From Affective Satisfaction to Habit: Reinforcement Dynamics in Short-Form Drama Engagement

Short-form drama environments have emerged as structurally distinct digital environments characterized by ultra-short episodes, high-frequency re-entry, and algorithmically reinforced exposure. While prior continuance research has examined satisfaction and habit as parallel predictors of sustained use, little is known about how compressed reinforcement cycles embedded in short-form ecosystems may strengthen the association between affective responses and habitual engagement under conditions of dense reinforcement. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, this study proposes a structurally reinforced habit-formation model in which environmental stimuli (access convenience, passing time, and content quality) influence affective satisfaction, which, in turn, is associated with habitual engagement and continuance intention. Using cross-sectional survey data from 260 short-form drama users, analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the findings reveal that affective satisfaction is significantly associated with habit formation, and that habit emerges as a dominant driver of continuance intention. Quantitatively, content quality (β = 0.448, p < 0.001) and passing time (β = 0.385, p < 0.001) were the strongest predictors of affective satisfaction, which strongly predicted habit (β = 0.686, p < 0.001) and continuance intention (β = 0.496, p < 0.001). Habit further contributed to continuance intention (β = 0.393, p < 0.001), with the model explaining 61.0% and 68.9% of the variance in affective satisfaction and continuance intention, respectively. Theoretically, this study advances structurally compressed engagement research by conceptualizing short-form structural features as contextual reinforcement conditions that strengthen the association between satisfaction and habit. Practically, the results suggest that micro-episodic design and rapid re-entry mechanisms play a critical role in stabilizing behavioral continuity in short-form drama ecosystems. Because the study used a cross-sectional survey design, the findings should be interpreted as correlational evidence of associations among digital experience factors, affective satisfaction, habit, and continuance intention rather than evidence of causal or temporal change.