Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

The Effect of Perceptual Load on Performance Within IDE in People with ADHD Symptoms

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Augmented Cognition (HCII 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 14019))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

In this paper, we describe the research on how perceptual load can affect programming performance in people with symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We asked developers to complete the Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale, which indicates the presence and severity levels of ADHD symptoms. After that, participants solved mentally active programming tasks (coding) and monotonous ones (debugging) in the integrated development environment in high perceptual load modes (visually noisy) and low perceptual load modes (visually clear). The development environment was augmented with the plugin we wrote to track efficiency metrics, i.e. time, speed, and activity. We found that the perceptual load does affect programmers’ efficiency. For mentally active tasks, the time of inserting the first character was shorter and the overall speed was higher in the low perceptual load mode. For monotonous tasks, the total time for the solution was less for the low perceptual load mode. Also, we found that the effect of perceptual load on programmers’ efficiency differs between those with and without ADHD symptoms. This effect has a specificity: depending on efficiency measures and ADHD symptoms, one or another level of perceptual load might be beneficial. Our findings support the idea of behavioral assessment of users for providing appropriate accommodation for the workforce with special needs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Data: https://github.com/JetBrains-Research/adhd-study.

References

  1. Adhd institute. https://adhd-institute.com/burden-of-adhd/epidemiology/

  2. Java chromium embedded framework. https://github.com/chromiumembedded/java-cef

  3. Javafx, client application platform. https://openjfx.io/

  4. Replication package. https://github.com/JetBrains-Research/adhd-study

  5. American Psychiatric Association, D., Association, A.P., et al.: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5, vol. 5. American psychiatric association Washington, DC (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Antshel, K.M., Hier, B.O., Barkley, R.A.: Executive functioning theory and ADHD. In: Handbook of Executive Functioning, pp. 107–120. Springer, New York (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Antshel, K.M., Joseph, G.R.: Maternal stress in nonverbal learning disorder: a comparison with reading disorder. J. Learn. Disabil. 39(3), 194–205 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Austin, R.D., Pisano, G.P.: Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage. Harv. Bus. Rev. 95(3), 96–103 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Barkley, R.: Deficits of Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS for adults). Guilford Press, New York (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Barkley, R.A.: Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychol. Bull. 121(1), 65 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Barkley, R.A.: What may be in store for DSM-v. ADHD Rep. 15(4), 1–7 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Barkley, R.A.: Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS). Guilford Press, New York (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Barkley, R.A.: History of ADHD. The Guilford Press, New York (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Barkley, R.A., Murphy, K.R.: The nature of executive function (EF) deficits in daily life activities in adults with ADHD and their relationship to performance on EF tests. J. Psychopathol. Behav. Assess. 33(2), 137–158 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Barkley, R.A., Murphy, K.R., Fischer, M.: ADHD in Adults: What the Science Says. Guilford press, New York (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Bell, A.S.: A critical review of ADHD diagnostic criteria: What to address in the DSM-v. J. Atten. Disord. 15(1), 3–10 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Blume, H.: Neurodiversity: on the neurological underpinnings of geekdom. The Atlantic 30 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Carreiro, L., Machado-Pinheiro, W., Junior, A.A.: Adults with ADHD symptoms express a better inhibitory capacity when the perceptual load is higher. Eur. Psychiatry 64(1), S613–S613 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Costello, E., Kilbride, S., Milne, Z., Clarke, P., Yilmaz, M., MacMahon, S.T.: A professional career with autism: findings from a literature review in the software engineering domain. In: Yilmaz, M., Clarke, P., Messnarz, R., Reiner, M. (eds.) EuroSPI 2021. CCIS, vol. 1442, pp. 349–360. Springer, Cham (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85521-5_23

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  20. Couceiro, R., et al.: Pupillography as indicator of programmers’ mental effort and cognitive overload. In: 2019 49th Annual IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN), pp. 638–644. IEEE (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Dalton, N.S.: Neurodiversity & hci. In: CHI’13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 2295–2304 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Dong, S., Guerette, A.R.: Workplace accommodations, job performance and job satisfaction among individuals with sensory disabilities. Aust. J. Rehabil. Counselling 19(1), 1–20 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Doyle, N.: Neurodiversity at work: a biopsychosocial model and the impact on working adults. Br. Med. Bull. 135(1), 108 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Fayyad, J., et al.: The descriptive epidemiology of DSM-iv adult ADHD in the world health organization world mental health surveys. ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disord. 9(1), 47–65 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Forster, S., Robertson, D.J., Jennings, A., Asherson, P., Lavie, N.: Plugging the attention deficit: perceptual load counters increased distraction in ADHD. Neuropsychology 28(1), 91 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Ginsberg, Y., Quintero, J., Anand, E., Casillas, M., Upadhyaya, H.P.: Underdiagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adult patients: a review of the literature. Primary Care Companion CNS Disord. 16(3), 23591 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Girden, E.R.: ANOVA: Repeated Measures. Sage, Newbury Park (1992)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  28. Harris, C.R., et al.: Array programming with NumPy. Nature 585(7825), 357–362 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2649-2

