Semantic priming and sensitivity in lexical decision.

M. J. Farah (1989) argued that qualitatively different attentional mechanisms underlie perceptual and semantic priming. The crux of this argument is her claim that semantic priming, unlike perceptual priming, does not alter sensitivity. It is suggested that the evidential base for this claim is weak, and 4 experiments are reported in which semantic priming altered sensitivity. In Exps 1, 3, and 4, lexical decision was reliably primed by associates, and signal detection analyses indicated that both sensitivity and bias were affected. In Exp 2, significant semantic priming was also demonstrated with a 2-alternative forced choice paradigm in which performance is independent of criterion bias. These results challenge the claim that semantic priming does not alter sensitivity. The broader implications of these results are considered for attentional mechanisms and for J. A. Fodor's (1983, 1985) modularity claims. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)