Generative AI Literacy and Students' Critical Thinking: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Offloading

Abstract

As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has quickly become part of the daily lives of higher education students, fundamental questions have arisen regarding the implications for students' critical thinking. Drawing on the extended mind thesis and cognitive offloading theory, this study explores the relationship between students' generative AI literacy and their critical thinking disposition both directly and indirectly via cognitive offloading behaviour. A quantitative, cross-sectional and quantitative survey was carried out to examine the use of GEN-AI tools among 384 undergraduate and postgraduate students studying at public and private universities in Pakistan during the proceed academic year. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants. The 8-item generative AI literacy measure and 6-item cognitive offloading measure, modified for the context of GenAI, were used to collect the data, which were also captured using the 7-item critical thinking disposition measure, all on a five-point Likert scale. The measurement model, the structural model, and the mediation model were evaluated by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with the bootstrapping method. The results suggest that there is a positive relationship between generative AI literacy and critical thinking disposition and a negative relationship between generative AI literacy and cognitive offloading behaviour. Cognitive offloading is also negatively correlated with critical thinking disposition and significantly mediated between generative AI literacy and critical thinking disposition, while the direct association remaining significantly. The results highlight that generative AI literacy is correlated not just with the use of GenAI but also with student’s cognitive engagement with learning with GenAI. By emphasizing the need for reflective and metacognitively driven interactions with GenAI to support critical thinking in higher education, the study aligns with current research on the role of AI in learning. The study aligns with recent research on the use of AI for learning and reinforces the critical role of reflective and metacognitively regulated engagement with GenAI in supporting critical thinking in higher education.

Keywords: generative AI literacy; critical thinking; cognitive offloading; higher education; ChatGPT; PLS-SEM; mediation analysis.