In the digital era, social media proliferation accelerates rumor dissemination. During public health emergencies, such misinformation intensifies social harm. Studying the influencing factors of online rumor refutation behavior thus becomes crucial. This study uses the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) theory as an analysis framework, based on the perspective of information sources and integrating group norms as a moderating factor, to explore the psychological processes affecting Chinese university students’ online rumor refuting in public health emergencies. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 1017 respondents, and the collected data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling research method. The results indicate that both online and offline information seeking positively influence university students’ fear of contracting the COVID-19 virus. University students’ fear positively influences their engagement in online rumor refuting. Notably, fear mediates the link between online and offline information seeking and online rumor refuting. Additionally, group norms help strengthen the connection between university students’ fear and their involvement in online refuting rumors. These results provide theoretical explanations and practical guidance for university students to refute rumors online.

Public digital cultural services (PDCS) are vital for providing cultural resources in the digital age, and their success is closely associated with active public collaboration. While the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) explains behavioral intention through attitudes and subjective norms, it overlooks the role of institutional structures. Drawing on TRA and Control Rights Theory, this study constructs an extended theoretical framework by introducing perceived shared control rights as a core antecedent variable and digital trust as a moderating variable, aiming to explore the psychological factors associated with individual collaborative behavior in PDCS. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 819 users of PDCS platforms, and the research hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modeling. The results show that individuals’ attitudes and subjective norms are positively associated with their collaborative willingness, which in turn is positively associated with actual collaborative behavior. Perceived shared control rights are positively associated with both collaborative willingness and collaborative behavior, and also show an indirect association with collaborative behavior through collaborative willingness. Additionally, digital trust moderates the relationship between collaborative willingness and collaborative behavior, with this positive association being stronger for individuals with higher digital trust. This study bridges the gap between macro-institutional structures and micro-psychological behavior in PDCS research, offering theoretical insights and practical references for advancing collaborative governance and supporting the sustainable development of PDCS.

Public digital cultural service (PDCS) platforms are central to promoting equitable access to cultural resources in the digital era; however, sustaining users’ continued engagement remains a key challenge for public-sector platforms. This study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying users’ continued use intention toward PDCS platforms within a public governance context. Building on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Information Systems Success Model (ISSM), an integrated framework is developed that incorporates perceived government support as a moderating mechanism, thereby extending technology acceptance research to public digital cultural services. Empirical analysis, employing structural equation modeling, was conducted on survey data collected from 789 PDCS platform users in China. The results demonstrate that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use both exert significant positive impacts on users’ continued use intention toward PDCS platforms. Perceived ease of use positively influences perceived usefulness, which further mediates the relationship between perceived ease of use and continued use intention. Additionally, information quality and system quality are confirmed to be positive antecedents of both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. More importantly, perceived government support significantly enhances the positive effects of both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on users’ continued use intention. By integrating individual technology acceptance mechanisms with institutional support factors, this study deepens understanding of user engagement in public digital cultural services and offers practical implications for enhancing platform sustainability through improvements in system design, information quality, and government support strategies.