It's conjecture that it applies in the circumstances described. And expectation bias is a term oft misused on here, and doesn't really mean what you imply it means, here. Which all suggests to me that you're just repeating a trope, rather than arguing from any position of genuine knowledge and understanding.
What it boils down to, is this:
"I can find no plausible technical explanation for what you perceive, therefore you probably imagined it. Here's a handy theory, which I'm not that familiar with, which fits my assumption and I'm not too bothered how well it fits."
You're probably familiar with the eye-rolling that genuine scientists give when lay people misappropriate their work. I vaguely recall some people with a genuine understanding of aspects of perceptual science, being rather more circumspect in their views. The confidence you display, suggests ignorance rather than deep understanding, sorry. People with a deep understanding rarely take an absolutist position.