Additivity from Multiple Primes in Identifying Backward Written Words

Activational theories of memory assume that activation from several sources adds up to an intersecting node. We tested this idea in one experiment where we kept constant the number of primes presented and we manipulated the number of different primes related to the target, the number of presentations of the same prime, or the same target, presented as a prime. We used a task in which the target was always a word, which appeared written backward and had to be identified. We found a strong effect of target repetition and diminished priming in the condition in which the target was repeated. We obtained additivity (greater activation) mainly in the condition in which we presented several different primes, replicating and extending past results.