Spelling-sound effects in reading: Time-course and decision criteria

In these studies, we examined predictions of the time-course model of word recognition (Seidenberg, 1985b; Seidenberg, Waters, Barnes, & Tanenhaus, 1984). The model suggests that effects of irregular spelling or pronunciation should be specific to more slowly recognized words, such as lower frequency items, as shown in previous studies and replicated here. The model also explains why effects of irregular pronunciation are more robust in naming than in lexical decisions: Only the effects in lexical decisions depend on subjects’ response criteria. We show that these criteria are affected by the composition of the stimuli in an experiment (i.e., whether irregularly spelled words are present) and by pressure to respond quickly. In contrast to the dual-route model of word recognition, the time-course model accounts for these task differences without assuming that subjects strategically control access to phonology.