Concept:
To differentiate complex expressions involving inverse trigonometric functions, simplify the inner argument using standard trigonometric identities before computing the derivative.
Step 1: Simplify the inner expression.
Let \( y = \cos^{-1}\left( \frac{\sin x + \cos x}{\sqrt{2}} \right) \). We can distribute the denominator:
\[
\frac{\sin x + \cos x}{\sqrt{2}} = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\cos x + \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\sin x
\]
Recall the standard trigonometric values: \( \cos\left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \) and \( \sin\left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \). Substituting these into the formula:
\[
\frac{\sin x + \cos x}{\sqrt{2}} = \cos x \cos\left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right) + \sin x \sin\left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right)
\]
Using the cosine subtraction identity, \( \cos(A - B) = \cos A \cos B + \sin A \sin B \), we rewrite it as:
\[
\cos\left(x - \frac{\pi}{4}\right)
\]
Step 2: Substitute back into the inverse function.
\[
y = \cos^{-1}\left( \cos\left(x - \frac{\pi}{4}\right) \right)
\]
We are given the domain restriction: \( -\frac{\pi}{4} < x < \frac{\pi}{4} \). Subtracting \( \frac{\pi}{4} \) across the inequality:
\[
-\frac{\pi}{4} - \frac{\pi}{4} < x - \frac{\pi}{4} < \frac{\pi}{4} - \frac{\pi}{4} \implies -\frac{\pi}{2} < x - \frac{\pi}{4} < 0
\]
Since cosine is an even function, \( \cos\left(x - \frac{\pi}{4}\right) = \cos\left(\frac{\pi}{4} - x\right) \). Under our domain, the angle \( \left(\frac{\pi}{4} - x\right) \) lies in \( \left(0, \frac{\pi}{2}\right) \), which is well within the principal value branch of \( \cos^{-1} \) (i.e., \( [0, \pi] \)). Thus:
\[
y = \cos^{-1}\left( \cos\left(\frac{\pi}{4} - x\right) \right) = \frac{\pi}{4} - x
\]
Step 3: Differentiate with respect to \( x \).
Now, we take the derivative of our simplified equation:
\[
\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{d}{dx}\left( \frac{\pi}{4} - x \right) = 0 - 1 = -1
\]