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.

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)
Agile UCD 2 syntagm

3. Empathizers
Agile UCD 3

4. Systemizers
syntagm

5. Please select
1 bag at a time

6. RTFM
Agile UCD 6

7. Stamina of
Navigation skills a camel
Dexterity of
of a bat
a monkey
Memory of
an elephant
Visual acuity
of an eagle
Copyright © Syntagm Ltd – www.syntagm.co.uk
The Perfect User
Agile UCD 7 syntagm

8. Technologists have strong systemizing
but reduced empathizing skills
Agile UCD 8 syntagm

9. (There is a small effect for the few
female technologists, but no ‘crossover’)
Agile UCD 9 syntagm

10. Men Women
Empathizing
Empathizing
Systemizing
Systemizing
syntagm

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
Agile UCD 11 syntagm

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)
Agile UCD 12 syntagm

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
Agile UCD 13 syntagm

14. The Agile Team
Empathy
Barrier
Agile UCD 14 syntagm

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
Agile UCD 15 syntagm

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.
Agile UCD 16 syntagm

17. Increasing Empathy
(www.jkp.com/mindreading)
Agile UCD 17 syntagm

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’
Agile UCD 18 syntagm

19. Field Research
Agile UCD 19 syntagm

20. Personas
Agile UCD 20 syntagm

21. Usability Testing
Agile UCD 21 syntagm

22. Empathy-Assistive Technology syntagm

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
Agile UCD 23 syntagm

24. www.syntagm.co.uk/design
Agile UCD 24 syntagm