The optimal choice of the level of realism in instructional visualizations is a difficult task. Previous studies suggest that realism can overwhelm learners, but a growing body of research demonstrates that realistic details can enhance learning. In the first experiment (n = 107), it was assessed whether learning using realistic visualizations can be distracting and therefore particularly benefits from pre-training. Participants learned the anatomy of the parotid gland using labeled visualizations. While pre-training did not have an effect, a more realistic visualization enhanced learning compared to a schematic visualization. In the second experiment (n = 132), a schematic diagram was compared to a more realistic style featuring basic depth cues, and a highly realistic visualization containing a detailed surface. Regarding retention performance, no significant differences were found. However, an interesting pattern regarding subjective cognitive load ratings emerged: the schematic version received the highest cognitive load ratings, while the version featuring simplified shading was rated as least demanding. The version containing simplified depth cues also elicited lower cognitive load ratings than the detailed visualization. The two experiments demonstrate that fears concerning a detrimental effect of realistic details should not be over-generalized. While schematic visualizations may be easier to visually process in some cases, extracting depth information from contour drawings adds cognitive demands to a learning task. Thus, it is advisable that computer-generated visualizations contain at least simplified forms of shading, while the addition of details does not appear to have a strong positive effect.

教学可视化中现实主义水平的最佳选择是一项艰巨的任务。先前的研究表明，现实主义可能会让学习者不知所措，但越来越多的研究表明，现实的细节可以增强学习效果。在第一个实验（n  = 107）中，评估了使用真实可视化进行学习是否会分散注意力，因此从预训练中特别受益。参与者使用标记的可视化来学习腮腺的解剖结构。虽然预训练没有效果，但与示意性可视化相比，更真实的可视化可以增强学习效果。在第二个实验 ( n  = 132) 中，将示意图与具有基本深度提示的更真实的风格以及包含详细表面的高度真实的可视化进行了比较。关于保留性能，没有发现显着差异。然而，关于主观认知负荷评级出现了一个有趣的模式：示意图版本获得了最高的认知负荷评级，而具有简化阴影的版本被评为要求最低。包含简化的深度提示的版本也比详细的可视化版本引起了更低的认知负荷评级。这两个实验表明，对现实细节产生有害影响的担忧不应过度概括。虽然在某些情况下，示意图可视化可能更容易进行视觉处理，但从轮廓图中提取深度信息会增加学习任务的认知需求。因此，建议计算机生成的可视化至少包含简化形式的阴影，而添加细节似乎不会产生强烈的积极效果。