Enhancing or Hindering? The Moderating Role of Self-Regulated Learning in the Relationship Between GenAI Usage and Higher-Order Thinking Skills Among Chinese University Students

The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into educational settings has raised growing concerns regarding its potential influence on students’ higher-order thinking skills. However, existing findings remain inconclusive, and the role of individual factors in shaping these effects has received limited attention. Drawing on self-regulated learning theory, this study examined the relationships between GenAI usage and three higher-order thinking skills, critical thinking, creative thinking, and computational thinking, and investigated the moderating role of self-regulated learning. The results indicated that the associations between GenAI use and higher-order thinking skills varied across levels of self-regulated learning. Specifically, among students with lower levels of self-regulated learning, GenAI use was negatively associated with critical thinking, creative thinking, and computational thinking. In contrast, among students with higher levels of self-regulated learning, GenAI use was positively associated with critical thinking and computational thinking, while its association with creative thinking was not significant. Furthermore, self-regulated learning was positively associated with all three higher-order thinking skills and significantly moderated the relationships between GenAI use and critical thinking, creative thinking, and computational thinking. These findings highlight the complex cognitive consequences of GenAI usage and underscore the importance of self-regulated learning in shaping students’ cognitive outcomes in AI-assisted learning environments. The study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how GenAI influences higher-order thinking and provides implications for promoting effective and responsible AI use in education.