The effects of thoughtless GenAI use on motivation, self-efficacy, and self-directed learning differ significantly by gender¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The negative effect of TUGA on MOV was significantly more substantial among male than female students, suggesting female students’ MOV is more susceptible to TUGA. → Hui Zhao & Huijuan Gu 2026 q2 i? The effects of TUGA on SE and SDL were significantly weaker among male than female students, indicating male students’ SE and SDL are more vulnerable. → Hui Zhao & Huijuan Gu 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Hui Zhao & Huijuan Gu 2026¶

Hui Zhao & Huijuan Gu. (2026). Thoughtless use of generative artificial intelligence and college students’ self-directed learning: a multi-group SEM analysis of gender differences. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-54337-y

q2 · i? · associational · r1

PLS-MGA with the Welch–Satterthwaite method after MICOM established partial measurement invariance (Table 12: H11 difference 0.22, p = .028). The contrast is between male and female students as printed.

"the negative impact of thoughtless use on learning MOV was significantly more substantial among male students than among female students, suggesting that female students’ learning MOV is more susceptible to the influence of TUGA."

Hui Zhao & Huijuan Gu 2026 (2)¶

Hui Zhao & Huijuan Gu. (2026). Thoughtless use of generative artificial intelligence and college students’ self-directed learning: a multi-group SEM analysis of gender differences. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-54337-y

q2 · i? · associational · r1

PLS-MGA path difference tests (Table 12: H10 difference −0.21, p = .005; H12 difference −0.16, p = .003). Both gender differences were significant in the printed multi-group analysis.

"the effects of thoughtless use on SE and SDL were significantly weaker among male students than among female students, indicating that male students’ SE and SDL are more vulnerable to the detrimental effects of thoughtless technology use."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Gender — moderator: an instructional effect differs by group

Related Claims¶

• GenAI function, intervention duration, publication year, and gender were not significant moderators of GenAI's motivational effect — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Female students reported higher learning agency than male students after controlling for GenAI literacy and year of study — related
• Self-efficacy and motivation partially mediate the negative relationship between thoughtless GenAI use and self-directed learning, including a sequential SE→MOV pathway — related
• Thoughtless use of generative AI significantly and negatively predicts both self-efficacy and motivation — related
• The TUGA, motivation, and self-efficacy jointly explain 75.3% of the variance in undergraduates’ self-directed learning — related
• Thoughtless use of generative AI is negatively associated with undergraduates' self-directed learning in a cross-sectional survey model (β = −0.42) — related
• Self-efficacy and motivation positively predict self-directed learning, with motivation the strongest direct predictor — related
• Self-efficacy has a significant positive effect on motivation among undergraduates using generative AI — related
• Gender effects on self-regulated learning are mediated by culture, discipline, and age, with mixed direction across samples — related
• Male students report significantly higher overall technological self-efficacy than female students (p = 0.001) — related
• Female students report higher job finding anxiety, AI anxiety, and negative AI attitudes than male students — related
• Pedagogical tool significantly moderates the CT gender gap, with programming and robots associated with male-favoring gaps and other tools (e.g., web-based) showing a negative significant effect — related
• No gender differences in writing self-efficacy were found in any included postsecondary study — related
• Gender moderates the association between emotion regulation and academic motivation, with a stronger positive association among male students — related
• Gender related to students' emotions but showed no significant effects on math grades, while intelligence and SES related positively to grades — related
• Male and female networks differ in structure and overall connectivity, with tighter internal connections in the male sample — related