ChatGPT and intrinsic motivation in higher education: a TAM-based study

Highly evolved and capable, ChatGPT is an intelligent chatbot with great implications for fostering active student learning due to its capacity to respond quickly to academic queries as well as to engage in dynamic interactions with the learner. In the present research which was conducted within the Saudi university context, we studied how intrinsic motivation and factors related to TAM (technology acceptance model) influenced undergraduate students’ acceptance of ChatGPT as a tool for learning actively. The study adopted a structural equation approach to investigate the extended TAM model in tertiary education. The results of the revealed that intrinsic motivation, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use were found to be significant predictors of behavioral intention. Finally, the study highlights that AI-based tools as user-friendly, beneficial, engaging and intriguing promote students’ active learning and enhance their involvement in the learning process and, thus, their acquisition of new knowledge.