Generative AI and Critical Thinking in Political Science Higher Education: Exploring the Threshold Effect
Keywords:
Generative Artificial Intelligence, Critical Thinking, Usage Intensity, Threshold Effect, Higher Education
Abstract
This study examines how the intensity of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) usage relates to students’ critical thinking in political science higher education. Grounded in classical conceptions of critical thinking as a self-regulated process, it explores whether varying levels of AI use are associated with a threshold effect in which AI shifts from a cognitive scaffold to a partial substitute for independent reasoning. Using an exploratory quantitative design, survey data were collected from 179 political science students in Algeria. The findings reveal that higher AI usage intensity is associated with increased perceived learning gains but reduced critical thinking independence. These results suggest that the cognitive impact of generative AI is usage-dependent rather than inherently positive or negative
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References
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26- Zhang, W., & Liu, X. (2025). Artificial intelligence-generated content empowers college students’ critical thinking skills: What, how, and why. Education Sciences, 15(8), 977. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15080977
27- Zhao, G., Sheng, H., Wang, Y., Cai, X., & Long, T. (2025). Generative artificial intelligence amplifies the role of critical thinking skills and reduces reliance on prior knowledge while promoting in-depth learning. Education Sciences, 15(5), 554. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15050554
2- Akinwalere, S. N., & Ivanov, V. (2022). Artificial intelligence in higher education: Challenges and opportunities. Border Crossing, 12(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.33182/bc.v12i1.2015
3- Bai, L., Liu, X., & Su, J. (2023). Chatgpt: The cognitive effects on learning and memory. Brain-X, 1(3), e30. https://doi.org/10.1002/brx2.30
4- Black, B. (2008). Critical thinking – a definition and taxonomy for Cambridge Assessment: Supporting validity arguments about critical thinking assessments administered by Cambridge Assessment [Conference paper]. 34th International Association for Educational Assessment Annual Conference, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
5- Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. David McKay Company.
6- Ennis, R. H. (1996). Critical thinking dispositions: Their nature and assessability. Informal Logic, 18(2), 165–182. https://doi.org/10.22329/il.v18i2.2378
7- Essien, A., Bukoye, O. T., O’Dea, C., & Kremantzis, M. (2024). The influence of AI text generators on critical thinking skills in UK business schools. Studies in Higher Education, 49(5), 865–882. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2316881
8- Facione, P. A. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction. Research findings and recommendations (The Delphi Report; ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED315423). California Academic Press.
9- Gerlich, M. (2025). AI tools in society: Impacts on cognitive offloading and the future of critical thinking. Societies, 15(6), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15010006
10- Gonsalves, C. (2024). Generative AI's impact on critical thinking: Revisiting Bloom's taxonomy. Journal of Marketing Education, 46(3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/02734753241305980
11- Halpern, D. F. (1998). Teaching critical thinking for transfer across domains: Dispositions, skills, structure training, and metacognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 53(4), 449–455. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.53.4.449
12- Hasan, S., Nasreen, S., & Rasul, S. S. U. (2025). Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education: Fostering soft skills communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking among university students. Insights-Journal of Life and Social Sciences, 3(2), 1–7. https://insightsjlss.com/index.php/home/article/view/133
13- He, G., Kuiper, L., & Gadiraju, U. (2023). Knowing about knowing: An illusion of human competence can hinder appropriate reliance on AI systems. Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3580942
14- Heard, J., Scoular, C., Duckworth, D., Ramalingam, D., & Teo, I. (2020). Critical thinking: Definition and structure. Australian Council for Educational Research. https://research.acer.edu.au/ar_misc/38
15- Imran, M., Almusharraf, N., Abdellatif, M. S., & Abbasova, M. Y. (2024). Artificial intelligence in higher education: Enhancing learning systems and transforming educational paradigms. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM), 18(18), 34–48. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v18i18.49143
16- Kerma, M. (2025). The impact of artificial intelligence on Algerian learners’ critical thinking. Atras Journal, 6(1), 125–136. https://asjp.cerist.dz/en/article/262181
17- Klayklung, P., Chocksathaporn, P., Limna, L., Kraiwanit, T., & Jangjarat, K. (2023). Revolutionizing education with Chatgpt: Enhancing learning through conversational AI. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2(3), 217–225. https://ejournals.ph/issue.php?id=1612
18- Lawasi, M. C., Rohman, V. A., & Shoreamanis, M. (2024). The use of AI in improving student's critical thinking skills. Proceedings Series on Social Sciences & Humanities, 18, 366–370. https://doi.org/10.30595/pssh.v18i.1279
19- Lee, H.-P., Sarkar, A., Tankelevitch, L., Drosos, I., Rintel, S., Banks, R., & Wilson, N. (2025). The impact of generative AI on critical thinking: Self-reported reductions in cognitive effort and confidence effects from a survey of knowledge workers. Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '25), Article 1121, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713778
20- Mabrouk, S. H. (2025). The impact of using generative artificial intelligence tools (Chatgpt) on developing critical thinking skills among university students. Social Science and Humanities Journal, 9(8), 8773–8781. https://doi.org/10.18535/sshj.v9i08.2008
21- Melisa, R., Ashadi, A., Triastuti, A., Hidayati, S., Salido, A., Ero, P. E. L., Marlini, C., Zefrin, Z., & Fuad, Z. A. (2025). Critical thinking in the age of AI: A systematic review of AI's effects on higher education. Educational Process: International Journal, 14. https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2025.14.31
22- Naatonis, R. N., Rusijono, Jannah, M., & Malahina, E. A. U. (2024). Evaluation of problem based gamification learning (PBGL) model on critical thinking ability with artificial intelligence approach integrated with Chatgpt API: An experimental study. Qubahan Academic Journal, 4(3), 485–520. https://doi.org/10.48161/qaj.v4n3a919
23- Othmane, M. (2024). Artifical intelligence in Algerian higher education: A critical examination of benefits and risks for students, professors, and institutions. Aleph, 11(5), 555–570. https://asjp.cerist.dz/en/article/256498
24- Patrick, P. M., Yip, S. Y., & Campbell, C. (2025). Artificial intelligence and higher-order thinking: A systematic review of educator and student experiences and perspectives in higher education. Higher Education Quarterly, 79(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.70069
25- Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education – where are the educators? International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(1), Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0
26- Zhang, W., & Liu, X. (2025). Artificial intelligence-generated content empowers college students’ critical thinking skills: What, how, and why. Education Sciences, 15(8), 977. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15080977
27- Zhao, G., Sheng, H., Wang, Y., Cai, X., & Long, T. (2025). Generative artificial intelligence amplifies the role of critical thinking skills and reduces reliance on prior knowledge while promoting in-depth learning. Education Sciences, 15(5), 554. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15050554
Published
2026-04-17
How to Cite
Benabbes, I., Ghoul, H., & Meghraoui, L. (2026). Generative AI and Critical Thinking in Political Science Higher Education: Exploring the Threshold Effect . Journal of Science and Knowledge Horizons, 6(1), 185-210. https://doi.org/10.34118/jskp.v6i1.4562
Section
Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
