Instructional approach operates indirectly through autonomy and competence, while task type operates primarily through autonomy¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 2 studies · 2 causal r2–r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? TBI had significant indirect effects on performance through autonomy (β = 0.035) and competence (β = 0.079) but not relatedness; OET had a significant indirect effect only through autonomy (β = 0.029). → Yu S 2026

Evidence¶

Yu S 2026¶

Yu S, Lin Y and Chen C (2026) Designing for AI literacy: psychological mechanisms and self-determination. Front. Psychol. 17:1937845. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1937845

q3 · i? · causal · r3

Bootstrap mediation analysis (5,000 resamples) in the PLS-SEM model. Instructional approach was partially mediated via autonomy and competence; the relatedness pathway was not significant.

"Instructional approach had significant indirect effects on AI literacy performance through autonomy (β = 0.035, 95% CI [0.003, 0.073]) and competence (β = 0.079, 95% CI [0.037, 0.125]). The indirect effect through relatedness was not significant (β = 0.011, 95% CI [−0.004, 0.030])."

Yu S 2026 (2)¶

Yu S, Lin Y and Chen C (2026) Designing for AI literacy: psychological mechanisms and self-determination. Front. Psychol. 17:1937845. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1937845

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Bootstrap mediation for task type in the same model: only the autonomy pathway was significant; competence and relatedness pathways were not. The authors conclude the pathways are differentiated rather than uniform.

"Task type had a significant indirect effect through autonomy (β = 0.029, 95% CI [0.002, 0.062]). The indirect effects through competence (β = 0.031, 95% CI [−0.008, 0.073]) and relatedness (β = 0.015, 95% CI [−0.006, 0.041]) were not significant."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Competence is the strongest independent psychological predictor of AI literacy performance, followed by autonomy; relatedness has no significant independent effect — related
• The TBI advantage over SBI is larger under open-ended tasks than under structured tasks — related
• In agentic AI-supported online learning, perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness are each positively associated with learning motivation — related
• Self-determination theory holds that autonomy support raises intrinsic motivation, and a meta-analysis finds expected tangible rewards undermine it — a broader claim this one bears on
• Thinking-based instruction produces higher AI literacy performance than skills-based instruction in an AIGC image-generation task — related
• The instructional manipulation check confirmed that TBI and SBI videos were perceived as intended — related
• Autonomy, diversity, interactivity, openness and Web 2.0 showed a positive significant effect on students' achievement in a structural model — related
• Open-ended tasks produce higher AI literacy performance than structured tasks — related
• Teacher beliefs about individual students relate to differentiated need support: students with higher teacher-reported expectations perceive more need support — related