Summary traces preserved task performance at the answer-only baseline while elevating subjective appraisal¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? The Answer-only and Summary-trace conditions did not significantly differ in achieved performance, indicating summary traces preserved performance at the no-trace level. → Fernandes 2026

Evidence¶

Fernandes 2026¶

Fernandes, D., Buschek, D., Tankelevitch, L., Kosch, T., & Welsch, R. (2026). Explaining Too Much? Understanding How Large Language Model Reasoning Traces Influence Performance and Metacognition. https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.25856 doi:10.48550/arxiv.2605.25856

q3 · i? · causal · r3

In the preregistered between-subjects experiment, the pairwise test between Answer-only and Summary-trace achieved performance was non-significant (p = .639), with a negligible printed difference of d = -0.05; equivalence was not formally tested.

"Answer-onlyandSummary-traceconditions did not significantly differ ( 𝑡( 374)=− 0.47,𝑝=. 639,𝑑=− 0.05)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Full reasoning traces impaired task performance relative to both answer-only and summary-trace conditions in AI-assisted LSAT reasoning — related
• Reasoning-trace exposure raised trust and hedonic appeal without performance benefits, shifting subjective appraisal of the interaction — related
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• No trace format supported calibrated self-evaluation: perceived-achieved correlations were low and non-significant in all conditions — related
• Hedonic appeal, not trust, carries the indirect path from trace exposure to performance overestimation, consistent with a processing-fluency account — related
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