There is considerable anecdotal evidence suggesting that software engineers enjoy engaging in solving puzzles and other cognitive efforts. A tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful thinking is referred to as a person's 'need for cognition.' In this article we study the relationship between software engineers' personality traits and their need for cognition. Through a large-scale sample study of 483 respondents we collected data to capture the six 'bright' personality traits of the HEXACO model of personality, and three `dark' personality traits. Data were analyzed using several methods including a multiple Bayesian linear regression analysis. The results indicate that ca. 33% of variation in developers' need for cognition can be explained by personality traits. The Bayesian analysis suggests four traits to be of particular interest in predicting need for cognition: openness to experience, conscientiousness, honesty-humility, and emotionality. Further, we also find that need for cognition of software engineers is, on average, higher than in the general population, based on a comparison with prior studies. Given the importance of human factors for software engineers' performance in general, and problem solving skills in particular, our findings suggest several implications for recruitment, working behavior, and teaming.
翻译:有相当多的传闻证据表明,软件工程师喜欢参与解谜和其他认知努力。参与和享受努力思维的倾向被称为一个人的“认知需要”。在本篇文章中,我们研究了软件工程师个性特征和认知需要之间的关系。通过对483个答复者进行大规模抽样研究,我们收集了数据,以捕捉HEXACO个性模型的六个“赤裸”个性特征和三个“黑暗”个性特征。数据使用多种方法进行了分析,包括多次贝叶西亚线性回归分析。结果显示,开发商对认知需要的变异有33%的“认知需要”可以用个性特征来解释。巴伊西亚的分析表明,预测对认知需要有四种特别感兴趣的特征:对经验的开放性、自觉性、诚实和幽默性以及情感性。此外,我们还发现,基于与先前研究的比较,对软件工程师的认知需要平均高于一般人口。鉴于人类工作因素对软件工程师的发现的重要性,因此,在一般的绩效和情绪中,对于软件招聘团队中的一些工作行为影响表明,对若干工作行为的影响。