CASTING A SPELL WITH WITCHES AND BROOMSTICKS - DIRECT AND ASSOCIATIVEINFLUENCES ON NONWORD ORTHOGRAPHY

This study investigated direct and associative lexical priming of nonw ord spelling in adults and children. Two possible alternative orthogra phies of each nonword were targeted under both direct and associative priming conditions. It was found that both direct and associative prim ing manipulations were effective in influencing the choice of spelling pattern of nonwords, with both children and adults showing the effect . Levels of priming in children were lower, though not significantly l ower, than those in adults. Direct priming was significantly stronger than associative priming for both subject groups, with the size of thi s differential being reduced in children. The differences between the types of priming are seen as speaking to a multiple-activation model o f the orthographic lexicon, whereas those between age groups as pointi ng to a differential functional organisation of the lexicon.