The regulated 'think first, ChatGPT later' group outperformed both other groups in independent originality on the unassisted task despite no assisted-task advantage¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-15 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 On the unassisted product invention task, the regulated-AI group produced more original solutions than both the human-only group (d = 0.52) and the general-AI group (d = 0.48), despite not differing from the human-only group on the assisted task (d = 0.18). → Wong 2026

Evidence¶

Wong 2026¶

Wong, S. S. H., & Qiu, S. X. (2026). Think First, ChatGPT Later: Guiding Human–AI Collaboration for Learning Gains in Independent Human Creativity. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10118-7

q3 · i2 · medium effect, d = 0.52 and 0.48 · causal · r2

Simple-effects decomposition of the 3 × 2 mixed ANOVA on originality. On the unassisted product invention task, "the regulated-AI ( M = 3.42, SD = 1.63) group produced more original solutions than both the human-only" and general-AI groups. On the assisted task, "the regulated-AI group did not differ from the human-only group in their originality during the intervention, p =.90, d = 0.18."

"the regulated-AI ( M = 3.42, SD = 1.63) group produced more original solutions than both the human-only ( M = 2.63, SD = 1.45) and general-AI ( M = 2.69, SD = 1.44) groups, p =.009 and .017, d = 0.52 and 0.48"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Creativity — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Free ChatGPT use boosts originality on the assisted creative task but the advantage disappears when assistance is removed — related
• Collaborative prompt use mediated the regulated-AI group's advantage over the general-AI group in independent originality — related
• The regulated-AI group sustained originality across tasks while both other groups declined from the easier to the more complex task — related
• The general-AI group most often dictated ChatGPT to directly generate solutions while the regulated-AI group more frequently collaborated to improve self-generated ideas — related
• ChatGPT use improves the quality, elaboration, and originality of university students' solutions to a complex ill-defined problem-solving task — related
• The increase in students inventing their own ways of solving tasks was minor, but there was a marked increase in students agreeing the CCS tasks required inventing their own ideas — related
• Reviews citing one randomised trial (Bastani et al. 2025) report that unrestricted GPT-4 access in high-school mathematics raised assisted practice performance but left students worse off after withdrawal — related