The rapid growth of generative AI in higher education has challenged traditional assessment methods, especially in fields where creativity and critical thinking are crucial. In design education, the risk of students relying on AI-generated content threatens the development of cognitive skills, originality, and reflective learning. This paper addresses the need to redesign assessments in the Psychology of Interior Design course to maintain academic integrity and foster authentic, human-centered learning.

At Ajman University, students transition from technical experimentation in the Lighting in the Lab course to theoretical exploration in the Psychology of Interior Design course. While the lab course emphasizes manipulating light and measuring functional outcomes, the psychology course focuses on understanding human perception, emotional responses, and cognitive processes in interior spaces. The challenge is to create new assessment scenarios that go beyond technical demonstrations and require students to integrate psychological theories, personal experiences, and critical interpretation, making AI-generated answers insufficient or easily detectable.

This study proposes innovative, AI-resistant assessment strategies grounded in experiential learning, reflective practice, and contextual analysis. The framework includes sensory-based journals, real-world observation tasks, personalized experiments, live critiques, and comparative analysis between AI-generated and human-designed spaces. Assessments are structured to require progressive submissions, fieldwork, and personal narratives linked to psychological concepts, such as biophilia, color psychology, circadian rhythms, and environmental stress. Students conduct cognitive response experiments in the Lighting Lab, interview users about their spatial experiences, and reflect on the emotional connections to interior environments from their own lives.

These assessment strategies are expected to reduce reliance on AI by requiring originality, context-specific analysis, and personal involvement. Students will demonstrate a deeper understanding of psychological design principles, develop enhanced observational and analytical skills, and exhibit more decisive critical thinking. Early classroom observations indicate that students engage meaningfully with content when asked to translate theory into lived experience and defend their decisions in real-time critiques. Additionally, they develop a sharper ability to question and refine AI-generated content rather than accepting it passively.

The findings contribute to the broader conversation on safeguarding creativity and critical thinking in the age of AI. By focusing on sensory experiences, psychological interpretation, and personal storytelling, these methods offer a replicable model for design educators facing similar challenges. The research bridges theory and practice, demonstrating how interior design education can cultivate reflective, ethical practitioners who understand how spaces function and impact human well-being.

The methodology presented provides a practical framework for design education that resists the misuse of AI and deepens engagement with psychological theory and real-world applications. These findings are valuable for educators across creative disciplines, ensuring technology enhances rather than replaces critical learning processes.

Keywords: AI-resistant assessment, design education, psychology of interior design, experiential learning, lighting lab, cognitive response, human-centered design, academic integrity, reflective practice, sensory experience.