Analysis of college students' attitudes toward the use of ChatGPT in their academic activities: effect of intent to use, verification of information and responsible use

In recent years, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has increased worldwide. The launch of the ChatGPT-3 posed great challenges for higher education, given its popularity among university students. The present study aimed to analyze the attitudes of university students toward the use of ChatGPTs in their academic activities. METHOD: This study was oriented toward a quantitative approach and had a nonexperimental design. An online survey was administered to the 499 participants.

The findings of this study revealed a significant association between various factors and attitudes toward the use of the ChatGPT. The higher beta coefficients for responsible use (β=0.806***), the intention to use frequently (β=0.509***), and acceptance (β=0.441***) suggested that these are the strongest predictors of a positive attitude toward ChatGPT. The presence of positive emotions (β=0.418***) also plays a significant role. Conversely, risk (β=-0.104**) and boredom (β=-0.145**) demonstrate a negative yet less decisive influence. These results provide an enhanced understanding of how students perceive and utilize ChatGPTs, supporting a unified theory of user behavior in educational technology contexts.