设计学生教学性 GenAI 使用与自评创造性认知：一项三波次时间滞后相关研究

BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Educational Psychology

• 1. Pukyong National University, Busan, Republic of Korea

• 2. School of Information Technology and Engineering, Guangzhou College of Commerce, Guangzhou, China

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly used in design education, yet the psychological pathways associated with students' self-reported creative cognition remain unclear. In this three-wave time-lagged correlational study, 389 design students at a South Korean university reported pedagogical GenAI use at Wave 1, creative self-efficacy and AI-related learning anxiety at Wave 2, and creative engagement and self-reported creative cognition at Wave 3. Pedagogical GenAI use referred to coursework-related use for ideation, style exploration, revision, comparison of alternatives, and feedback seeking. Covariance-based structural equation modeling showed good fit (CFI = 0.983, RMSEA = 0.026). Higher GenAI use was associated with higher self-efficacy (β = 0.489) and lower anxiety (β = −0.191). The total modeled association with self-reported creative cognition was β = 0.456 (95% CI [0.314, 0.604]); its indirect components constituted approximately 59%. The GenAI-origin serial indirect association through self-efficacy and engagement was β = 0.122, whereas the corresponding anxiety–engagement association was β = 0.015. Separately, self-efficacy was indirectly associated with creative cognition through engagement (β = 0.249); this quantity does not include the preceding GenAI-use path. Because the study was observational and engagement and cognition were measured concurrently at Wave 3, the findings do not identify causal mediation. They are consistent with an appraisal-to-engagement account in which competence beliefs have a larger modeled role than anxiety reduction.

Keywords

AI-related learning anxiety, art education, creative engagement, Creative self-efficacy, Design students, Generative artificial intelligence, self-reported creative cognition, time-lagged correlational study

Received

22 June 2026

Accepted

18 September 2026

Copyright

© 2026 Zhang and Xing. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence:

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