These stimuli were used in the following experiment:
GERNSBACHER, M. A., & FAUST, M. (1991). The mechanism of suppression: A component of general comprehension skill. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 17, 245-262. [view PDF]
1. She arranged the rose. COLUMNS
She arranged the flowers. COLUMNS
2. She broke the yoke. EGG
She broke the harness. EGG
3. He examined the timbre. WOOD
He examined the vibration. WOOD
4. He just stared at the kernel. SERGEANT
He just stared at the seed. SERGEANT
5. She looked up at the fur. TREE
She looked up at the stole. TREE
6. He measured the frequency in hertz. PAIN
He measured the frequency in cycles. PAIN
7. She had never been taut. SCHOOL
She had never been rigid. SCHOOL
8. He wrote the pros. POETRY
He wrote the officials. POETRY
9. She burned the stake. BEEF
She burned the pillar. BEEF
10. He mended his sole. SPIRIT
He mended his shoe. SPIRIT
11. He put away the sax. GROCERY
He put away the trumpet. GROCERY
12. She was considered too vain. BLOOD
She was considered too arrogant. BLOOD
13. She wasn’t sure of the sighs. LARGE
She wasn’t sure of the moans. LARGE
14. She just loved suites. CANDY
She just loved lodges. CANDY
15. He changed the tense. CAMP
He changed the verb. CAMP
16. He prepared the tee. POT
He prepared the racket. POT
17. She liked his mettle. IRON
She liked his courage. IRON
18. He was a miner. YOUTH
He was a logger. YOUTH
19. She picked up the poll. STICK
She picked up the survey. STICK
20. She cut up the pair. FRUIT
She cut up the group. FRUIT
21. He overestimated the prophet. GAIN
He overestimated the wiseman. GAIN
22. He walked toward the creak. STREAM
He walked toward the noise. STREAM
23. He liked the bazaar. WEIRD
He liked the market. WEIRD
24. He handled the doe. BREAD
He handled the calf. BREAD
25. She felt the rein. DROPS
She felt the leash. DROPS
26. She knew about the berth. BABY
She knew about the distance. BABY
27. She dreamed about the bridle. GROOM
She dreamed about the saddle. GROOM
28. She took a picture of the beech. SAND
She took a picture of the elm. SAND
29. She held the role. BUTTER
She held the position. BUTTER
30. He lost his hare. BALD
He lost his collie. BALD
31. She almost ruined the meet. FOOD
She almost ruined the contest. FOOD
32. She walked forth. THIRD
She walked forward. THIRD
33. She didn’t like the ant. UNCLE
She didn’t like the bug. UNCLE
34. He ruined the carrel. SONG
He ruined the booth. SONG
35. He practiced the chute. GUN
He practiced the jump. GUN
36. He had lots of patients. CALM
He had lots of students. CALM
37. He looked ahead. BODY
He looked to the side. BODY
38. She was hurt by the long clause. SCRATCH
She was hurt by the long contract. SCRATCH
39. She was a real deer. NICE
She was a real horse. NICE
40. He put up the bail. COTTON
He put up the ransom. COTTON
41. She really liked the fare. CARNIVAL
She really liked the price. CARNIVAL
42. He hit a fowl. BALL
He hit a chicken. BALL
43. He fixed his gait. FENCE
He fixed his stride. FENCE
44. He grabbed the heroine. DRUG
He grabbed the hero. DRUG
45. She was attracted to the mail. MAN
She was attracted to the telephone. MAN
46. He couldn’t get over the pane. HURT
He couldn’t get over the window. HURT
47. He went down to see the seller. BASEMENT
He went down to see the buyer. BASEMENT
48. She couldn’t identify the cent. SMELL
She couldn’t identify the check. SMELL
49. He took a different root. PATH
He took a different plant. PATH
50. She measured the quartz. GALLONS
She measured the topaz. GALLONS
51. She began to prey. CHURCH
She began to attack. CHURCH
52. She stood by her peer. DOCK
She stood by her roommate. DOCK
53. He was blinded by the son. SHINE
He was blinded by the father. SHINE
54. He held the last cord. MUSIC
He held the last stack. MUSIC
55. He aimlessly walked into the knight. DARK
He aimlessly walked into the king. DARK
56. He was worried about his lumbar. WOOD
He was worried about his spine. WOOD
57. She worked hard for all of the weak. DAY
She worked hard for all of he poor. DAY
58. She was overcome by all the boos. ALCOHOL
She was overcome by all the applause. ALCOHOL
59. She wished she had a new pair of genes. PANTS
She wished she had a new pair of parents. PANTS
60. He couldn’t help noticing the woman’s feat. HANDS
He couldn’t help noticing the woman’s accomplishment. HANDS
61. She was embarassed by the size of her waste. STOMACH
She was embarassed by the size of her garbage. STOMACH
62. She looked forward to the chants. OPPORTUNITY
She looked forward to the songs. OPPORTUNITY
