Psychological fidelity
Also known as psychological realism
The degree to which a simulation reproduces the thinking, pressures, emotions and decisions of the real task, regardless of how physically realistic the equipment or setting looks.
A scenario has psychological fidelity when learners face the uncertainty, competing priorities and consequences they would meet in practice, and respond as they would there. Many simulation educators argue it matters more for transfer to practice than physical realism, especially for decision-making and communication.
In a branching scenario it comes from consequences, time pressure and believable people rather than graphics. Node XR's healthcare page describes branching clinical decisions where every choice has consequences, with learners reading the team, not just the chart.