Abstract:

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications have become a salient interaction partner for pre-service teachers, extending beyond instrumental use toward affective and relational engagement. This study examines how pre-service teachers experience and make sense of their interactions with generative AI through the lens of trans-parasocial bonding, a relational form argued to differ from classical parasocial relationships by involving perceived reciprocity, continuity, and dialogic responsiveness.
The study was conducted using an interpretive phenomenological design. Participants consisted of 15 pre-service teachers recruited through purposive sampling based on defined criteria (18 years or older, recent use of a chat-based generative AI tool, and voluntary consent). Data were collected via semi-structured, in-depth interviews lasting between 45 and 75 minutes. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, anonymized, and analyzed using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA–informed) approach, including close reading, meaning unit identification, inductive coding, and cross-case thematic analysis.
Findings revealed five interrelated experiential themes: (1) perceived personalization and being understood, (2) non-judgment and emotional safety, (3) oscillation between tool and interlocutor positioning, (4) habitual engagement without explicit emotional dependency, and (5) pedagogical reflection and boundary awareness. Participants described AI interactions as simultaneously functional and affectively supportive, producing a sense of closeness and continuity while remaining cognitively aware of AI’s non-human nature. This duality distinguishes trans-parasocial bonding from one-directional parasocial relationships and highlights a hybrid relational experience shaped by dialogic feedback and perceived responsiveness. The study contributes a conceptual refinement of trans-parasocial bonding within teacher education and offers practice-oriented implications for the responsible and pedagogically grounded integration of generative AI in pre-service teacher training.

Keywords:

trans-parasocial bonding, parasocial relationship, generative artificial intelligence, pre-service teachers, interpretive phenomenology.