No Evidence for a Negative Effect of Realism When Learning About a Process Despite an Increase in Cognitive Load

Realistic visualizations have been found to enhance the learning of object shapes, but regarding the learning of processes, the effects of realism are largely unclear. Previous findings indicate that realism can induce a higher level of extraneous cognitive load compared with schematics and that details are attention-consuming. The present experiment was conducted to assess the effects of realism on learning about a process with combinations of texts and pictures. It was hypothesized that realism would be a hindrance in engaging with texts due to the potential for distraction exerted by details. Students either learned with a schematic or a realistic version of a life-cycle diagram accompanied by texts. Realism increased participants' extraneous cognitive load, while there were no significant differences regarding retention performance. The results confirm previous results that realism can increase subjective extraneous cognitive load, but highlight that realism may not prevent learners from understanding textual information.