Accuracy of memory performance per se is an imperfect reflection of the cognitive activity (awareness states) that underlies performance in memory tasks. The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of varied visual fidelity on the transfer of training to the real-world after exposure to immersive simulations representing a real-world scene. A between groups experiment was therefore carried out to explore the effect of rendering quality on measurements of location-based recognition memory for objects and measurements of any associated states of awareness. The immersive simulation consisted of one room that was either rendered flat-shaded or using radiosity rendering. The simulation was displayed on a stereo head-tracked Head Mounted Display. After the immersive simulation, participants completed a recognition memory task in a real-world scene by physically arranging objects (in their physical form) in a real world room In addition to the recognition memory task, participants also reported one of four states of awareness following object recognition. Participants were given several options of awareness states that reflected the level of visual mental imagery involved during retrieval, the familiarity of the recollection and also included guesses. The scene also incorporated objects that 'fitted' into the specific context of the real-world scene (an academic's office), referred to as consistent objects, and objects which were not related to the specific context of the real-world scene,referred to as inconsistent objects. A follow-up study was also conducted a week after the initial test. Interestingly, results revealed a higher proportion of correct object recognition that was associated with an awareness state based on mental imagery when the immersive simulation was flat-rendered rather than radiosity rendered This supports similar results from previous studies and extends them to the transfer of training. Memory psychology indicates that awareness states based on visual imagery require stronger attentional processing in the first instance than those based on familiarity. A tentative claim would therefore be that those immersive environments that are distinctive because of their variation from 'real', such as flat-shaded environments, recruit stronger attentional resources. This additional attentional processing may bring about a change in participants' subjective experiences of 'remembering' when they later transfer the training from that environment into a real-world situation.

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