A Study of ChatGPT and Writing Through the Lens of Social Cognitive Theory

Abstract

Academic writing is perceived as a challenging task among ESL students as it involves cognitive, metacognitive, and self-regulatory skills. New norms of support in writing processes have been introduced with the emergence of artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT. Therefore, grounded in Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, this quantitative study explores how environmental (including these environmental AI shifts), personal cognitive, and behavioural factors influence the students’ academic writing processes. It aims to investigate if there are significant relationships among the three factors based on demographic variables, namely, genders, academic disciplines, and linguistic proficiencies. In addition, the study also examines ESL students’ perceptions of how these factors influence their writing processes. To achieve these, a survey was conducted among 165 ESL students from a Malaysian public university. The data, which was obtained through a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire, was analysed using SPSS. The analyses indicate a significant relationship between personal factors and gender, and different academic disciplines. On the other hand, linguistic proficiencies show a significant relationship across environmental and personal factors. Furthermore, students perceived environmental factors, particularly the use of ChatGPT, as a tool that encourages critical thinking and improves academic performance. The findings also revealed that the students relied on metacognitive and cognitive writing strategies and reflected their high resilience and effort regulation despite showing a lower consistency in regular writing practice. This study offers a foundation for more focused instructional interventions in higher education.