Investigating the Influence of Affective State on Help Seeking: A Study with Novice Programmers

The research investigates how specific affective states, such as frustration, boredom, and anxiety, influence help-seeking behaviors in programming problem-solving activities. Carried out with 73 beginner programming students divided into two CS1 classes, the study uses an interactive learning environment to collect and analyze data from student interactions. The results reveal that negative affective states are significantly associated with the search for hints that offer ready-made answers to problems. One of the conclusions from these results is that negative affective states can motivate students to prefer quick and less challenging solutions, emphasizing the importance of considering the affective dimension in the design of interactive learning environments.