When people retrieve information from memory, their performance is often affected by previous retrieval operations or by the context in which the retrieval takes place. In the lexical decision task, for example, one must decide whether a string of letters is a word or a nonword (e.g., chair vs. chaer). It has been shown repeatedly that lexical decisions are faster and more accurate when the target word is preceded by an associated word (e.g., table-chair) than when it is preceded by an unassociated word (e.g., doctor-chair). This facilitation is called priming, and it occurs in just about any task that requires memory retrieval. The ubiquity of priming suggests that it may be a fundamental mechanism of memory retrieval.
We have tested a number of theories of associative priming, with an eye for uncovering basic principles of memory. This work is described in the following papers:
McNamara, T.P. (1992). Priming and constraints it places on theories of memory and retrieval. Psychological Review, 99, 650-662.
McNamara, T. P. (1992). Theories of Priming: I. Associative Distance and Lag. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 18, 1173-1190.
McNamara, T. P. (1994). Theories of Priming: II. Types of Primes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 507-520.
McNamara, T. P. (1994). Priming and Theories of Memory: A reply to Ratcliff and McKoon. Psychological Review, 101, 185-187.
McNamara, T. P., & Diwadkar, V. A. (1996). The context of memory retrieval. Journal of Memory and Language, 35, 877-892.
McNamara, T. P., & Holbrook, J. B. (2003). Semantic memory and priming. In A. F. Healy and R. W. Proctor (Eds.), Experimental psychology (pp. 447-474). Vol. 4 in I. B. Weiner (Editor-in-chief), Handbook of psychology. New York: Wiley.
What is the link between attention and associative priming? If priming is modulated to some degree by the attention paid to the priming stimulus, then priming should be diminished in situations in which attention to the prime is disrupted. We are studying this issue in ongoing projects.
In another ongoing project we are examining the constraints on semantic priming in lexical decision and animacy judgment. Particularly, we are examining whether semantic priming between words is short-lasting, as currently believed, or whether effects of long-lasting semantic priming (as recently reported) are robust.
For more information on some of our ongoing projects contact: