Alternative conceptions of semantic theory

It is argued that theories of semantic memory have diverged in a manner that parallels current linguistic controversy concerning the representation of meaning. The feature-comparison model (Smith, Shoben & Rips, 1974) applies the linguistic theory of Lakoff (1972) to predict people's reaction times to verify sentences, while the marker-search model, described here, uses the type of semantic representation outlined by Katz (1972) to explain a similar range of data. The two models are described and the evidence for each is reviewed. Available evidence supports the marker-search model, but disconfirms a major prediction of the feature-comparison model. It is argued that the feature-comparison model is in principle inadequate as a model of semantic representation, unless its conception of semantic components is substantially alatered.