Authors Gunnar Rye
Bergersen and Jan-Eric Gustafsson put 65 professional programmers
through their paces for two straight days, tackling twelve meaty
tasks in the Java language to prove their programming skill; this was
what the study ultimately wanted to better understand.
Participants all filled
in an extensive questionnaire on Java programming knowledge. Some
participants also completed a suite of tasks involving memorising
items (e.g. letters) while simultaneously handling another task such
as checking sentences for errors. These measure working memory, the
component of mind that keeps things available for conscious
processing, and related to 'g', our proposed fundamental level of
mental ability. Unfortunately working memory scores for over half the
participants weren't taken due to logistical issues.
The authors modelled
the relationships between all variables, including years of work
experience, and found the best predictor of programming skill was
programming knowledge: it loaded onto skill with a value of .77, where one would mean
perfect prediction. Once knowledge was taken into account, a
programmer's skill didn't benefit from better working memory or
longer experience. Rather, these variables seem to matter earlier in
the process by building better knowledge: working memory to help the
programmer make sense of complex concepts, experience to provide the
time for this to happen.
You can't get by in the
programming industry with a static knowledge base, so working memory
and a sharp mind will always be in demand in the profession. Indeed,
observing that their data found an association between working memory
and programming experience, the authors speculate that wannabes with
poor working memory are more likely to leave the profession entirely.
But this study asks us to recognise that a whizz
programmer's competence is thanks to applying that brainpower to
learning their trade.
Bergersen, G., & Gustafsson, J. (2011). Programming Skill, Knowledge, and Working Memory Among Professional Software Developers from an Investment Theory Perspective. Journal of Individual Differences, 32 (4), 201-209 DOI: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000052
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