Learners are subjected to more and more incorrect information.

Testing during learning using incorrect information can foster performance.

We investigated whether testing with incorrect visualizations promotes learning.

Testing improved retention combined with realistic visuals, not with schematics.

Learners are increasingly subjected to inaccurate visualizations generated using artificial intelligence. Coincidentally, some learning strategies purposely let learners engage with erroneous content. Instructional visualizations can be created in varying levels of perceptual richness (or realism). We conducted the present experiment to assess whether testing using erroneous examples can be a viable strategy for learning tasks depending on their perceptual richness.

The two factors of testing (with an error-spotting task vs. without) and realism (schematic vs. realistic) were assessed using two retention tests.

Testing with erroneous examples was detrimental when combined with schematic visualizations, but helpful when applied to realistic imagery in one of the tests.

Studying with erroneous examples appears to require a certain level of realism to be an effective method. Exposing learners to inaccurate visualizations such as those generated by artificial intelligence tools may not be problematic as long as this fact is disclosed.

Erroneous examples

Realism

Cognitive load

Visualization

Generative AI

© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.