ABSTRACT
When two letter strings are presented successively for brief durations at the same location, perceptual identification of the second (target) string can be facilitated when it shares letters with the first (prime) string, relative to when the letter strings are unrelated. This “orthographic priming” can occur even when subjects fail to identify the first string.
Two experiments are reported which examine some of the boundary conditions under which orthographic priming occurs. Experiment 1 demonstrates that orthographic priming occurs under conditions where subjects fail to discriminate whether primes are letter strings or rows of Xs, and where subjects fail to report prime letters at a level greater than chance when targets are not presented. It also shows that orthographic priming serves primarily to prevent the prime string from interfering with target identification; an effect which occurs when the strings are unrelated. Experiment 2 involves a contrast between priming effects when primes are masked and not identified (with a short stimulus onset asynchrony [SOA] between the prime and target), and when a long SOA is used and primes can be identified. Orthographic priming occurred only when primes were masked and unidentified.
It is suggested that orthographic priming occurs when primes and targets are not classed as discrete perceptual events. Under this circumstance, there are inhibitory interactions between incompatible strings, and facilitatory interactions when primes activate representations mediating target identification. 106Qualitatively different effects arise when primes and targets are identified as separate perceptual events. The implications of these results for interpreting orthographic priming effects are discussed.
