PSYC220 - Personality and Individual Differences Assignment

1. What is the Project About?

This research project looks at the connection between students’ use of AI (e.g., ChatGPT) and their learning motivation, personality traits, and well-being. By asking students about their AI-related behaviours, the researchers aim to better understand students’ thinking about and use of this technology and its impacts.

Who is undertaking the Project?

This project is being conducted by A/Prof Leah Kaufmann, Dr Daniel Talbot, and Dr Rose Ferguson at the Australian Catholic University. The researchers each have a track record of publication in psychology and are teaching and research staff in the School of Behavioural and Health Sciences. 

Who can take part in this Study?

Participation in this study is subject to certain eligibility criteria: You are able to take part if you are 17 years of age or older and enrolled in a psychology unit at ACU.

What will I need to do to Participate in this Study??

If you decide to take part in this research, you will complete an online survey. The survey will ask you to answer questions about demographic information (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, years of study), personality traits, your stress, well-being, and academic motivation and approach to study. In addition, you will be asked about your use of and beliefs about AI technology.

It is anticipated that the online survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. This survey is completely anonymous. To protect your identity, and in line with best practice, your data will be submitted anonymously. You will not be asked to provide your name, contact information, or any other information that would allow you to be identified.

Do I have to take part in this research?

There is no obligation to participate in this research. Your participation is completely voluntary. Your decision to participate or not, or to take part and withdraw, will in no way affect your relationship with ACU or any parties involved in this research, or have any effect on your grades, and if you withdraw, any responses will also be deleted. You will specifically be given an opportunity to complete all the measures (as part of the learning activities in PSYC220) and, at the conclusion of the measures, choose whether to submit or withdraw your responses to the research project.

Before deciding to take part in this research study, please read the information carefully and feel free to ask questions or to talk things over with a relative or friend. If you agree to participate in this study, you should complete the online Consent Form at the end of this document and keep a copy of this form.

Are there any risks associated with participating in this project?

Whilst there are no foreseeable risks, you may find some of the questions about the use of AI, personality traits, or well-being uncomfortable or distressing.

If you were to become distressed or upset by any of the questions, you can skip a question, take a break, or simply stop and close your browser, as this research is completely voluntary.

If you require support from someone not involved in this research, please contact the free service/s below: 

If you would like some more information about AI use, please review this resource from Open Universities Australia or contact the ACU Academic Skills Unit for support (through the Student 

Are there any costs or reimbursements involved?

There is no cost to participating in this study beyond your time. There is also no reimbursement for participation

What are the benefits of the research project?

In addition to SONA-based assessments, your involvement in this research will contribute to the understanding of student use of AI.

Can I withdraw from the study?

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. You are not under any obligation to participate. If you agree to participate, you can withdraw from the study at any time without adverse consequences by closing the browser before submission. If you do not complete the survey, your data will be deleted.

Once you have submitted the survey, however, we will not be able to withdraw your responses, as the survey is anonymous.

Will anyone else know the results of the project or have access to my information?

The data gathered during this study will not include any personally identifying information and poses no risk to your privacy or confidentiality. Raw data from this research project will only be accessible to the research team and will be shared and stored on the ACU secure servers.

Data use:  A subset of aggregated data from this project will be used by students in PSYC220 for their Laboratory Report and will be provided as analysed results, including demographic information (e.g., means, standard deviations). Processed data (i.e., scored measure,s not individual responses) will be stored for the purpose of research transparency on the Open Science Framework page to ensure scrutiny of any published conclusions is possible. This may include reanalysis of processed data by other researchers. Finally, analyses dataanalysis will be communicated to the research community in a publication and/or conference presentation. No threats to privacy or confidentiality are identified in association with these data uses.

ACU will manage your personal information and share data under its Privacy Policy. In limited cases, your data may also be viewable to ACU systems/software staff and administrators to address IT issues.

Will I be able to find out the results of the project?

The results of the study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. All information about you will be published in a way that will not identify you in an aggregated format .  If you would like to receive a copy of the results of the study ,  please contact a member of the research team listed below .  We will only use these details to send you the results of the research.

What if I have a complaint or any concerns about the research study?

The study has been reviewed by the Human Research Ethics Committee at Australian Catholic University (review number 2025-4126E). If you have any complaints or concerns about the conduct of the project, you may email the Manager of Research Ethics and Integrity, the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) at Resethics.manager@acu.edu.au

Any complaint or concern will be treated in confidence and reviewed and acted upon, as appropriate.

I want to participate. What do I have to do?

Submission of the online survey is an indication of your consent. By clicking ‘yes, I agree to participate’ after the Consent statement below and clicking the submit button by submitting your responses at the end of the survey, you are providing your permission for the research team to collect and use information about you for the research study. Note, you will be given the opportunity to withdraw your responses at the conclusion of the survey.

Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F)

Instructions:  This questionnaire has a number of questions about your attitudes towards your studies and your usual way of studying. There is no right way of studying. It depends on what suits your own style and the course you are studying. It is accordingly important that you answer each question as honestly as you can.

If you think your answer to a question would depend on the subject being studied, give the answer that would apply to the subject(s) most important to you and select the appropriate response using the scale.

1. This item is never or only rarely true of me
2. This item is sometimes true of me
3. This item is true of me about half the time
4. This item is frequently true of me
5. This item is always or almost always true of me

Do not spend a long time on each item: your first reaction is probably the best one. Please answer each item. Do not worry about projecting a good image. Your answers are anonymous.

Life Pressure and Stress Scale 

Instructions: Please rate the pressures and stresses you are currently experiencing (e.g., the last couple of weeks). Do not compare yourself to others. Pressures and stresses affect us all personally, whether we are directly impacted by events or circumstances or if these affect people we are close to.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-related attitudes and behaviours

Instruction: This questionnaire asks you about your experiences with Artificial Intelligence both in general and in your studies. Please note that your responses are anonymous to allow you to accurately report your experiences.

You are advised to not provide any identifying information (e.g., your name, specific reference to any class, assignment, or even employer).

• Have you ever used an AI program (e.g., ChatGPT, Google Bard, Claude, Jasper AI, Replica, DeepSeek, Elicit AI, Grammarly, QuillBot, Notion AI, Scribe AI, Cite This For Me) to complete a school or university assignment? (yes/no)
• (If yes) How frequently have you used AI programs to compete school/university work (1=once only; 4=all or nearly all submitted work)
• Have you used AI to complete tasks in your life (e.g., work)? (yes/no)
• (If yes) What AI have you used (open text)

Please state your level of agreement with the following statements using the scale from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree to indicate your level of agreement with the following statements…

Perception of AI Detection and Risk

I am confident that I can use AI tools for academic and/or non-academic work without being detected.

• Current plagiarism detection tools cannot effectively identify AI-generated content.
• I have taken steps to ensure my use of AI tools is untraceable.
• The risk of being caught using AI tools does not deter me from using them.
• Ethical Perception of AI Use in Academic Contexts
• Using AI tools for assignments is ethically acceptable as long as the content is original (e.g., just for checking expression, reducing words).
• I believe that using AI tools for school/university/professional work is a form of cheating.
• It is unethical to use AI tools for academic purposes without proper citation or acknowledgment.

Beliefs About Widespread AI Use

• I believe every student is using AI at least a little bit.
• I believe there is nothing wrong with using AI.
• Impact of AI on Learning and Skill Development
• Using AI tools does not impact what I learn in my course.
• Using AI tools does not impact the development of my academic skills.

APA Style

PLAGIARISM & COLLUSION

The quotation or discussion of ideas without acknowledging the source may be identified as plagiarism. Collusion is working with a student on a single work (i.e., part or whole) which is submitted by both (or more) students. Both plagiarism and collusion are a MAJOR academic offence and can result in you FAILING a piece of work or exclusion from the course.

Title

Titles should not be more than 15-20 words. Longer titles usually involve.

Abstract

This should be no more than 250 words, but it is typically more like 150 words. This is also the first thing a marker will read, so make sure it is clear and reads well. Citations are typically not included in an abstract, but if you do, use in-text citation (like in the rest of your report). The past tense must be used.

Introduction

Language is probably the biggest issue in this section. The biggest favour you can do is make sure you  read the report aloud, and it makes sense  (and ideally says what you mean). A very important consideration is that clarity is strongly related to sentence length (e.g.,  shorter is clearer ). Also, simple punctuation and simple expression can make your meaning clearer.

Active voice and past tense must be used (because a lab report is your written report of what was done in previous research and what you did in your study from the end of that process),

Be sure to use words you are certain you know the meaning of and avoid the thesaurus!!,

Be careful not to make your meaning ambiguous (e.g., using terms such as “this”, “that”, “these,” and “those” without specifying what you are referring to can make your statements unclear),

When making a comparison (esp. when using “more than” or “less than”), be sure to specify the comparison (group, person, or task),

Avoid archaic language whenever possible (i.e., “although” preferred to “whilst”),

Results

Probably the least wordy section. That said, you must introduce and discuss the results (e.g., participants demonstrated a moderate level of self-esteem). Also, make sure you use correct terminology. For example,  t -t-tests are about differences, correlations are about the relationship between variables, and ANOVA’s produce interactions and main effects. You should be careful not to combine tests with the wrong interpretation. For example, t-tests do not show a relationship!