Trust and Reliance on AI in Education: AI Literacy and Need for Cognition as Moderators
A new study involving 432 undergraduate students explored how trust in AI assistants affects their reliance on AI-generated code suggestions during programming tasks. The research found a non-linear relationship where higher trust correlated with less appropriate reliance, indicating students were less likely to critically evaluate or reject incorrect suggestions. This effect was significantly moderated by students' AI literacy and their inherent need for cognition, suggesting a need for educational strategies that promote more reflective use of AI tools. AI
IMPACT Highlights the need for educational strategies to foster critical evaluation of AI assistance in programming tasks.