Abstract:

Objective To explore the mediating role of emotions in the relationship between perceived barriers to use artificial intelligence（AI） technology and learning motivation among undergraduate nursing students. Methods By convenience sampling，a total of 367 undergraduate nursing students from freshmen to seniors in 5 universities of Shandong Province were enrolled from December 2024 to March 2025. The general information questionnaire，Perceived Use Barriers of AI Technology Scale，Emotion Scale and Learning Motivation Scale were adopted for the investigation. Results The scores of perceived use barriers of AI technology，positive affect（PA），negative affect（NA） and learning motivation of the 367 undergraduate nursing students were （12.77±2.91），（34.14±6.37），（21.89±6.65），and （87.84±7.96） respectively. The score of perceived use barriers of AI technology was negatively correlated with PA score（r=-0.294，P<0.001），positively correlated with NA score（r=0.291，P<0.001），and significantly negatively correlated with learning motivation score（r=-0.187，P<0.001）. PA score was positively correlated with learning motivation score（r=0.405，P<0.001），while NA score was negatively correlated with learning motivation score（r=-0.166，P=0.001）. Mediating effect analysis showed that PA played a full mediating role between perceived use barriers of AI technology and learning motivation in undergraduate nursing students[β（95%CI）=-0.051（-0.084，-0.027）]；NA played a partial mediating role between the two variables[β（95%CI）=-0.016（-0.034，-0.004）]，with the mediating effect accounted for 18.82% of the total effect. Conclusion Perceived barriers to AI technology among undergraduate nursing students can reduce their learning motivation by weakening positive affect and increasing negative affect. Interventions should target both perceived barriers to AI use and emotional states to enhance learning motivation in AI-integrated nursing education.

Key words: Artificial Intelligence, Learning Motivation, Emotion, Perceived Use Barriers of Technology, Mediating Effects