Fact · Dictation
The 2015 study's mediation analysis found that cognitive demand fully accounted for the difference in idea fluency between writing and speaking.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“level of cognitive demand fully mediated the effect of response medium on AUT fluency”
Interaction effect of response medium and working memory capacity on creative idea generation, Ning Hao et al., Frontiers in Psychology, 2015, Abstract.
Open the original (DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01582)- What it measures
- The authors measured cognitive demand as a separate variable and then tested whether it accounted for the effect of writing versus speaking. In their model, once cognitive demand was included, the effect of response medium on fluency was no longer significant.
- What it does not show
- A mediation analysis in one sample. It supports the authors' explanation for this task, but it does not show that the same mechanism operates in dictated drafting.