Are sentences verified by a lone computational mechanism, or does this mechanism race in parallel with a generally faster search of semantic memory? Rejecting either the single- or dual-process account would clarify whether semantic memory is structured, or is a relatively unstructured (computational) system. This study examined verification reaction-time (RT) distributions for a dissociation between fast and slow RTs due to the manipulation of semantic variables. A race between a search and a generally slower computational process should yield a RT distribution whose fastest RTs are usually determined by the search and whose slowest RTs are usually determined by computation. If a manipulation affects these 2 processes differently, then fast and slow RTs will be differentially affected. Results from 3 verification experiments support this view. Other results suggest even greater process complexity. (A)
Samenvatting