Psychology
Document Type
Article
Abstract
GAI technologies are increasingly recognized as mentor-like resources in higher education. While these tools offer academic guidance and personalized feedback, little is known about how students perceive and evaluate AI-generated mentorship. This study investigated how Prior ChatGPT Use, primary mentor identity, mentorship effectiveness, and technology acceptance predict students’ response identification and evaluations of AI- versus human-generated responses. College students (N = 127) completed a survey in which they identified the source of masked responses across different domains and rated each response on helpfulness, caring, and likelihood to reach out again. Binary logistic regression models revealed that Prior ChatGPT Use predicted greater accuracy in identifying AI-generated responses, while mentor identity did not. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that students’ evaluations were influenced by perceived response sources more than actual sources. Participants who viewed human mentorship as effective were less likely to seek support from AI-perceived responses, while those who found ChatGPT useful rated AI-perceived responses more favorably. Technology acceptance factors were positively correlated with ratings of AI-perceived responses. These findings suggest that students’ pre-existing biases shape engagement with AI more than content itself, highlighting the importance of perception and the need to promote AI literacy when integrating ChatGPT as a mentorship tool. © 2025 by the authors.
Publication Title
Education Sciences
Publication Date
6-2025
Volume
15
Issue
6
ISSN
2227-7102
DOI
10.3390/educsci15060746
Keywords
acceptance and use of technology, generative AI, higher education, human–AI interaction, mentorship, perception
Repository Citation
Lee, Jimin and Esposito, Alena G., "ChatGPT or Human Mentors? Student Perceptions of Technology Acceptance and Use and the Future of Mentorship in Higher Education" (2025). Psychology. 968.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_psychology/968
Cross Post Location
Student Publications
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright Conditions
Lee, J., & Esposito, A. G. (2025). ChatGPT or Human Mentors? Student Perceptions of Technology Acceptance and Use and the Future of Mentorship in Higher Education. Education Sciences, 15(6), 746.
