Availability, salience and vividness are three terms which refer to very similar things in psychology but have slightly different meanings. It has been argued that they may actually all refer to the same underlying concept, and it has been shown that they positively influence one another, but they are each used consistently in different theoretical contexts.

Availability refers to how likely or probable something appears, in probability estimation.

Vividness refers to how easily recalled and convincing something is, in persuasion.

Salience refers to the likelihood that something will appear causal, in attribution theory.

References

• Plous, S. (1993). The psychology of judgment and decision making. New York: McGraw-Hill.