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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PLOS One

Cognitive impairment and danger to humanity, or personal assistant and learning tool? Exploring attitudes towards ChatGPT and their predictors

  • Ana Jovančević1
  • Izabel Cvetković2
  • Jasper Van Assche3
  • Mladen Popović4
  • Eva Bittner5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Lero, the Research Ireland Centre for Software, University of Limerick, Ireland
  2. 2Department of Psychology, University of Limerick, Ireland
  3. 3Department of Psychology, University of Niš, Serbia
  4. 4Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg, Germany
  5. 5Center for Social and Cultural Psychology (CESCUP), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
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Abstract

This study examines the factors shaping attitudes towards ChatGPT inclusive of personality traits, ideological orientations, AI literacy, gender, and cultural context. In Study 1 (Ntotal = 500; Nvalid = 472 Serbia), positive perceptions of ChatGPT as a learning tool and personal assistant were linked to higher AI literacy and supportive views of AI, whereas negative AI-related attitudes predicted concerns about ChatGPT’s cognitive impairment and existential threats. Gender played a crucial role: among men, higher levels of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) predicted more negative attitudes, while among women, RWA, SDO, and Openness were associated with more positive views. Study 2 compared German (as a representative of one of the most developed countries, especially in AI development; Ntotal = 115; Nvalid = 112) and Serbian (as an example of a less AI-developed country; Ntotal = 119; Nvalid = 117) samples, revealing significant differences (e.g., Germans scored higher in AI literacy, while Serbian participants scored higher in Conscientiousness and Extraversion. We further found different and unique effects of the examined predictors on participants’ AI- and ChatGPT-related attitudes across both samples, possibly driven by the above-mentioned base differences. These findings underscore a complex interplay of individual and cultural factors that drive divergent interpretations of AI’s societal role, highlighting the need to consider context when assessing public acceptance of emerging technologies.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{jovancevic2026cognitive,
  title = {{Cognitive impairment and danger to humanity, or personal assistant and learning tool? Exploring attitudes towards ChatGPT and their predictors}},
  author = {Ana Jovančević and Izabel Cvetković and Jasper Van Assche and Mladen Popović and Eva Bittner},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0341693},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0341693},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Cognitive impairment and danger to humanity, or personal assistant and learning tool? Exploring attitudes towards ChatGPT and their predictors
AU  - Ana Jovančević
AU  - Izabel Cvetković
AU  - Jasper Van Assche
AU  - Mladen Popović
AU  - Eva Bittner
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0341693
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0341693
AB  - This study examines the factors shaping attitudes towards ChatGPT inclusive of personality traits, ideological orientations, AI literacy, gender, and cultural context. In Study 1 (Ntotal = 500; Nvalid = 472 Serbia), positive perceptions of ChatGPT as a learning tool and personal assistant were linked to higher AI literacy and supportive views of AI, whereas negative AI-related attitudes predicted concerns about ChatGPT’s cognitive impairment and existential threats. Gender played a crucial role: among men, higher levels of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) predicted more negative attitudes, while among women, RWA, SDO, and Openness were associated with more positive views. Study 2 compared German (as a representative of one of the most developed countries, especially in AI development; Ntotal = 115; Nvalid = 112) and Serbian (as an example of a less AI-developed country; Ntotal = 119; Nvalid = 117) samples, revealing significant differences (e.g., Germans scored higher in AI literacy, while Serbian participants scored higher in Conscientiousness and Extraversion. We further found different and unique effects of the examined predictors on participants’ AI- and ChatGPT-related attitudes across both samples, possibly driven by the above-mentioned base differences. These findings underscore a complex interplay of individual and cultural factors that drive divergent interpretations of AI’s societal role, highlighting the need to consider context when assessing public acceptance of emerging technologies.
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -