Short-video use and university students’ creativity in higher education: the roles of cognitive elaboration, absorptive capacity, and anticipated regret

Abstract

Short-video platforms are increasingly embedded in university students’ everyday learning environments, but their implications for creativity remain contested. Drawing on a cognitive-affective self-regulation perspective, this study examines whether short-video use (SVU) is associated with university students’ creativity (CRE), whether cognitive elaboration (CE) and absorptive capacity (AC) explain this association, and whether anticipated regret (AR) changes these cognitive pathways. Survey data from 502 university students in China were analyzed with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 4. The analysis emphasized prediction-oriented model assessment, including reliability, discriminant validity, f 2 effect sizes, adjusted R 2 , model fit, and predictive relevance checks. The results show that SVU is positively associated with CRE and is also positively related to CE and AC, both of which positively predict CRE. Both indirect effects are significant, with the CE pathway numerically stronger than the AC pathway, although the difference between the two indirect effects is not statistically conclusive. AR strengthens the SVU-CE relationship but does not significantly moderate the SVU-AC relationship. Gender-based MGA provides tentative evidence that the AR-based strengthening of the SVU-CE pathway is more visible among female students than among male students. These findings suggest that SVU should not be treated only as a disruptive digital habit in higher education. When accompanied by reflective processing and knowledge integration, short-video engagement may provide stimuli for idea generation and creative learning.