The Effect of Simulation Fidelity on Transfer of Training for Troubleshooting Professionals: A Meta-Analysis.

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSPeople in many occupations that involve using complex tools need to know how to troubleshoot those tools in real time and with minimum cost. Training troubleshooting professionals is thus a concern for various occupational sectors-particularly the military, aviation, power plant, and in industrial processes-and large investments have been made to create and use simulators that train troubleshooting skills. In the design and evaluation of simulators for troubleshooting, this review shows that no single level of simulation realism-or fidelity-works best in training, and that the effect of fidelity depends on trainees' prior skill level and the type of troubleshooting system (electronic or mechanical).