Response bias in color priming.

Four experiments investigated the role of response bias in color priming. Subjects were shown three prime-target pair conditions: same color trials, category priming trials (in which prime and target were different colors associated with the same response category) and incongruent trials. The subjects' task ('go-no-go' vs. 'two-choice' RT, Experiments 1-2), the categorization criterion of the stimuli (Experiment 3) and the proportion of the same versus different response trials (Experiment 4) were manipulated to influence the amount of response bias. Overall, the results indicate that color priming is produced whether or not a bias is generated at the response level, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying the two effects are largely independent of each other.