Exploring the Utility of ChatGPT in Psychology: Applications in Domains of Education, Research, and Practice

Authors

  • Ivanna Shubina American University of the Middle East, Kuwait

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46328/ijte.5737

Keywords:

ChatGPT, Psychology, Education, Research, Practice

Abstract

The applications of ChatGPT in psychology show its promising potential in education, practice and research when the AI opportunities are discussed and concerns are addressed. This systematic review aims to examine the benefits and limitations in utility of ChatGPT in psychology, based on analysis of recent relevant literature in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Analyzed studies allowed for the following findings and conclusions: In psychological education ChatGPT has demonstrated impact by facilitating learning, creating interactive learning environments, supporting assignments, providing support for students in managing their emotional and mental health issues, sharing immediate feedback, and reducing the workload of educators. In the research field ChatGPT was effective in generating hypotheses, collecting and analyzing data, identifying relevant literature, and enhancing knowledge. In psychological practice the ChatGPT demonstrated its impact in increasing awareness of various psychological problems, delivering the opportunity to receive personalized experience and generating treatment strategies. However, we should be aware of the ethical concerns, potential misuse of ChatGPT, the accuracy of generated information, occasional inaccuracies in references, lack of contextual comprehension and low emotional sensitivity in ChatGPT generated responses. Moreover, to enhance ChatGPT practical capabilities it is important to address potential risks, prevent over-reliance on ChatGPT, develop clear educational strategies, ethical guidelines and policies. In summary, the review highlights the potential of ChatGPT in the psychological field, while emphasizing the need for further research on its efficacy, ethical use, and long-term impact in the field. Despite its limitations, ChatGPT holds substantial promise for advancing research efficiency, providing personalized significant support for students, educators, researchers, practitioners and patients.

References

Alanezi F. (2024). Assessing the Effectiveness of ChatGPT in Delivering Mental Health Support: A Qualitative Study. Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare, 17, 461–471. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S447368

Aljanabi, M., Ghazi, M., Ali, A. H., & Abed, S. A. (2023). ChatGpt: open possibilities. Iraqi journal for computer science and mathematics, 4(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.52866/ijcsm.2023.01.01.0018

Amini, A., Vaezmousavi, M., & Shirvani, H. (2023). Comparing the effect of individual and group cognitive-motor training on reconstructing subjective well-being and quality of life in older males, recovered from the COVID-19. Cognitive Processing, 24(3), 361-374. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-023-01136-2

Anbarasi, L. J., Jawahar, M., Ravi, V., Cherian, S. M., Shreenidhi, S., & Sharen, H. (2022). Machine learning approach for anxiety and sleep disorders analysis during COVID-19 lockdown. Health and Technology, 12(4), 825-838. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-022-00674-7

Atlas, S. (2023). ChatGPT for higher education and professional development: A guide to conversational AI. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cba_facpubs/548

Ayre, J., Cvejic, E., & McCaffery, K. J. (2025). Use of ChatGPT to obtain health information in Australia, 2024: insights from a nationally representative survey. Medical Journal of Australia. 222(4). https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52598

Benoit, J. R. (2023). ChatGPT for clinical vignette generation, revision, and evaluation. MedRxiv, 2023-02. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.04.23285478

Bin-Nashwan, S. A., Sadallah, M., & Bouteraa, M. (2023). Use of ChatGPT in academia: Academic integrity hangs in the balance. Technology in Society, 75, 102370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102370

Biswas, S. (2023). ChatGPT and the future of medical writing. Radiology, 307(2), e223312. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.223312

Blyler, A. P., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2023). AI assistance for coaches and therapists. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 19(4), 579–591. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2023.2257642

Boucher, E. M., Harake, N. R., Ward, H. E., Stoeckl, S. E., Vargas, J., Minkel, J., ... & Zilca, R. (2021). Artificially intelligent chatbots in digital mental health interventions: a review. Expert Review of Medical Devices, 18(sup1), 37-49. https://doi.org/10.1080/17434440.2021.2013200

Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227), 912-920. https://doi.org/10.1016/ S0140-6736(20)30460-8

Brown, T., Mann, B., Ryder, N., Subbiah, M., Kaplan, J. D., Dhariwal, P., ... & Amodei, D. (2020). Language models are few-shot learners. Advances in neural information processing systems, 33, 1877-1901.

