It is argued that Freud's seduction theory was so manifestly false that it was unlikely that his contemporaries would accept it or that he would retain it for very long. Assimilation is an increase in the perceived or sensed similarity of 1 part to a 2nd part.
Assimilation occurs for traditional parts such as color but also occurs for salience.
The theory accounts for key outcomes in perception, memory, and conditioning. An important hypothesis is that traditional assimilation and salience assimilation tend to have opposing effects on identification. The traditional assimilation of a target to a 2nd part frequently impairs the target's identification. In contrast, the assimilation of a less salient target to a more salient 2nd part increases the salience of the target and thus improves the target's identification. The corresponding hypothesis that 2 groups are associated with contrast between those parts that belong to different groups is also considered.