Motivational organization in AI-supported writing: A self-determination perspective
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study examined how students’ motivational regulation during creative writing was organized when generative artificial intelligence (AI) was unavailable or optionally available. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), motivation was conceptualized as configurations of intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, and external regulation. The sample comprised 406 students in Grades 5–8 who completed comparable creative writing tasks without AI (Time 1) and with optional AI access (Time 2). Using a micro-longitudinal, person-centered design, latent profile analyses identified motivational configurations and examined psychological need satisfaction and academic achievement as predictors of profile membership; degree of AI use was examined at Time 2. Mean levels of motivational regulation remained largely stable, whereas person-centered analyses revealed heterogeneity in regulatory configurations and differences in the prevalence of comparable profiles. Autonomy satisfaction declined at Time 2, while higher need satisfaction, particularly autonomy and competence, was associated with more self-determined configurations. End-of-term grades differentiated profile membership at both occasions. Degree of AI use did not significantly predict profile membership. Cross-context analyses showed correspondence alongside redistribution. Because full profile similarity was unsupported, these patterns were interpreted descriptively rather than as transitions between equivalent latent states. AI availability coincided with configurational differences not apparent from mean-level analyses. The findings distinguish AI availability from usage intensity and suggest that AI-supported writing should be understood in relation to psychological needs, academic functioning, and regulatory demands surrounding support, delegation, authorship, and agency.
Source: Computers and Education Open
Authors: Sabine Schweder, Lia Grahl
Institution: Universität Greifswald
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,390
OpenAlex ID: W7223693797