GenAI Distortion: The Effect of GenAI Fluency and Positive Affect

Abstract: The introduction of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into educational practices has been transformative, yet it brings a crucial concern about the potential distortion of users' beliefs. Given the prevalence of GenAI among college students, examining the psychological mechanisms that lead to GenAI distortion from both technological factors and the individual's psychological processes is a critical priority. A mixed-methods approach is employed to test the proposed hypotheses. Study 1 (N = 10) revealed through qualitative analysis that GenAI's fluent outputs significantly engaged college students, eliciting positive emotional responses during an interaction. GenAI's tendency to conflate fact with fiction often led to presentations of unrealistic and exaggerated information, potentially distorting users' perceptions of reality-a phenomenon termed GenAI distortion. Following these insights, Study 2 (cross-sectional survey, N = 999) and Study 3 (experimental manipulation, N = 175) explored how GenAI fluency affects college students' GenAI distortion and examined the mediating effect of positive affect. The results indicated that GenAI fluency predicts GenAI distortion via the mediating role of positive affect. Our findings provide theoretical foundations and practical implications for understanding GenAI distortion among college students.