FAST VISUAL GENERATION - ITS NATURE AND CHRONOMETRICS

The fast-generation model for the matching of mixed-case letter pairs (e.g., Aa, Ab) states that one or both members of a pair activate visual representations in memory of the opposite case, supporting "same" or "different" responses through crossmatching to representations of the pair members themselves. Here the reaction time and error results of three experiments using simultaneous matches support a specific variant of the model in which generation proceeds from the uppercase letter. Furthermore, a manipulation of stimulus onset asynchrony in a fourth experiment using near-simultaneous matches indicates that fast generation produces a visual representation that occurs within 67 msec of initiation and that decays within 200 msec. A fifth experiment contrasts simultaneous and successive matches and in the case of successive matches finds evidence in support of a regeneration process acting after an initial decay. Models of mixed-case matching that are based on the phonetic representation of letter names, or on abstract-letter identities, completely fail to account for the results. Fast generation is distinguishable from slow generation in that it shows fast (vs. slow) dynamics, rapid decay (vs. maintainability), no imagery (vs. imagery), and (probably) automatic (vs. controlled) processing.