Research Article
An Empirical Study on the Impact of AI Use on Undergraduate Students' Critical Thinking
Issue:
Volume 15, Issue 5, October 2026
Pages:
107-119
Received:
11 July 2026
Accepted:
25 August 2026
Published:
4 September 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.pbs.20261505.11
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Abstract: With the widespread adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) across higher education, how AI tools shape students’ Critical Thinking has emerged as a prominent research focus in academia. Adopting random sampling at University S, this study distributed questionnaires to survey generative AI use among 101 undergraduates, exploring group discrepancies in AI Use Behaviors, Attitudes and Perceived Evaluation across gender, grade, and broad disciplinary categories. Critical Thinking Disposition and Skill levels were measured via standardized CT Thinking Tests. Statistical analyses including descriptive statistics, difference tests with post-hoc multiple comparisons, correlation analysis and regression analysis were conducted in SPSS 25.0 to quantify the predictive effects of AI Use on Critical Thinking. Empirical results demonstrate that AIA exert the strongest significant predictive effect on undergraduates’ CT Disposition, whereas tangible improvements in CT Skills demand structured, systematic training regimes. This research concludes that student AI use yields notable impacts on Critical Thinking-related mindsets and cognitive patterns, with effects concentrated predominantly on dispositional facets. Whether generative AI empowers or undermines undergraduates’ Critical Thinking is not an inherent property of the technology itself. Instead, outcomes are primarily contingent on user attitudes, and partially governed by interactive dynamics stemming from individual student heterogeneity and other contextual factors.
Abstract: With the widespread adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) across higher education, how AI tools shape students’ Critical Thinking has emerged as a prominent research focus in academia. Adopting random sampling at University S, this study distributed questionnaires to survey generative AI use among 101 undergraduates, exploring group ...
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Yanling Li
