Memory & Cognition

To construct adequate models of lexical representation and processing, it is essential to determine the internal vocabulary in terms of which these processes are con-ducted. Is the primary unit of representation and analy-sis a unit corresponding to the surface word, or is the lex-icon more appropriately modeled in terms of smaller, more abstract building blocks of lexical form and mean-ing, standardly called morphemes? Current opinion is moving more strongly toward some form of morphemic account, although the precise nature of this account re-mains controversial. Earlier studies (e.g., Taft, 1981; Taft & Forster, 1975) argued for an across-the-board mor-phemic model, in which all potentially polymorphemic words were mandatorily decomposed into their mor-phemic components and initial access was via the base form. Recent studies have taken a more nuanced ap-proach, suggesting that morphological analysis and de-composition occurs for some words, but not for others, although the studies employ widely divergent theoretica