Cognitive and communicative engagement with AI tools in higher education: A sequential engagement framework
TL;DR
A sequential engagement framework in which perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and AI literacy foster cognitive engagement, which in turn enhances communicative engagement and sustained AI use, with AI self-efficacy and openness to AI-mediated communication as moderators.
Abstract
Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and the willingness-to-communicate literature, this study proposes a sequential engagement framework in which perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and AI literacy foster cognitive engagement, which in turn enhances communicative engagement and sustained AI use, with AI self-efficacy and openness to AI-mediated communication as moderators. Using survey data from 600 university students in Vietnam and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the results show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and AI literacy are positively associated with cognitive engagement, which is positively associated with communicative engagement and, in turn, overall engagement. AI self-efficacy strengthens the cognitive-communicative link, while openness to AI-mediated communication strengthens the link between communicative engagement and continued use. The study extends technology-acceptance research by showing AI engagement is grounded in cognitive and communicative processes, not acceptance alone, with practical implications for higher education.