  29. Hindle, A., Barr, E.T., Gabel, M., Su, Z., Devanbu, P.: On the naturalness of software. Commun. ACM 59(5), 122–131 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Ikävalko, J.: Dear future colleague, i learned to embrace my neurodiversity as a developer. and so can you., https://www.reaktor.com/blog/dear-future-colleague-i-learned-to-embrace-my-neurodiversity-as-a-developer-and-so-can-you/

  31. Kamradt, J.M., et al.: Barkley deficits in executive functioning scale (BDEFS): validation in a large multisite college sample. Assessment 28(3), 964–976 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Krzeminska, A., Austin, R.D., Bruyère, S.M., Hedley, D.: The advantages and challenges of neurodiversity employment in organizations. J. Manag. Organ. 25(4), 453–463 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2019.58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Kurbatova, Z., Golubev, Y., Kovalenko, V., Bryksin, T.: The intellij platform: a framework for building plugins and mining software data. In: 2021 36th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering Workshops (ASEW), pp. 14–17. IEEE (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Lavie, N.: Distracted and confused?: selective attention under load. Trends Cogn. Sci. 9(2), 75–82 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Lavie, N., Robertson, I.H.: The role of perceptual load in neglect: rejection of ipsilesional distractors is facilitated with higher central load. J. Cogn. Neurosci. 13(7), 867–876 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Lavie, N., Tsal, Y.: Perceptual load as a major determinant of the locus of selection in visual attention. Percept. Psychophysics 56(2), 183–197 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Loiacono, E.T., Ren, H.: Building a neurodiverse high-tech workforce. MIS Quarterly Executive 17(4) (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Lyulina, E., Birillo, A., Kovalenko, V., Bryksin, T.: Tasktracker-tool: a toolkit for tracking of code snapshots and activity data during solution of programming tasks. In: Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 495–501 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Macdonald, J.S., Lavie, N.: Visual perceptual load induces inattentional deafness. Attention Percept. Psychophysics 73, 1780–1789 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. McGonagle, A.K., Beatty, J.E., Joffe, R.: Coaching for workers with chronic illness: evaluating an intervention. J. Occup. Health Psychol. 19(3), 385 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Wes McKinney: Data structures for statistical computing in Python. In: Stéfan van der Walt, Jarrod Millman (eds.) Proceedings of the 9th Python in Science Conference, pp. 56–61 (2010). https://doi.org/10.25080/Majora-92bf1922-00a

  42. McKnight, P.E., Najab, J.: Mann-whitney u test. The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology,p. 1 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Morris, M.R., Begel, A., Wiedermann, B.: Understanding the challenges faced by neurodiverse software engineering employees: towards a more inclusive and productive technical workforce. In: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility, pp. 173–184. ASSETS ’15, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA (2015). https://doi.org/10.1145/2700648.2809841

  44. Motti, V.G.: Designing emerging technologies for and with neurodiverse users. In: Proceedings of the 37th ACM International Conference on the Design of Communication, pp. 1–10 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  45. Orne, M.T., Holland, C.H.: On the ecological validity of laboratory deceptions. Int. J. Psychiatry 6(4), 282–293 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  46. Pisano, G.P.: Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage. Harvard Business Review, pp. 1–9 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  47. Reiss, M., Brooks, G.: Developmental dyslexia in adults: a research review. National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Sheble, B.: Validation of the barkley deficits of executive functioning-short form. Ph.D. thesis, University of Missouri-Saint Louis (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Sumner, K.E., Brown, T.J.: Neurodiversity and human resource management: employer challenges for applicants and employees with learning disabilities. Psychol. Manager J. 18(2), 77 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Telwatte, A., Anglim, J., Wynton, S.K., Moulding, R.: Workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities: a multilevel model of employer decision-making. Rehabil. Psychol. 62(1), 7 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Vallat, R.: Pingouin: statistics in python. J. Open Source Softw. 3(31), 1026 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Virtanen, P., et al.: Scipy 1.0: fundamental algorithms for scientific computing in python. Nature Methods 17(3), 261–272 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  53. Zimmerman, D.W.: Teacher’s corner: a note on interpretation of the paired-samples t test. J. Educ. Behav. Stat. 22(3), 349–360 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neapolis University Pafos, Paphos, Cyprus

    Vseslav Kasatskii

  2. JetBrains Research, Belgrade, Serbia

    Agnia Sergeyuk

  3. JetBrains Limited, Paphos, Cyprus

    Anastasiia Serova

  4. JetBrains Research, Paphos, Cyprus

    Sergey Titov & Timofey Bryksin

Authors
  1. Vseslav Kasatskii
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Agnia Sergeyuk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anastasiia Serova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sergey Titov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Timofey Bryksin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Agnia Sergeyuk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Soar Technology Inc., Orlando, FL, USA

    Dylan D. Schmorrow

  2. Katmai Government Services, Orlando, FL, USA

    Cali M. Fidopiastis

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Kasatskii, V., Sergeyuk, A., Serova, A., Titov, S., Bryksin, T. (2023). The Effect of Perceptual Load on Performance Within IDE in People with ADHD Symptoms. In: Schmorrow, D.D., Fidopiastis, C.M. (eds) Augmented Cognition. HCII 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 14019. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35017-7_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35017-7_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-35016-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-35017-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics