A method for a plausibility check of the output of an artificial neural network (ANN) utilized as a classifier. The method includes: a plurality of images for which the ANN has ascertained an association with one or multiple classes of a predefined classification, and the association that is ascertained in each case by the ANN, are provided; for each image at least one feature parameter is determined which characterizes the type, the degree of specificity, and/or the position of at least one feature contained in the image; for each combination of an image and an association, a spatially resolved relevance assessment of the image is ascertained by applying a relevance assessment function; a setpoint relevance assessment is ascertained for each combination, using the feature parameter; a quality criterion for the relevance assessment function is ascertained based on the agreement between the relevance assessments and the setpoint relevance assessments.