Personality Traits as Predictors for AI Use Among Gen Z: Performance Tool vs. Social Agent
Alexandra Fisher
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
PSYC 4450: Advanced Research Topics in Technology and The Good Life
Dr. Angela Duckworth & Dr. Lyle Ungar
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are steadily solidifying their role in the daily lives of younger generations, impacting how they complete tasks, communicate, gather information, and seek support. The uses of AI systems are countless; however, for Generation Z (Gen Z) in particular, AI is often used as a productivity tool or social agent. Despite this rapid integration, little research has examined how individual psychological traits shape the way young people choose to engage with AI. This study examines whether achievement-oriented self-beliefs, social competence, or loneliness predict different forms of AI use among Gen Z, specifically in predicting use as a performance tool or a social agent. Using Wave 1 survey data from Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation, achievement beliefs are measured through self-report questions regarding motivation to succeed and ambition, and social competence is measured through items assessing comfort in social situations. It can also be interpreted as the inverse of social anxiety, and loneliness is captured through items assessing feelings of isolation and exclusion. AI engagement comprises two categories: productivity (AI academic/performance use) and social agent use (AI as a friend/confidant). Regression, correlation, and difference-score analyses are used to investigate the relationships among these variables, while controlling for demographic factors to mitigate confounding. The findings suggest that different personality traits show distinct patterns of association with AI engagement. Achievement-oriented self-beliefs and social competence are more strongly associated with AI productivity use, whereas loneliness is more strongly associated with AI social agent use. These results suggest that AI is not simply one uniform technology in young people’s lives, but rather a psychologically embedded resource whose function depends partly on the characteristics of the user. This study contributes to the growing research on AI adoption by showing that distinct forms of AI use may emerge from distinct motivational, social, and emotional pathways.
Achievement Beliefs and AI Use
Achievement-oriented people are slightly more likely to use AI for productivity tasks like homework, writing, or math. However, achievement has no relationship at all with using AI as a friend. The effect on productivity use is real but small, meaning most Gen Z individuals use AI for productivity regardless of personality. This raises an important question: if achievement doesn’t explain social AI use, what does?
Social Competence and AI Use
Unlike achievement, social competence predicts both types of AI use. People who feel more confident socially tend to use AI a bit more overall, especially for productivity. This likely reflects general confidence and openness to trying new things, rather than a specific reason for using AI socially. To understand why people use AI as a social companion, we need to look at loneliness instead.
Loneliness and AI use
This is the most striking finding. Loneliness strongly predicts using AI as a social companion, much more than it predicts productivity use. The small productivity effect likely reflects a general tendency to use available tools, not a specific draw to AI. The key point is that loneliness is not the same as social anxiety, lonely people still want connection, they just don’t have enough of it. Using AI socially isn’t about avoiding others, but about filling a real gap.
Double Dissocation
A partial double dissociation means different traits relate to different outcomes in distinct ways, showing those outcomes are truly different. Here, achievement predicts AI use for productivity but has no relationship with using AI socially. Loneliness predicts both, but much more strongly predicts social use. This shows that it’s not just that some people use AI more overall, different psychological traits are driving different types of AI use.
Why This Matters
Stepping back from the data, this tells us something important about Gen Z. They’re the first generation to grow up with AI as a normal part of everyday life, but they’re not using it in just one way. Using AI as a tool is tied to motivation, while using it as a companion is tied to how connected someone feels to others. This isn’t really just a finding about AI, it’s a finding about loneliness. AI is simply where we can see it.
What we don’t yet know is whether this helps or makes things worse. To answer that, we need to follow people over time and see how social AI use affects loneliness, relationships, and well-being. What we do know is that young people are already using AI, the real question is how we respond to the loneliness and pressure to succeed that’s driving it.