Neighborhood frequency does affect performance in the Reicher task: Encoding or decision?

Three experiments using the Reicher task show that performance on low-frequ ency words is disrupted if the incorrect alternative forms a higher frequen cy word. This neighborhood frequency effect occurs for both energy and patt ern masks and for different sets of items. When the upcoming word is primed and its accessibility is enhanced, the neighborhood frequency effect is el iminated. Experiments 4a and 4b tested the neighborhood frequency effect us ing a same-different task and a signal-detection analysis. Neighborhood fre quency affected the decision criterion but not the sensitivity of the perce ptual System. Experiment 5 showed that many words with a frequency in the r ange from 1 to 5 per million are not recognized out of context. These resul ts are consistent with the hypothesis that frequency effects in the Reicher task are caused by a bias in the decision system and can be simulated with the stochastic activation-verification model.