results. The same situation is observed in influences of learning programming and development of abstract cognition and problem-solving in various subject domains. The specifics of algorithmic cognition (on the development of which much is spoken by the specialists in informational technologies) and the relationship between its development and learning programming were outside of the field of attention of professional psychologists. Also, little is researched has explored the influence of learning programming on development of speech, creative thinking and social and emotional development. Psychological and educational factors influencing the learning outcomes are discussed. These factors are: the professional and personal qualities of the teacher, ; the program’s environment; and the method of teaching. OIn the whole one may say that learning programming may promote mathematical cognition, abstract, creative and algorithmic thinking, and team-work. Though a vast scope of research was conducted, many questions remained unresolved. In particular, the relationship between the age specifics of children and the effect of learning programming was not touched.