Does negative priming imply preselective identification of irrelevant stimuli?

Responses to recently ignored stimuli are often slower than responses to new stimuli (negative priming). This slowing is thought to imply that the irrelevant stimuli were identified before the relevant stimuli were selected. The slowing may, however, reflect processing that occurred after the selection process had already begun. In two experiments, the opportunity for preselective identification of irrelevant stimuli was eliminated by presenting the irrelevant stimuli late within the trial. Negative priming failed to occur under these conditions.