What makes a computer wiz? Linking personality traits and programming aptitude

Computer applications have become indispensable work tools in most organizations. As a consequence, software engineering abilities are desired skills for many employees. Therefore, the study explored individual differences predicting programming aptitude. A meta-analysis on 19 independent samples (total N = 1695) highlighted that programming aptitude was associated with three personality traits, conscientiousness, openness, and introversion. Moreover, the three traits explained incremental variance components beyond general mental abilities. In contrast to stereotypical beliefs, programming aptitudes were not associated with socially undesirable traits such as disagreeableness or neuroticism.