Need for cognition correlates positively with critical genAI use and negatively with perceived usefulness of genAI¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i2 Students’ need for cognition correlates positively with critical use of genAI (r = 0.25). → Markus H. Hefter 2026 q2 i2 Students’ perceived usefulness of genAI correlates negatively with need for cognition (r = −0.27). → Markus H. Hefter 2026

Evidence¶

Markus H. Hefter 2026¶

Markus H. Hefter, Benjamin Paaßen, Kirsten Berthold. (2026). GenAI Knowledge, Epistemic Orientation, and Intellectual Values Predict Undergraduate Students’ Critical GenAI Use. AI Educ. 2026, 2, 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/aieduc2030027

q2 · i2 · associational · r2

Exploratory correlation analyses in the same correlational study (N = 67) using the 4-item NFC short scale (α = 0.54). The study found NFC “correlated positively with their critical use of genAI, r = 0.25” and negatively with perceived usefulness, r = −0.27.

"students’ perceived usefulness correlated negatively with their need for cognition, r = −0.27, p = 0.027, suggesting that individuals with a higher need for cognition perceive the genAI tools’ utility more skeptically. Finally, the students’ need for cognition correlated positively with their critical use of genAI, r = 0.25, p = 0.044."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Need for Cognition — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Students’ actual genAI use correlates with interest and perceived usefulness of genAI but not with knowledge or critical-thinking dispositions — related
• Students’ knowledge about genAI, measured both by self-report and performance test, positively predicts their critical use of genAI — related
• GenAI's effects on higher-order thinking are mixed: support for reflection and idea expansion alongside cognitive offloading and no overall innovativeness gain — related
• AI tool use is negatively correlated with critical thinking, mediated by cognitive offloading and strongest in younger users (review attribution to Gerlich) — related
• Critical-ethical awareness plays a dual role: it negatively predicts general GenAI reliance but positively predicts shortcut reliance — related
• GenAI dependence is negatively associated with both self-reported critical-thinking disposition and self-perceived employability — related
• AI-based educational technology use is positively associated with critical thinking among undergraduate medical students — related