Nurses' attitudes towards artificial intelligence: relationship between cognitive flexibility and emotion regulation

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Artificial Intelligence
• Healthcare Technology

Background:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming healthcare, offering enhanced efficiency and quality in nursing practices.
• Understanding nurses' attitudes towards AI is crucial for its effective integration into patient care.
• This study investigated the relationship between cognitive flexibility, emotion regulation, and nurses' attitudes toward AI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if cognitive flexibility is associated with nurses' attitudes toward artificial intelligence.
• To ascertain if emotion regulation is associated with nurses' attitudes toward artificial intelligence.
• To explore the role of specific emotion regulation strategies, like reappraisal, in shaping these attitudes.

Main Methods:

• A correlational, cross-sectional study was conducted with 377 nurses in Eastern Turkey.
• Data were collected via face-to-face interviews using validated scales for attitudes toward AI, cognitive flexibility, and emotion regulation.
• Multiple linear regression analysis was employed to analyze the data.

Main Results:

• Emotion regulation, specifically reappraisal, was significantly associated with both positive and negative attitudes toward AI, explaining a small but significant portion of the variance.
• Cognitive flexibility was not found to be a significant predictor of nurses' attitudes toward AI.
• Reappraisal, as a component of emotion regulation, played a key role in shaping nurses' AI attitudes.

Conclusions:

• Nurses' emotional regulation skills are important determinants of their attitudes toward artificial intelligence.
• Cognitive flexibility does not significantly impact nurses' attitudes towards AI.
• Interventions aimed at improving nurses' emotional regulation may facilitate the adoption of AI technologies in healthcare.