Flexibility mediates the effect of cognitive group awareness on originality in the subsequent individual phase, acting as a complementary mediator¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Design limits · Farrokhnia 2024: groups were assigned but students were analysed as independent (read from the study by two models, 2026-10-30)

Subclaims¶

q3 i? The indirect effect of the group-awareness intervention on second-phase originality through flexibility was significant, confirming H9. → Farrokhnia 2024

Evidence¶

Farrokhnia 2024¶

Farrokhnia, M., Noroozi, O., Baggen, Y., Biemans, H., & Weinberger, A. (2024). Improving hybrid brainstorming outcomes with computer-supported scaffolds: Prompts and cognitive group awareness. Computers & Education 227 (2025) 105229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105229

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Mediation analysis (PROCESS Model 4, 5000 bootstrap samples) on second-individual-phase data. The intervention significantly predicted flexibility (b = 0.64, p = .02), flexibility predicted originality (b = 0.29, p < .001), and the indirect effect was "significant (b = 0.18, 95% CI [0.02, 0.40])"; the direct effect also remained significant.

"The indirect effect of the intervention on originality, mediated by flexibility, was also significant (b = 0.18, 95% CI [0.02, 0.40]), confirming H9. Given that both the direct effect of the intervention on originality and the indirect effect through flexibility exist and point in the same direction, this indicates that flexibility functions as a “complementary” mediator"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Creativity — outcome: instruction changes it
• Executive Function — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Sharing individually generated ideas during the group phase (cognitive group awareness) increases the originality of collaboratively generated ideas — related
• Cognitive group awareness support during the group phase carries over to improve originality, fluency, and flexibility in the subsequent individual phase — related