ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1526643
Configural paths for short-form video usage on cognitive ability in the elderly: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang, China
- 2First People’s Hospital of Guiyang, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
- 3Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
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Objective: This study investigates the impact of short-form video usage on the cognitive abilities of older adults, with the aim of providing insights for regulating information behaviors on social media for this demographic. Methods: Grounded in the triadic reciprocal determinism theory, we propose a theoretical model that encompasses person-specific, context-specific, and behavior-specific factors to elucidate the varying degrees of cognitive ability among the elderly during short-form video usage. Through a survey, we validate our theoretical propositions. Results: The results of a configurational analysis, utilizing fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, identify 5 paths that equally explain the cognitive ability of the elderly. Rather than acting independently, various combinations of factors influence the cognitive abilities of older individuals. Age and educational level emerge as core conditions in most scenarios, underscoring the significance of considering demographic characteristics when examining the information behaviors of older adults. The paper concludes with a critical discussion on the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.Discussion: This research represents a significant advancement in our understanding of the intricate dynamics at play when examining the impact of short video usage on cognitive abilities among the elderly. By intricately weaving together the elements of individual, environmental, and behavioral factors into a cohesive model, aimed at elevating cognitive and information processing capacities among the elderly.
Keywords: Elderly, cognitive ability, Short-form video, Triadic reciprocal determinism theory, fsQCA
Received: 12 Nov 2024; Accepted: 04 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ning, Yue, Jian, Min and Xin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhang Ning, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang, China
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