How Do Developers Interact with AI? An Exploratory Study on Modeling Developer Programming Behavior

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 programming behavior: intention, action, supporting tool, and emotion for a given development state. Our analysis reveals aggregated and sequential behavioral patterns. For example, using AI assistants often makes developers more focused on actively creating code, evaluating, and verifying generated results. AI-assisted participants showed emotionally stable development flow, as opposed to non-AI-assisted participants who experienced more fluctuating emotions. Interviews revealed further nuance: some developers reported impostor-like feelings, expressing guilt or self-doubt about relying on AI. Our work bridges an important gap in understanding the complexities of developer-AI interaction in programming context.