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Negative priming Figure 1: In order to grasp a particular cup, one must inhibit the internal representations of competing cups, and not allow them to capture control of action. In the complex environments we inhabit, a vast amount of information bombards our senses. But in order to achieve goals, we must selectively attend to a limited amount of that information. This process of ignoring is not without consequences. An example Consider List A in Figure 2. Figure 2: Illustration of negative priming using Stroop color words. Now name the ink colors in List B. Why is it more difficult to read List B than List A? Alternative accounts of negative priming The inhibition account This is the original account of negative priming (Tipper, 1985; Neill, 1977). The negative priming effect is one means of glimpsing this inhibitory process. Episodic retrieval accounts Neill's version. An integrative model In an attempt to resolve this debate, Tipper (2001) argued that memory must be involved in all priming effects.