GenAI Reliance Types Scale (GenAI-RTS)

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Evidence · 6 claims (5 for, 1 mixed) · 2 studies (1 associational, 1 design), q2–q3 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 6 claims rest on one study

Description

A 20-item self-report scale developed by Hossain et al. to measure undergraduate students' reliance on generative AI in academic writing across strategic, instrumental, dependent, and dialogic dimensions.

Components

• GenAI Reliance Types Scale (GenAI-RTS), a 20-item instrument measuring four reliance types across five facets: The GenAI-RTS is a 20-item self-report instrument measuring reliance on generative AI in academic writing, with all items rated on 7-point Likert scales (1 = Strongly Disagree, 7 = Strongly Agree). It operationalizes four theoretically derived types across five measurement facets: "four Deliberate Use items informed by metacognitive awareness theory" and four Critical Evaluation items adapted from critical AI literacy competencies, plus four items each for Instrumental, Dependent, and Dialogic reliance. Subscale scores are item means (range 1–7), and the Strategic composite weights its two facets equally. (Hossain et al. (2026))
• LLM Reliance Scale: 20-item, four-subscale instrument distinguishing reliance type from reliance intensity: The LLM Reliance Scale is a 20-item instrument developed in this study across four subscales: Strategic (8 items, with Deliberate Use and Critical Evaluation facets), Instrumental (4 items on bounded mechanical use), Dialogic (4 items on iterative co-construction with AI as a thinking partner), and Dependent (4 items measuring "cognitive abdication; wholesale outsourcing of writing tasks with minimal critical oversight"). All items use 7-point Likert scales. It was developed through construct definition, item generation, expert content review, pilot administration (n=143), and main-study psychometric evaluation, and is designed to measure reliance type rather than frequency of use. (Shahin Hossain (2026))

Claims

• The GenAI-RTS is supported by a five-factor structure in which Strategic reliance comprises Deliberate Use and Critical Evaluation facets alongside Instrumental, Dependent, and Dialogic factors [+M]
• GenAI-RTS subscale reliability is acceptable to good (ω = .75–.88) [+M]
• Scalar measurement invariance of the GenAI-RTS holds across gender, first-generation status, and STEM/non-STEM majors [+M]
• Undergraduate LLM reliance classifies into four types — Strategic (34.3%), Instrumental (30.9%), Dialogic (30.4%), and Dependent (4.5%) — using a threshold-based classification rule [+M]
• Rasch analysis indicates a five-point response format would improve the GenAI-RTS's category functioning [~W]
• Reliance type membership significantly predicts all ten writing-process and outcome variables, supporting criterion validity of the typology [+W]

Related Products and Programmes

• AI Use Scale (AIUS)
• Generative AI Student Feedback Literacy Scale (GenAI-SFLS)

Key Sources

• Hossain, S., & Nawmi, T. A. (2026). Measuring How Students Rely on Generative AI in Academic Writing: Development and Multi-Source Validation of the Generative AI Reliance Types Scale (GenAI-RTS). https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.14301. doi:10.48550/arxiv.2607.14301
• Shahin Hossain. (2026). Four Types of LLM Reliance and Their Predictors Among Undergraduate Writers: A Mixed-Methods Study at a Minority-Serving R1 University. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.28749

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	product
id	genai-reliance-types-scale-genai-rts
title	GenAI Reliance Types Scale (GenAI-RTS)
description	A 20-item self-report scale developed by Hossain et al.
status	review
product_kind	assessment
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-11
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content

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