ArticleFrontiers in psychology2026
From empathy to creative output: exploring the emotional-cognitive mechanisms of digital creativity.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Transformation of Empathic Care in the Digital Age: A Scoping Review on Digital Empathy from a Nursing Perspective.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Mindful attention awareness, creative trait motivation, cognitive flexibility, and achievement goal orientation among medical students: a profile analysis and mediation analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
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Abstract
The rapid advancement of digital technologies has reshaped how creativity is fostered, especially in fields such as education, business, and the creative industries. However, the mechanisms behind digital creativity remain underexplored, particularly regarding the roles of emotional and cognitive factors. Among these factors, empathy has long been considered a key driver of creativity; however, it remains unclear whether this mechanism still applies in digital environments. Guided by self-determination theory, this study proposes and tests an integrative model linking digital empathy, cognitive flexibility, digital self-efficacy, and digital creativity. Two complementary studies were conducted: a quasi-experimental study with university students and a survey with employees in digital workplaces. Structural equation modeling shows that digital empathy does not directly predict digital creativity but enhances it indirectly through cognitive flexibility. Digital self-efficacy strengthens the link between empathy and flexibility, amplifying this indirect effect. These results provide empirical evidence consistent with an emotional-cognitive pathway associated with digital creativity and suggest that empathy may function as a cognitively relevant factor rather than solely as an emotional response. By integrating emotion, cognition, and competence within a unified framework, this research extends existing creativity theory to digital contexts and offers practical insights for fostering innovation in educational and organizational settings.
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