AI literacy and creative self-beliefs among Chinese college students: examining the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions

Introduction: With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), enhancing AI literacy has become a critical objective in higher education. How to leverage AI to foster students' creativity thus emerged as a research focus. Creative self-beliefs (creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity) serve as a key predictor of individual creativity and innovative behavior. However, little is known about the direct and indirect associations of AI literacy on creative self-beliefs among college students. Methods: Based on self-efficacy theory, social cognitive theory, and cognitive load theory, this study investigated the relationship between college students' AI literacy and their creative self-beliefs, constructing a moderated mediation model. Standardized scales were employed to survey 644 Chinese college students. Results: (1) College students' AI literacy significantly and positively predicted their creative self-beliefs, and problem-solving ability partially mediated the relationship between them. The mediating effect of problem-solving ability accounted for 64.2% of the total effect. (2) Frequency of AI usage moderated both the direct path from AI literacy to creative self-beliefs and the path from problem-solving ability to creative self-beliefs. Discussion: These findings provide empirical evidence elucidating how AI literacy influences Chinese college students' creative self-beliefs, highlighting the necessity of aligning AI utilization with core competencies to maximize its value. The study concludes with recommendations for promoting critical engagement with AI tools to fully leverage the technology's potential for enhancing college students' confidence in innovation.