Using artificial intelligence (AI) to communicate: The psychology of AI-mediated communication and development of the AI-Mediated Communication Scale
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used to prepare messages and maintain contact with others, yet measures targeting these behaviours remain limited. Drawing on a primary–secondary communication goals framework, we developed the AI-Mediated Communication Scale to assess how frequently people use generative AI to support interpersonal communication. Six studies combined expert review and content validation with psychometric evaluation across four survey samples (total N = 1,034). Factor analyses supported a 15-item scale with a bifactor structure comprising a dominant general factor and two specific factors reflecting expression clarity and relationship maintenance. Scores demonstrated high internal consistency and good two-week test–retest reliability, and scalar invariance was supported across the Singapore and US samples. Convergent validity was supported by a strong positive association with generative AI dependency and a moderate negative association with need for cognition, whereas negligible to moderate associations with trust in automation and the Big Five were consistent with discriminant validity. Exploratory analyses linked both subscales to AI acceptance, attachment to AI, social interaction anxiety, and fear of missing out. Relationship maintenance was also associated with loneliness, social phobia, negative affect, and lower need satisfaction. Overall, the AI-Mediated Communication Scale provides a psychometrically robust tool for assessing AI use in supporting interpersonal communication.
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,540
OpenAlex ID: W7223355423