Expressive activation enhances user satisfaction in AIGC co-creation through perceived control and meaning-making

As generative artificial intelligence (AIGC) tools gain widespread application in creative design, growing concerns have been raised over users' diminished sense of control and the emotional shallowness of AI-generated content. These limitations may undermine users' sense of engagement and overall satisfaction in co-creation tasks. This study investigates how expressive activation-defined as guiding users to recall and express personal emotions and memories during a simulated creative process-shapes perceived user experience in a questionnaire-based simulated AIGC co-creation scenario. Using a survey-based scenario task, data were collected from 129 participants who had general experience using AIGC tools (68 in the expressive activation group and 61 in the non-expressive activation group). The results showed that expressive activation significantly increased user satisfaction. Furthermore, perceived control and perceived meaning-making ability served as sequential mediators, forming a chained path: expressive activation → perceived control → meaning-making → satisfaction. These findings suggest that, within a questionnaire-based simulated co-creation scenario, encouraging expressive engagement can enhance participants' perceived psychological agency and emotional connection, thereby improving perceived satisfaction. This study identifies key psychological mechanisms relevant to human-AI co-creation and offers preliminary design insights for building AIGC systems that may foster deeper meaning and emotional resonance.