3.4.9—Environmental factors
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2027
- Objective
- 3.4.9
- Level
- HL
Environmental factors shape cognition through experience and opportunity
Environmental factors include education, stress, sleep, nutrition, technology, social resources and physical surroundings. They can change cognitive performance by altering practice, attention, physiological load or available strategies.
The pathway needs a defined exposure, timing and outcome. A developmental theory may describe how thinking changes, but the exposure and learning conditions still need separate evidence.
A quiet study space can improve working-memory performance by reducing interruptions. That does not prove a permanent cognitive change; the effect may disappear when the environment changes.
An environmental influence is not a developmental stage or a permanent trait. Specify the exposure, timing, cognitive process and comparison, then distinguish a temporary performance effect from lasting cognitive change.