{"id":1451,"slug":"rule-make-user-generate-not-just-pick","title":"R4 — Where appropriate, make the user GENERATE inputs (not just pick from menus) — the generation effect d≈0.40 is real but ceilings beyond ~900 words and doesn't scale to expository text","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["agency-methodology","forms-conversion","interactive-tool-mechanisms","generation-effect"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** Where appropriate, make the user **generate** inputs (free-text where useful, short typed answers, configured-by-the-user options) rather than picking from canned dropdowns. The generation effect is real but **ceilings beyond ~900 words** and **does not reliably scale to expository text**.\n\n**Why:** Slamecka & Graf 1978 ([[slamecka-graf-1978-generation-effect-foundational]]) + Bertsch 2007 meta **d ≈ 0.40** ([[bertsch-2007-generation-effect-meta-d-0-40]]) + McCurdy 2020 ([[mccurdy-2020-generation-effect-meta-126-papers]]) — robust at word-level. **Limits**: text generation [[text-generation-eg-2023-no-effect-beyond-900-words]] and 2025 expository-text replication ([[2025-replication-generation-effect-doesnt-transfer-to-expository]]).\n\n**How to apply:**\n- Default to short typed inputs over dropdowns when both are equally usable (small but real engagement / memory lift).\n- Cap input fields at the form-friction reality — pair with [[form-friction-conversion-claim]] from Brief A.\n- Don't over-apply: no \"generate a paragraph describing your business\" — the 900-word ceiling and expository-text caveat make that counterproductive.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"rule-maximise-self-relevance-in-output","title":"R3 — Maximise self-relevance in the output: show the user's own number, not \"people like you average X\"; the personalization mechanism is the best-evidenced lever in the brief","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"slamecka-graf-1978-generation-effect-foundational","title":"Slamecka & Graf (1978), JEP:HLM 4(6) — Generation Effect: generated words beat read words across cued/uncued recognition, free and cued recall, and confidence","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"bertsch-2007-generation-effect-meta-d-0-40","title":"Bertsch, Pesta, Wiscott & McDaniel (2007), Memory & Cognition 35(2) — 86-study generation-effect meta: d ≈ 0.40 (\"almost half a standard deviation\"); LARGER at longer retention (d ≈ 0.64 for >1 day)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"mccurdy-2020-generation-effect-meta-126-papers","title":"McCurdy et al. (2020), Psychonomic Bulletin & Review — 126-article / 310-experiment meta: generation effect magnitude depends on \"generation constraint\" (how constrained the produced response is)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"text-generation-eg-2023-no-effect-beyond-900-words","title":"Text-generation meta-analysis (Educational Psychology Review 2023) — Hedges g ≈ .41; LARGEST for 301-600 word texts; NO EFFECT beyond ~900 words","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"2025-replication-generation-effect-doesnt-transfer-to-expository","title":"CAVEAT — 2025 conceptual replication (Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications) — generation effect did NOT reliably transfer to learning from expository text; some experiments showed disadvantage","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-engagement-mechanisms-top-up-smb-june-2026","title":"Research notes (capture-layer top-up): why interactive online tools are psychologically engaging — six additional mechanisms (June 2026)","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-20T19:24:16.030Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T19:24:16.030Z"}