Abstract
As the global and Kenyan media industries rapidly transition to digital-first, multi-platform storytelling, Mass Communication students are increasingly required to possess advanced technical skills. However, a critical skills gap persists within Kenyan higher education: despite significant investments in digital laboratories, students at institutions like Kabarak University frequently exhibit high technical proficiency but paradoxically fail to translate these skills into innovative journalistic content, often defaulting to derivative projects to secure passing grades. This study fills this empirical gap by investigating the underlying psychological mechanisms. Nevertheless, the process of converting the simple software skill into real creative innovation is under-researched in the context of higher education in East Africa. This research is based on a theoretical synthesis of the Cognitive Load Theory of John Sweller and the Social Cognitive Theory of Albert Bandura and explores the psychological intervening variable between technical proficiency and creative performance. A structured instrument was used to gather primary data through the use of an exploratory, qualitative-dominant mixed-methods research design (concurrent triangulation) among undergraduate students of Mass Communication at Kabarak University, Kenya (N=30). The instrument combined quantitative Likert scales with qualitative open-ended questions to create a descriptive floor of cognitive load and the lived technical experiences of students, respectively. The combined results indicate that there is an Academic Risk Aversion Paradox in which the local infrastructural friction serves as an extreme extraneous cognitive burden that makes students give up creative aspiration and pursue mechanical recreation. Finally, this paper will claim that technical fluency is only one of the minimum qualifications; university programs need to actively offset infrastructural shortcomings to create the creative self-efficacy needed to drive the multi-skilled digital reporters that modern newsrooms demand. To dismantle this Academic Risk Aversion Paradox, the study concludes that institutional solutions must extend beyond simple hardware acquisition. Specifically, based on the localized friction experienced by the cohort, media departments must fundamentally revise their practical grading rubrics. By explicitly rewarding creative risk-taking, experimental ambition, and iterative failure rather than demanding error-free mechanical replication, educators can artificially lower performance-related cognitive load and actively rebuild the creative self-efficacy required for genuine digital innovation.