Registered Report: A Replication Examining Occupational Experience and Performance on the Water-Level Task

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Spatial Reasoning
• Replication Science

Background:

• Conflicting findings exist regarding occupational experience and water-level task performance.
• Previous studies (Hecht & Proffitt, 1995; Vasta et al., 1997) had small sample sizes, leading to uncertainty.
• Direct replication is crucial for verifying scientific findings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To directly replicate the primary finding of Hecht and Proffitt (1995) on occupational experience and water-level task performance.
• To address the uncertainty caused by conflicting results and small sample sizes in prior research.
• To investigate the relationship between experience handling liquids and performance on the water-level task.

Main Methods:

• A high-powered direct replication study was conducted with 407 adult participants in Germany.
• The methodology aimed to closely follow Hecht and Proffitt (1995).
• Statistical analyses were performed to compare performance between groups with and without relevant occupational experience.

Main Results:

• The primary finding of Hecht and Proffitt (1995) was not replicated.
• A small, nonsignificant difference was observed between the groups.
• The study had less than 33% power to detect the observed nonsignificant difference.

Conclusions:

• Occupational experience handling liquids does not appear to negatively impact water-level task performance, contrary to Hecht and Proffitt (1995).
• The current high-powered replication suggests the original findings may not be robust.
• Further research may be needed to fully understand the factors influencing water-level task performance.