How academic stress leads to artificial intelligence-generated design dependency: the roles of academic procrastination and help-seeking behavior

Against the background that design students generally rely on artificial intelligence-generated design (AIGD) to address academic challenges, concerns have arisen about the potential dependency risks posed by its improper use. Therefore, based on the Interaction of the Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model, this study explores the association between academic stress and AIGD dependency among design students and investigates the chain mediation effects of academic procrastination and academic help-seeking behaviors. To solve the problem that academic stress may cause students' AIGD dependency, this study clarified the mechanism from procrastination to seeking academic help caused by academic stress and suggested feasible intervention goals to prevent the use of AIGD from evolving into dependency. The data analysis of 492 design university students indicates that academic stress is positively associated with AIGD dependency. Academic procrastination and academic help-seeking behaviors exert a significant effect on chain mediation. The research results explain the psychological mechanism by which AIGD evolves from an auxiliary tool into a dependency object under high academic stress. This study extends the application of the I-PACE framework to AIGD dependency in design education. The results offer a theoretical explanation for understanding the psychological mechanism of AIGD dependency among design students and provide practical implications for educational interventions.