ABSTRACT
The argument that apparent category effects result from poor matching of categories on important stimulus variables such as visual complexity and word frequency was put forth most strongly by Tippett et al. (1996) and Montanes et al. (1995). Having tallied the different characteristics of the category effect in AD, such as its modest effect size and its presence primarily in ADs with strong semantic (called by some “verbal”) deficits, it is not surprising that some researchers have failed to obtain category effects. We would argue, however, that their objections have mostly been answered by the number and variety of other studies that have been carried out and have found that there is a category effect present in AD subjects that is not discernible in normal populations.
