Perceptions of Student Feedback: A comparative study of AI-generated and Human-generated content

Effective feedback is crucial for learning and academic improvement, yet students often find it lacking in detail and timeliness from teachers. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) like ChatGPT offers promises to enhance feedback quality. This study compares student perceptions of AI-generated versus Human-generated feedback across two dimensions: Pleasing and Helpfulness, while also examining factors such as academic locus of control and attitudes towards AI. Results from 50 psychology students show that while AI-generated feedback was rated higher in Pleasing, Helpfulness ratings did not differ significantly. Even when comparing feedback with identical marks awarded by both ChatGPT and Human markers, AI feedback still received higher ratings. This suggests that, when the source is undisclosed, students prefer AI feedback, despite its comparable usefulness to Human feedback. This has implications for improving feedback efficiency in universities, potentially reducing time and costs. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.