Burger, B., Kanbach, D. K., Kraus, S., Breier, M., & Corvello, V. (2023). On the use of AI-based tools like ChatGPT to support management research. European Journal of Innovation Management, 26(7), 233-241. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-02-2023-0156

Cascella, M., Montomoli, J., Bellini, V., & Bignami, E. (2023). Evaluating the feasibility of ChatGPT in healthcare: an analysis of multiple clinical and research scenarios. Journal of medical systems, 47(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-023-01925-4

Chandra, P., Joshi, G., & Bhagwat, R. (2023, November). ChatGPT's Evolution in Reshaping Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. 2023 IEEE Engineering Informatics (pp. 1-9). IEEE. doi: 10.1109/IEEECONF58110.2023.10520423.

Chen, L., Zaharia, M., & Zou, J. (2024). How is ChatGPT’s behavior changing over time?. Harvard Data Science Review, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1162/99608f92.5317da47

De Angelis, L., Baglivo, F., Arzilli, G., Privitera, G. P., Ferragina, P., Tozzi, A. E., & Rizzo, C. (2023). ChatGPT and the rise of large language models: the new AI-driven infodemic threat in public health. Frontiers in public health, 11, 1166120. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1166120

Domingos, P. (2015). The master algorithm: How the quest for the ultimate learning machine will remake our world. Basic Books. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=638067264018

Eysenbach, G. (2023). The role of ChatGPT, generative language models, and artificial intelligence in medical education: a conversation with ChatGPT and a call for papers. JMIR medical education, 9(1), e46885. doi:10.2196/46885

Farhi F., Jeljeli R., Aburezeq I., Dweikat F.F., Al-shami S.A. & Slamene R., Analyzing the students' views, concerns, and perceived ethics about chat GPT usage, Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence (2023), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2023.100180

Ghanadian, H., Nejadgholi, I., & Al Osman, H. (2024). Socially Aware Synthetic Data Generation for Suicidal Ideation Detection Using Large Language Models. IEEE Access. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3358206.

Gilson, A., Safranek, C. W., Huang, T., Socrates, V., Chi, L., Taylor, R. A., & Chartash, D. (2023). How does ChatGPT perform on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE)? The implications of large language models for medical education and knowledge assessment. JMIR medical education, 9(1), e45312. doi:10.2196/45312

Gu, D., Li, M., Yang, X., Gu, Y., Zhao, Y., Liang, C., & Liu, H. (2023). An analysis of cognitive change in online mental health communities: A textual data analysis based on post replies of support seekers. Information Processing & Management, 60(2), 103192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2022.103192

Gupta, M., Akiri, C., Aryal, K., Parker, E., & Praharaj, L. (2023). From ChatGPT to threatGPT: Impact of generative ai in cybersecurity and privacy. IEEE Access. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3300381

Gutiérrez-Cirlos, C., Carrillo-Pérez, D. L., Bermúdez-González, J. L., Hidrogo-Montemayor, I., Carrillo-Esper, R., & Sánchez-Mendiola, M. (2023). ChatGPT: oportunidades y riesgos en la asistencia, docencia e investigación médica. Gaceta médica de México, 159(5), 382-389. https://doi.org/10.24875/gmm.230001671

Ivanov, S., & Soliman, M. (2023). Game of algorithms: ChatGPT implications for the future of tourism education and research. Journal of Tourism Futures, 9(2), 214-221. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-02-2023-0038

Jordan, M. I., & Mitchell, T. M. (2015). Machine learning: Trends, perspectives, and prospects. Science, 349(6245), 255-260. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa8415

Joyner, D. A., Rusch, A., Duncan, A., Wojcik, J., & Popescu, D. (2023, July). Teaching at Scale and Back Again: The Impact of Instructors' Participation in At-Scale Education Initiatives on Traditional Instruction. Proceedings of the Tenth ACM Conference on Learning@ Scale (pp. 144-155). https://doi.org/10.1145/3573051.3593389

Halaweh, M. (2023). ChatGPT in education: Strategies for responsible implementation. Contemporary educational technology, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/13036

Hamad, Z. T., Jamil, N., & Belkacem, A. N. (2024). ChatGPT’s impact on education and healthcare: Insights, challenges, and ethical consideration. IEEE Access. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3437374.

Hollis, C., Morriss, R., Martin, J., Amani, S., Cotton, R., Denis, M., & Lewis, S. (2015). Technological innovations in mental healthcare: harnessing the digital revolution. The British journal of psychiatry: the journal of mental science, 206(4), 263–265. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.113.142612

Huallpa, J. J. (2023). Exploring the ethical considerations of using Chat GPT in university education. Periodicals of Engineering and Natural Sciences, 11(4), 105-115. https://doi.org/10.21533/pen.v11.i4.200

Javaid M, Haleem A, Singh RP (2023) A study on ChatGPT for Industry 4.0: Background, potentials, challenges, and eventualities. Journal of Economy and Technology, 1:127–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ject.2023.08.001

Jiao, W., Wang, W., Huang, J. T., Wang, X., & Tu, Z. (2023). Is ChatGPT a good translator? A preliminary study. arXiv preprint arXiv:2301.08745, 1(10).

