Does Negative Priming Reflect Inhibitory Mechanisms? A Review and Integration of Conflicting Views

Abstract

Negative priming has traditionally been viewed as a reflection of an inhibitory mechanism of attention. However, recent accounts have suggested that negative priming does not reflect inhibitory mechanisms. Rather, slowed reaction times on negative priming trials are either due to retrieval of incompatible response tags or of mismatching perceptual information, or due to extra processes needed to distinguish past from present information. In contrast, it is proposed that there is no firm evidence to discount inhibition models. In fact, although retrieval processes can be implicated in negative priming effects, understanding of these requires consideration of the inhibitory processes involved in selecting information for goal-directed behaviour.