[Direct priming effects beyond words: a case of word pairs]

One important issue in direct priming research is whether or not priming effects are restricted to single words. Four series of experiments were conducted with word pairs. The reading time was measured for physically inverted word pairs written in katakana characters. The results indicated that the direct priming effect was obtained with word pairs regardless of the task condition, perceptual or semantic. The important thing is whether the task is processed in an integrated manner or not.