From Psychological Need Satisfaction to AI Dependency: The Divergent Roles of Basic and AI-Specific Needs

Abstract The rapid diffusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming everyday practices, raising concerns about emerging forms of exces- sive use and technological dependency. The present study, based on an online questionnaire with 306 participants aged 18–30, examined how the satisfaction of psychological needs relates to AI depen- dency. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), need satisfac- tion was assessed both in everyday life and in the context of AI use, alongside a measure of AI dependency. Relationships among vari- ables were examined using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Results revealed a contrasting pattern: basic psychological need satisfaction was negatively associated with AI dependency, whereas AI-specific need satisfaction showed a strong positive association. These findings suggest that generative AI may function not only as a compensatory resource for unmet needs, but also as a primary con- text for need satisfaction, thereby reinforcing dependency-related patterns of use. Contrary to expectations, the association between basic and AI-specific needs was weak, indicating that the two con- structs operate as partially independent processes. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between basic and context-specific need satisfaction in understan