Between Assistance and Dependence: Artificial Intelligence and Critical Thinking. A Study on First-Year University Students
Keywords:
ChatGPT; TPACK; artificial intelligence; digital pedagogy; higher educationAbstract
This study examined the relationship between dependence on generative AI tools and the dimensions of critical thinking among first-semester students at a university in Trujillo, Peru. A quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional design was applied to a sample of 200 students, using validated Likert-scale instruments for AI dependence and for interpretation, explanation, inference, analysis, and evaluation. The results show moderate levels of AI use, primarily as support, alongside an uneven critical-thinking profile. AI dependence is negatively associated with the overall critical-thinking score and more strongly with inference and evaluation, whereas interpretation and explanation remain comparatively stronger. The regression models explain a meaningful share of the variance and suggest that unmediated AI use may displace self-regulatory processes in novice students. The study contributes empirical evidence from the Peruvian context—underrepresented in the regional literature—and offers practical guidelines for integrating AI as a verifiable pedagogical scaffolding that requires reconstructing reasoning and verifying sources. Curricular interventions aiseacher training in critical digital literacy are recommended, as are longitudinal and experimental studies to strengthen causal inference.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.24.12.6
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Copyright (c) 2025 Elvis Amado Vereau Amaya, Annie Rosa Soto Zavaleta, Irene Gregoria Vásquez Luján, Elmer González López, Janeth Tomanguilla Reyna, Jorge David Ríos Gonzales
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