Kasneci, E., Seßler, K., Küchemann, S., Bannert, M., Dementieva, D., Fischer, F., ... & Kasneci, G. (2023). ChatGPT for good? On opportunities and challenges of large language models for education. Learning and individual differences, 103, 102274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2023.102274

Karakose, T. (2023). The utility of ChatGPT in educational research-potential opportunities and pitfalls. Educational Process: International Journal (EDUPIJ), 12(2), 7-13.

Kitamura, F. C. (2023). ChatGPT is shaping the future of medical writing but still requires human judgment. Radiology, 307(2), e230171. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.230171

Kjell, O. N. E., Kjell, K., & Schwartz, H. A. (2024). Beyond rating scales: With targeted evaluation, large language models are poised for psychological assessment. Psychiatry research, 333, 115667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115667

Korteling, J. H., van de Boer-Visschedijk, G. C., Blankendaal, R. A., Boonekamp, R. C., & Eikelboom, A. R. (2021). Human-versus artificial intelligence. Frontiers in artificial intelligence, 4, 622364. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2021.622364

Kovačević, A. (2023). Decent Work at Local Digital Platforms in Serbia. Politička Rev, 3, 190.

Kung, T. H., Cheatham, M., Medenilla, A., Sillos, C., De Leon, L., Elepaño, C., ... & Tseng, V. (2023). Performance of ChatGPT on USMLE: Potential for AI-assisted medical education using large language models. PLOS Digit Health 2 (2): e0000198. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000198

Le, K.B.Q. and Cayrat, C. (2024), "Howdy, Robo-Partner: exploring artificial companionship and its stress-alleviating potential for service employees", Journal of Service Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-09-2023-0408

Lecler, A., Duron, L., & Soyer, P. (2023). Revolutionizing radiology with GPT-based models: Current applications, future possibilities and limitations of ChatGPT. Diagnostic and interventional imaging, 104(6), 269–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diii.2023.02.003

Manchaiah V, Swanepoel DW, Bennett RJ. Online consumer reviews on hearing health care services: a textual analysis approach to examine psychologically meaningful language dimensions. American Journal Audiology. 2021;30(3):669–675. doi:10.1044/2021_AJA-20-00223

Maunder, R. G., Lancee, W. J., Rourke, S., Hunter, J. J., Goldbloom, D., Balderson, K., ... & Fones, C. S. (2004). Factors associated with the psychological impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome on nurses and other hospital workers in Toronto. Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine, 66(6), 938-942. DOI: 10.1097/01.psy.0000145673.84698.18

McCarthy, J., Minsky, M. L., Rochester, N., & Shannon, C. E. (2006). A proposal for the Dartmouth summer research project on artificial intelligence, august 31, 1955. AI magazine, 27(4), 12-12. https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v27i4.1904

Moher, D., Altman, D. G., & Tetzlaff, J. (1996). PRISMA (Preferred Reporting items for systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses). Guidelines for Reporting Health Research: A User’s Manual, 1999, 250.

Li, M., & Guenier, A. W. (2024). ChatGPT and Health Communication: A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of E-Health and Medical Communications (IJEHMC), 15(1), 1-26. DOI: 10.4018/IJEHMC.349980

Lund, B. D., & Wang, T. (2023). Chatting about ChatGPT: how may AI and GPT impact academia and libraries? Library hi tech news, 40(3), 26-29. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-01-2023-0009

Mohammad, B., Supti, T., Alzubaidi, M., Shah, H., Alam, T., Shah, Z., & Househ, M. (2023). The pros and cons of using ChatGPT in medical education: a scoping review. Healthcare Transformation with Informatics and Artificial Intelligence, 644-647. Doi: 10.3233/SHTI230580

OpenAI. OpenAI: Models GPT-3. Available online: https://beta.openai.com/docs/models (accessed on 14 January 2023).

