An example of the Law of Proximity would be the following: People see “XXX XXX” as two separate groups of three each, instead of six separate x’s. We see objects near each other as being “together” naturally. 

The Law of Proximity Example

An example of the Law of Similarity would be the following: People see “///\\\” as two separate groups, instead of six different lines with no correlation. Since half of them lean in the same direction, we naturally group the similar facing lines together.

The Law of Similarity Example

Classical grouping “Laws” specify the perceptual conditions that guide viewers to see elements in a single group. For example, people tend to group together elements that are nearby (The Law of Proximity). Similarly, we group together elements that appear similar (The Law of Similarity). 

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When viewing a sequence of slide, the audience primarily will encode what they see, and if they fail to encode material, it may as well not even exist. The follow three principles cover encoding processes in this context: Discriminability, Perceptual Organization, and Salience.

Encoding Processes

Kosslyn, S. M., Kievit, R. A., Russell, A. G., & Shephard, J. M. (2012, July 17). PowerPoint® Presentation Flaws and failures: A psychological analysis. Frontiers. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00230/full 

PowerPoint® Presentation Flaws and Failures: A Psychological Analysis

Other Information Processing Laws

The P.D. means that two properties (such as two colors, degrees of gray, or sizes) can’t convey different information unless they differ by a large enough proportion to be easily distinguished. 

The Principle of Discriminability 

The P.P.O. entails that people automatically organize elements into groups, which they then attend to, and remember more accurately. 

Principle of Perceptual Organization

The P.L.C. states that people have a limited capacity to retain and process information, and won’t understand a message if too much information needs to be memorized and processed. 

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