- Audience members assume that words, graphics, or other changes in appearance convey new information. For example, most people assume new information is being conveyed by changes in the appearance of the background, bullet points, or color. Random changes in appearance, transitions between slides, or in terminology (like randomly switching between “dog” and “domesticated canine”) would lead an audience astray. 
- Clearly marking the beginnings and ends of sections of a presentation helps audience members follow the presentation. 

The Principle of Informative Change’s Corollaries

The P.I.C. entails that people expect changes in perceptual properties to carry information, and expect every necessary piece of information to be conveyed by such a perceptible change. 

Ohio State University, Columbus

After visual patterns are encoded, they need to be integrated. In a typical presentation, material needs to be integrated in working memory over the course of multiple slides. The integration process is a prelude to completely comprehending both individual displays and the whole presentation. The following two principles fall under working memory: Limited Capacity and Informative Change.

Working Memory

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

The Principle of Informative Change

The P.S. states that attention is drawn to large perceptible differences. The superior colliculus section of the brain operates as attentional reflex, automatically drawing visual attention to large differences among stimuli.

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