How Do Developers Interact with AI? An Exploratory Study on Modeling Developer Programming Behavior
Yinan Wu, Ze Shi Li, Kathryn Thomasset Stolee, Bowen Xu

TL;DR
This study explores how developers interact with AI during programming, revealing behavioral patterns, emotional impacts, and a new model to understand multi-dimensional developer-AI interactions.
Contribution
It introduces the S-IASE model capturing intentions, actions, tools, and emotions, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding developer-AI interaction.
Findings
AI assistance increases focus on code creation and verification.
AI-assisted developers experience more stable emotions during development.
Some developers feel impostor-like guilt when relying on AI.
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping how developers adopt software engineering practices, yet the multi-dimensional nature of developer-AI interaction remains under-explored. Prior studies have primarily examined dimensions observable from developer activities such as "Prompt Crafting" and "Code Editing," overlooking how hidden intentions and emotional dimensions intertwine with concrete actions during AI-assisted programming. To understand this phenomenon, we conducted a mixed-methods study with 76 developers split into AI-assisted and non-AI groups. Each performed programming tasks (Python with API management or Java with SQL). Developers retrospectively labeled their self-reported intentions, tool-supported actions, and emotions from screen recordings, supplemented by surveys and interviews. Our user study resulted in a novel model named S-IASE with four dimensions to describe…
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