La corrélation illusoire basée sur la saillance: Généralisation aux stimuli visuels et verbaux sans stéréotype.

A study was designed to assess the generalizability of the distinctiveness-based illusory correlation effect (DBICE). To this end, a variant of the standard paradigm presented participants inanimate objects instead of person descriptions. DBICE was clearly reproduced in both the frequency estimation measure and the attribution of stimuli to one or the other group. However, recognition data did not support the distinctiveness hypothesis concerning the differential availability of salient stimulus combination in memory, i.e. stimuli that are rare and members of the minority group. These results challenge the availability heuristic as explanatory mechanism for the phenomenon.