The Moderating Role of AI Anxiety in the Relationship Between University Students′ Attitudes Toward AI and Their Motivation

This study investigates whether the relationship between university students′ attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) and their motivation levels is moderated by AI anxiety. In this research, motivation levels (Y) serve as the dependent variable, AI anxiety (W) as the moderating variable, and attitudes toward AI (X) as the independent variable. The sample consisted of university students from various faculties at Selçuk University. Using a correlational survey design, data were collected through convenience sampling from 276 students (82.6% female, 17.4% male). Participants′ ages ranged from 18 to 24 years. The instruments used in this study included the General Attitude Toward AI Scale to assess attitudes toward AI, the Motivation Scale to measure motivation levels, and the AI Anxiety Scale to evaluate AI anxiety. The significance of the moderating effect was tested using the bootstrapping method. The results indicate that attitudes toward AI positively affect motivation; however, this effect weakens under conditions of high AI anxiety. Conversely, when AI anxiety is low, the relationship between attitudes toward AI and motivation is stronger.