AI-based educational technology use is positively associated with critical thinking among undergraduate medical students¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q2 i3 AI-based educational technology use correlates positively with critical thinking (r = 0.46, p < 0.01). → Arshad A 2026

Evidence¶

Arshad A 2026¶

Arshad A, Lone A, Arickswamy L, Hassan K, Alnaim AA and AlFarhan MF (2026) From AI use to critical thinking among medical students: a moderated mediation perspective on cognitive load and self-regulated learning. Front. Psychol. 17:1883053. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1883053

q2 · i3 · associational · r2

Correlational survey of 480 undergraduate medical students with prior AI experience, using Pearson correlations. AI use correlated with critical thinking at "r = 0.46, p < 0.01" and with self-regulated learning at r = 0.48, p < 0.01.

"The use of AI in educational technology was found to be positively correlated with both critical thinking (r = 0.46, p < 0.01) and self-regulated learning ( r = 0.48, p < 0.01)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Critical Thinking — outcome: instruction changes it

Higher reliance on AI tools is correlated with lower critical-thinking performance, mediated by cognitive offloading — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
Meta-reviews reach contradictory conclusions on whether AI reliance harms or helps critical thinking, with substantial design limitations limiting generalizability — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
Cognitive load is negatively associated with critical thinking and with self-regulated learning — related
Cognitive load partially mediates the relationship between AI-based educational technology use and critical thinking — related
Overreliance on AI is the most prevalent pedagogical limitation (27 studies, 50%), followed by reduced critical thinking (25 studies, 46%) — related
Self-regulated learning moderates the indirect effect of AI use on critical thinking through cognitive load — related
Need for cognition correlates positively with critical genAI use and negatively with perceived usefulness of genAI — related
GenAI use is positively associated with self-reported critical-thinking disposition among business students only in the adjusted structural model, with a near-zero zero-order correlation — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`ai-use-positively-associated-critical-thinking-medical-students`
`title`	`AI-based educational technology use is positively associated with critical thinking among undergraduate medical students`
`description`	`AI-based educational technology use is positively associated with critical thinking among undergraduate medical students`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2026`
`source_checked`	`2026-10-20`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-10`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `arshad-a-2026`

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