Problem-solving performance can be affected by environmental factors, such as background noise. A cognitive psychologist investigated this by giving participants a booklet of 25 logical reasoning puzzles to solve within a restrictive 15-minute time limit. One group of six participants completed the task while classical background music was playing. A second, independent group of six participants completed the task in a completely silent environment. The quantitative data collected is presented in the table below.
| Number of puzzles correctly solved (max. 25) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background music group | Silent environment group | ||||
| Participant | Score | Rank | Participant | Score | Rank |
| A | 18 | 8 | G | 22 | 11 |
| B | 15 | 5.5 | H | 13 | 3 |
| C | 12 | 2 | I | 19 | 9 |
| D | 16 | 7 | J | 15 | 5.5 |
| E | 11 | 1 | K | 24 | 12 |
| F | 14 | 4 | L | 20 | 10 |
| n1=6n_1 = 6n1=6 | n2=6n_2 = 6n2=6 |
Explain one weakness of using quantitative data in this study.
