The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications, such as ChatGPT, has significantly impacted various aspects of human life, including higher education. This study explores university students’ attitudes toward ChatGPT, focusing on the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of attitudes, on the basis of Mitcham’s philosophical framework of attitudes toward technology. A total of 595 university students from six public and private universities in northern Peru participated in an online survey. The results of the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that the affective component (β = 0.672***) and the cognitive component (β = 0.260**) positively influence the behavioral component of students’ attitudes when ChatGPT is used. Moreover, the cognitive component (β = 0.931***) positively influences the affective component of students’ attitud...