The interplay between five-factor personality traits and ai use motives in Turkish pre-service teachers: A canonical correlation analysis

Abstract

This study examines the multidimensional interplay between pre-service teachers' Five-Factor Personality Traits and their motivations for using artificial intelligence (AI) through Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA). While previous research has explored these variables independently, the complex multivariate relationships between personality traits and AI use motives have remained largely unexplored. The sample consisted of 454 undergraduate pre-service teachers. Data were collected using the Five-Factor Personality Traits Inventory and the Questionnaire of AI Use Motives. The analysis included five dimensions of personality traits (extraversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) as predictor variables and five dimensions of AI use motives (expectancy, attainment value, utility value, intrinsic value, and cost) as criterion variables. The CCA yielded five functions, with the full model statistically significant (p <.001), explaining 32.6% of the shared variance. The first function was most meaningful, accounting for 26.1% of the variance. Primary contributors among personality traits were openness (rs = 0.83, rs(2) = 0.68), neuroticism (rs = - 0.63, rs(2) = 0.40), and conscientiousness (rs = 0.58, rs(2) = 0.34). For AI use motives, key contributors were attainment value (rs = 0.96, rs(2) = 0.92), cost (rs = - 0.85, rs(2) = 0.72), intrinsic value (rs = 0.84, rs(2) = 0.71), and utility value (rs = 0.80, rs(2) = 0.64). The canonical correlation coefficient (0.51) indicated a moderate relationship between the variable sets. Results revealed that openness was positively associated with intrinsic motivation for AI use, while neuroticism increased perceived costs. These findings suggest that teacher education programs should integrate personality-based AI training-such as creativity modules for open individuals and anxiety-reduction workshops for those high in neuroticism-within their digital pedagogy curriculum.