Five Paradigms in the Psychology of Programming

4.1 Abstract Since the 1950s, psychologists have studied the behavioral aspects of computer programming. However, it has been difficult to integrate their data with theory because of the mixture of psychological paradigms that have guided their research. This chapter will review the research results that have been generated under the five psychological paradigms used most often in exploring programming problems. These five paradigms are 1) individual differences, 2) group behavior, 3) organizational behavior, 4) human factors, and 5) cognitive science. The major theoretical and practical contributions of each area to the theory and practice of software engineering will be discussed. Based on current trends, it appears that research guided by the paradigm of cognitive science will be the easiest to integrate with new developments in artificial intelligence and computer science theory.

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