Playfoot, D., Quigley, M., & Thomas, A.G. (2023). Hey ChatGPT, give me a title for a paper about degree apathy and student use of AI for assignment writing. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/bxs6m

Rahman, M., Terano, HJR, Rahman, N., Salamzadeh, A., Rahaman, S.(2023). ChatGPT and Academic Research: A Review and Recommendations Based on Practical Examples. Journal of Education, Management and Development Studies, 3(1), 1-12. doi: 10.52631/jemds.v3i1.175

Rahman, M. M., & Watanobe, Y. (2023). ChatGPT for education and research: Opportunities, threats, and strategies. Applied sciences, 13(9), 5783. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13095783

Rathje, S., Mirea, D. M., Sucholutsky, I., Marjieh, R., Robertson, C. E., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2024). GPT is an effective tool for multilingual psychological text analysis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(34), e2308950121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2308950121

Sallam M. (2023). ChatGPT Utility in Healthcare Education, Research, and Practice: Systematic Review on the Promising Perspectives and Valid Concerns. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 11(6), 887. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11060887

Sallam, M., Salim, N. A., Barakat, M., & Ala'a, B. (2023). ChatGPT applications in medical, dental, pharmacy, and public health education: A descriptive study highlighting the advantages and limitations. Narrative Journal, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.52225/narra.v3i1.103

Sarker, I. H. (2022). AI-based modeling: techniques, applications and research issues towards automation, intelligent and smart systems. SN computer science, 3(2), 158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-022-01043-x

Shahsavar, Y., & Choudhury, A. (2023). User Intentions to Use ChatGPT for Self-Diagnosis and Health-Related Purposes: Cross-sectional Survey Study. JMIR human factors, 10, e47564. https://doi.org/10.2196/47564

Shams, R. A., Zowghi, D., & Bano, M. (2023). AI and the quest for diversity and inclusion: a systematic literature review. AI and Ethics, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-023-00362-w

Shoufan, A. (2023). Exploring students’ perceptions of ChatGPT: Thematic analysis and follow-up survey. IEEE access, 11, 38805-38818. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3268224

Shubina, I. (2025). Positive Emotions, Academic Performance and Well-being in Language Learning: A Bibliometric Analysis. Environment and Social Psychology. Environment and Social Psychology, 10 (8), 1-14. doi: 10.59429/esp.v10i8.3532

Shubina, I. & Dzido, A. (2025a). Mapping the Scientific Landscape of Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health. Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Computing Applications, 3 (1), 24-37. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16860499

Shubina, I. & Dzido, A. (2025b). Artificial Intelligence and Mental Health. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies. 19(19), 1-15 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v19i19.58041

Stokel-Walker, C., & Van Noorden, R. (2023). What ChatGPT and generative AI mean for science. Nature, 614(7947), 214-216. DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-00340-6

Wutz, M., Hermes, M., Winter, V., & Köberlein-Neu, J. (2023). Factors Influencing Acceptability, Acceptance, and Adoption of Conversational Agents in Health Care: Integrative Review. Journal of medical Internet research, 25, e46548. https://doi.org/10.2196/46548

Quin, S., & Redmond, B. (Eds.). (2005). Mental health and social policy in Ireland. University of Dublin Press/Dufour Editions.

Uludag K. (2024). Exploring the Association Between Textual Parameters and Psychological and Cognitive Factors. Psychology research and behavior management, 17, 1139–1150. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S460503

Wogu, I. A. P., Olu-Owolabi, F. E., Assibong, P. A., Agoha, B. C., Sholarin, M., Elegbeleye, A., ... & Apeh, H. A. (2017, October). Artificial intelligence, alienation and ontological problems of other minds: A critical investigation into the future of man and machines. 2017 International Conference on Computing Networking and Informatics (ICCNI) (pp. 1-10). IEEE. doi: 10.1109/ICCNI.2017.8123792.

Zhou, S. (2024). A Survey on the Usefulness of ChatGPT as a Modern Tool for Research in China. Profesional de la información, 33(2). https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2024.0213

Zielinski, C., Winker, M., Aggarwal, R., Ferris, L., Heinemann, M., Lapeña, J. F., ... & Citrome, L. (2023). Chatbots, ChatGPT, and scholarly manuscripts-WAME recommendations on ChatGPT and chatbots in relation to scholarly publications. Afro-Egyptian Journal of Infectious and Endemic Diseases, 13(1), 75-79. DOI: 10.21608/AEJI.2023.282936

Van Dis, E. A. Bollen, J., Zuidema, W., Van Rooij, R., & Bockting, C. L. (2023). ChatGPT: five priorities for research. Nature, 614(7947), 224-226.

Vargas-Murillo, A. R., de la Asuncion, I. N. M., & de Jesús Guevara-Soto, F. (2023). Challenges and opportunities of AI-assisted learning: A systematic literature review on the impact of ChatGPT usage in higher education. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 22(7), 122-135. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.22.7.7

Downloads

Published

2026-01-01

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Exploring the Utility of ChatGPT in Psychology: Applications in Domains of Education, Research, and Practice. (2026). International Journal of Technology in Education, 9(1), 127-152. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijte.5737