ABSTRACT
Suppose that a subject is shown a row of letters and is asked to name as many letters from the display as possible. If the letters spell a word, the subject may name the word rather than list the letter names. This chapter describes the mental activity involved in preparing the internal representation needed for such naming tasks. I start by outlining a model for tachistoscopic naming tasks that has been presented elsewhere (Mewhort & Campbell, 1981). After outlining the model, I show how it deals with sequential responses in whole-report letter naming and then show how it applies to word identification. In addition, I summarize how the model deals with two partial-report tasks, and I use the partial-report examples to discuss how the model fits with recent analyses of attention in vision. I conclude by reviewing some new evidence concerning the separation of stages described by the model.
