Conceptualising Technology Threat Avoidance Theory (TTAT) to Examine Cognitive Risks of Generative AI in Higher Education

This research-in-progress presents a conceptual framework examining how students perceive and respond to cognitive risks from Generative AI (GenAI) use in higher education (HE), where undergraduate usage reached 92% by 225. The study adapts Technology Threat Avoidance Theory (TTAT) beyond traditional IT security threats to understand risks from beneficial technologies that threaten students' intellectual development through cognitive offloading and reduced critical thinking. The proposed framework extends TTAT by incorporating demographic and experiential factors as antecedents to the threat perception and coping appraisal and including expected institutional measures as outcomes. A quantitative survey will test hypotheses exploring relationships between antecedents, threat perception, coping appraisal, and student behavioural responses. This study addresses critical knowledge gaps in student perceptions of GenAI cognitive risks in HE, contributing to understanding the dark side of AI in education and offering theoretical advances and practical contributions for developing student-centred policies and differentiated interventions.