This talk is based on William’s short paper to the CHI and British HCI conferences in 2009 about his large-scale study of IT workers.
The application of empathizing-systemizing tests found that technologists have substantially reduced empathizing skills and consequently have real difficulty in appreciating that others do not understand technology in the same way they do.
This will not come as a surprise to anyone who has worked in the IT industry for any length of time, but it does serve as justification for many of the activities undertaken in user-centred design.
How to Troubleshoot Apps for the Modern Connected Worker
UKUPA Mar 10 William Hudson: The Psychological Basis Of Nerdiness and it's Implications for UCD
1. The Psychological Basis of Nerdiness
and its Implications for UCD
William Hudson
Principal Consultant
william.hudson@syntagm.co.uk
syntagm
2. Empathizing/Systemizing Theory
• Large-scale study of 450 IT workers (see
Hudson, William, 2009, Reduced Empathizing
Skills Increase Challenges for User-Centered
Design, CHI 2009 Conference, Boston and
British HCI Group Conference, Cambridge)
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9. (There is a small effect for the few
female technologists, but no ‘crossover’)
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10. Men Women
Empathizing
Empathizing
Systemizing
Systemizing
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11. SQ minus EQ Predicts Programming Ability
• In a separate study of 19 male programming
students, there was good correlation (r=0.67)
between SQ-EQ and programming ability tests
(see Wray, Stuart, 2007, SQ Minus EQ can
Predict Programming Aptitude, PPIG 2007)
• Individual correlations with SQ and EQ were
much weaker
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12. Increasing Empathy
• Developers need to at least be aware that
users may have different views or
understandings of a problem and its potential
solutions
• Partitioning UCD into a separate team or
department not realistic in small teams (using
Agile approaches, for example)
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13. Increasing Empathy
• Two points to consider
– People-oriented people have higher EQ scores
than technologists
– Even the lowest EQ scores for women were above
the average for men
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15. Increasing Empathy
• Because of the ‘empathy barrier’ increasing
the EQ balance in a team alone may not be
sufficient to improve engagement with UCD
• We need to consider other ways of increasing
empathy
– Teaching it
– Applying empathy-promoting design techniques
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16. Increasing Empathy
• ‘Mind Reading’ is an interactive DVD from
Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues at the ARC
• Active research in empathy and its
mechanisms
– Oxytocin improves "mind-reading" in humans
Domes, G., M. Heinrichs, et al. (2007). "Oxytocin improves “mind-reading” in
humans." Biological Psychiatry 61(6): 731-733.
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18. Empathetic Design
• Research has found that empathy is related to
specific components of the brain called mirror
neurons
• They are activated when performing a task but
also when seeing the same task performed by
others
• To promote empathy we should rely on the
adage ‘seeing is believing’
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23. Agile UCD One-Day Course
Central London, 10 May 2010
• Understanding Agile, users and the relationship
between them
• Promoting empathy with UCD techniques
• Knowing what evidence will be most effective in
selling UCD
• Adding value to an Agile team with UCD
• Early booking discount until 9 April
• Special offer: Book 3 places for the price of 2
www.agileucdcourse.com
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