Use of static and dynamic media to simulate environments: a meta-analysis.

This article is a review of studies on how strongly responses from static media (such as color slides) and dynamic media (such as virtual reality models) compared to onsite evaluations or to each other. Eighty-four empirical findings were found. 6,323 participants and 967 environments were included in the review. The overall correlation of subjective responses obtained either onsite or by viewing static color simulations was r = .86. The overall correlation of subjective responses obtained either onsite or by viewing dynamic simulations was r = .83. The overall correlation of subjective responses obtained either from static or dynamic media was r = .82. It is suggested that both types of simulation generate statistically equivalent results and so a choice of simulation media should be based on efficacy rather than concerns about validity.