Software is infamous for its poor quality and frequent occurrence of bugs. While there is no doubt that thorough testing is an appropriate answer to ensure sufficient quality, the poor state of software generally suggests that developers may not always engage as thoroughly with testing as they should. This observation aligns with the prevailing belief that developers simply do not like writing tests. In order to determine the truth of this belief, we conducted a comprehensive survey with 21 questions aimed at (1) assessing developers' current engagement with testing and (2) identifying factors influencing their inclination toward testing; that is, whether they would actually like to test more but are inhibited by their work environment, or whether they would really prefer to test even less if given the choice. Drawing on 284 responses from professional software developers, we uncover reasons that positively and negatively impact developers' motivation to test. Notably, reasons for motivation to write more tests encompass not only a general pursuit of software quality but also personal satisfaction. However, developers nevertheless perceive testing as mundane and tend to prioritize other tasks. One approach emerging from the responses to mitigate these negative factors is by providing better recognition for developers' testing efforts.

翻译：软件因其质量低下和频繁出现缺陷而声名狼藉。尽管全面测试无疑是确保足够质量的有效答案，但软件的普遍糟糕状态表明，开发人员可能并未像应做的那样充分参与测试。这一观察结果与普遍看法相符，即开发人员根本不喜欢编写测试。为了确定这一看法的真实性，我们进行了一项包含21个问题的全面调查，旨在(1)评估开发人员当前对测试的参与度，以及(2)识别影响他们测试倾向的因素；也就是说，他们是实际上愿意进行更多测试但因工作环境受限，还是如果可以选择，他们宁愿测试更少。基于284份来自专业软件开发人员的回复，我们揭示了正向和负向影响开发人员测试动机的原因。值得注意的是，编写更多测试的动机原因不仅包括对软件质量的普遍追求，还有个人满足感。然而，开发人员仍认为测试是枯燥的，并倾向于优先处理其他任务。从回复中出现的一个缓解这些负面因素的方法是，更好地认可开发人员的测试努力。