Handbook of Psychology, Volume 4: Experimental Psychology

CHAPTER 16

Semantic Memory and Priming

TIMOTHY P. MCNAMARA AND JON B. HOLBROOK

447

SEMANTIC MEMORY 447
Early Models of Semantic Memory 448
Major Issues and Findings 449
Contemporary Approaches to Semantic Memory 450
Summary 453
SEMANTIC PRIMING 453
Models of Semantic Priming 453
Major Issues and Findings 455

Summary 461

REPETITION PRIMING 461

Models of Repetition Priming 462

Major Issues and Findings 463

Summary 467

CONCLUSIONS 467

REFERENCES 468

The purpose of this chapter is to review theoretical and
empirical developments in the scientific understanding of se-
mantic memory and priming, including both semantic prim-
ing and repetition priming.Semantic memoryis our mental
storehouse of knowledge about the world and forms the foun-
dation of our abilities to understand and produce language.
Semantic primingrefers to an effect of context on retrieving
information from memory. For example, people can name a
word faster if it is paired with a related word (e.g.,lion-tiger)
than if it is paired with an unrelated word (e.g.,table-tiger).
Repetition primingrefers to an effect of prior experience on
retrieving information from memory. For instance, a word
can be named faster the second time it appears than the first
time it appears. Although these categories of memory phe-
nomena differ in content and scope, they may be related in
important ways. Semantic priming is probably produced by
fundamental mechanisms of retrieval in semantic memory,
and all three have been identified as important components of
implicit memory.
The plan of the chapter is as follows: In the first section,
we review models of semantic memory proposed in the

1960s and 1970s and the major empirical findings that were

used to test these models. We also summarize two contempo-

rary models of semantic memory, distributed network models

and high-dimensional spatial models. In the second section of

the chapter, we examine semantic priming. We review the

most influential models of semantic priming and then sum-

marize empirical developments, focusing in particular on is-

sues that have turned out to be important for testing models

of semantic priming. In the final section of the chapter, we

look at repetition priming, reviewing both models and major

issues and findings. We close with a brief summary of our

major conclusions.

SEMANTIC MEMORY

Semantic memory refers to our knowledge about language

and facts about the world; it can be thought of as a mental

dictionary, encyclopedia, and thesaurus all rolled into one

(e.g., E. E. Smith, 1978; Tulving, 1972). A defining charac-

teristic of semantic memories is that we, as introspective

observers, do not know where they came from; they are not

represented in terms of specific times and places. Semantic

memory has traditionally been contrasted with episodic

memory (e.g., Tulving, 1983). Episodic memory refers to our

knowledge that is tagged temporally or spatially, or identified

in some way in terms of personal experiences (see also the

chapter in this volume by Roediger & Marsh). Although there

are reasons to believe that semantic memory and episodic

Preparation of this chapter was supported in part by NIMH Grant
R01-MH57868. The authors are grateful to Derek Besner, Dorothee
Chwilla, Alice Healy, Steve Joordens, Margery Lucas, Ken McRae,
James Neely, David Plaut, Robert Proctor, and Irving Weiner for
their comments on sections or drafts of this chapter.