2.4.1 - Cognitive psychology practical investigation

Conduct one ethical cognitive-psychology practical: design a repeated-measures laboratory experiment that gathers quantitative data. Make decisions about sampling, operationalisation, controls, hypotheses, experimenter effects, demand characteristics and order effects. Present and interpret central tendency, dispersion and appropriate graphs; consider normality where relevant; use the Wilcoxon non-parametric test of difference with significance and critical/observed values; evaluate strengths, weaknesses and improvements; and write the procedure, results and discussion. Suitable contexts include dual-task working-memory studies or acoustic similarity and short-term memory.

Use - cognitive psychology practical investigation to connect the rule to the data and decision in the question.

This matters because - cognitive psychology practical investigation determines what can be inferred or chosen; begin with the stated conditions and keep the conclusion tied to the evidence.

Example: apply - cognitive psychology practical investigation to one small, clearly defined case, show the key step or comparison, and explain the result in words.

Boundary: - Cognitive psychology practical investigation is not a universal recommendation. Check the syllabus scope, assumptions, units and the limits of the evidence before generalising.