Expression that characterizes the positive correlation between the degree of psychological significance and intensity of the physiological response. The concept of differential salience is based on the premise that responsivity can reveal underlying mental processes which can be exploited to detect deception or recognition under controlled and structured conditions. It does not restrict the operating mechanism to fear, but assumes a common pathway for the physiological expression of those cognitive and emotional processes that gave rise to the psychological salience. It is proposed as a substitute for the older “Psychological Set” hypothesis. See: Handler & Nelson (2007); Handler, Shaw & Gougler (2010); Senter, Weatherman, Krapohl & Horvath (2010).