The Influence of Attitudes Toward Artificial Intelligence Use on University Students' Learning Motivation

This paper explores how undergraduates' attitudes towards artificial intelligence (AI) affect their motivation to learn, and focuses on the moderating role of disciplinary background. Under the background of the national promotion of the integration of artificial intelligence and education, and in response to the status quo that existing studies pay less attention to students' subjective attitudes and disciplinary differences, this study conducted a questionnaire survey on 306 undergraduates in colleges and universities. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that a positive attitude toward AI use significantly and positively predicts both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Furthermore, disciplinary background moderates this relationship, with the effect being significantly stronger among students in natural science disciplines than those in humanities and social sciences. The results suggest that the promotion and use of AI should be differentiated according to the characteristics of disciplines in order to stimulate students' learning motivation more effectively. This study also provides empirical evidence to clarify the misconception that AI has a negative impact on learning, and emphasises that its effect depends on the specific context of use and the attributes of the discipline.