Visual word recognition: a multistage activation model

Abstract

Although many models of word recognition have postulated loci for the simple effects of Context, Stimulus Quality, and Word Frequency, most of them are problematic in that they do not account for the pattern of joint effects among these factors. The experiments reported here show that, among other things, Word Frequency interacts with Context but is additive with Stimulus Quality in the context of a lexical decision experiment that also produces an interaction between Stimulus Quality and Context. The pattern of joint effects among these factors is accommodated by a multistage activation model that is based on the framework proposed by Besner and Smith (1992a).