63. She was disturbed by the heir. WIND
She was disturbed by the grandson. WIND
64. He had never experienced such an unusual tail. STORY
He had never experienced such an unusual neck. STORY
65. She tried to get over all the stares. STEPS
She tried to get over all the jeers. STEPS
66. He couldn’t believe it so he went to sea. LOOK
He couldn’t believe it so he went to Europe. LOOK
67. She was completely unaffected by the whine. BEER
She was completely unaffected by the complaint. BEER
68. He used the hoes. WATER
He used the spades. WATER
69. She was proud of what she had sown. THREAD
She was proud of what she had planted. THREAD
70. She read in the paper about the huge sail. STORE
She read in the paper about the huge mast. STORE
71. He was hampered by the abnormal wait. POUNDS
He was hampered by the abnormal delay. POUNDS
72. He knew his lawn would soon be due. WET
He knew his lawn would soon be ready. WET
73. She realized her screams weren’t aloud. PERMITTED
She realized her screams weren’t real. PERMITTED
74. He didn’t take the fairy. SHIP
He didn’t take the fortune teller. SHIP
75. She said the last car was leased. MOST
She said the last car was rented. MOST
76. They met in the great, big haul. AUDITORIUM
They met in the great, big raid. AUDITORIUM
77. He begged at the table for a bigger peace. SLICE
He begged at the table for a bigger treaty. SLICE
78. He was definitely awed. ECCENTRIC
He was definitely impressed. ECCENTRIC
79. She looked for the whole. OPENING
She looked for the sections. OPENING
80. She was intrigued at his presence. GIFTS
She was intrigued at his poise. GIFTS
FILLERS
1. He didn’t play with one axe. HATCHET
2. She said the musical group was banned. DISALLOWED
3. He said the unfertile land was owned by a baron. LORD
4. He cursed the dam. RIVER
5. He said the fish was discoverd by a Finn. FINLAND
6. He was very frank about the plan. OPEN
7. She looked for the colorless pail. BUCKET
8. He walked back and forth nervously looking for paste. PACED
9. He was opposed to the verses. AGAINST
10. He said his heel was better. HEALED
11. She wanted the bug to flee. LEAVE
12. She wanted to get hired. EMPLOYED
13. At the mountain top he tried not to peek. LOOK
14. She examined the dog’s feet when she stopped. PAWS
15. He couldn’t stand the bear. TOLERATE
16. He counted up some. ADD
17. She was in the choir wearing coral. SING
18. She wondered about her guest. SPECULATED
19. She stood very still in front of her hero. IDLE
20. She tied the ribbon for her boyfriend. BEAU
21. He boldly climbed the mountain. BOULDER
22. He flew even though he had the flu. SICK
23. She took out a loan all alone. BORROW
24. She knew it was new. ORIGINAL
25. He overthrew the throne. KING
26. She heard the sound of the herd. LIVESTOCK
27. He wanted to dig out the oar. BOAT
28. He lost his hair and bawled. CRIED
29. He was engaged in a duel. FIGHT
30. He wanted to get the rays. SUNLIGHT
31. She stepped on the brake. STOP
32. He hated the cast. LEG
33. He said the homework was too coarse. ROUGH
34. He posted the note with a tack. SHARP
35. He knew a bore. UNINTERESTING
36. He got knotted up in the wave. TIED
37. She was unaware of the steal. ROB
38. She fought to swim. POOL
39. He was bred to make only the freshest loaves. BAKE
40. He said it hadn’t been billed. PAYMENT
41. She didn’t kneaded the dough. FLOUR
42. He knew the bad. AWFUL
43. He caught the fly ball. OUT
44. She hobbled to the bay. OCEAN
45. She took apart the chain. LINK
46. He painted the portrait. CANVAS
47. He dined at the capitol. BUILDING
48. She hated doing the clothes. LAUNDRY
49. She required the city council. GOVERNMENT
50. He realized his fate. DESTINY
51. He said that it was the fine. PENALTY
52. He heated the grill. COOK
53. He pitched the hay. FORK
54. She quickly became very hoarse. THROAT
55. She hated the litter. PUPPIES
56. She rehearsed the wedding. MARRY
57. She swept off the mat. BROOM
58. He wanted to return to the pact. AGREEMENT
59. He framed the prince. ROYALTY
60. She made quite a scene. DISTURBANCE
61. She said the eagle soared. SKY
62. She watched his sword. WEAPON
63. She idealized the party. FUN
64. He felt the block. TACKLE
65. He looked at the pen. PENCIL
66. He shopped for staples. FASTENERS
67. She was mysterious about the jam. JELLY
68. He lowered the top. SPIN
69. He watched it hatch. EGG
70. He was sad about the tear. RIP
71. He passed the trunk. SUITCASE
72. He shot the bass. FISH
73. She said it was too cold for the chili. SPICY
74. He kneeled to fix the duct. SQUATTED
75. She didn’t make enough money to get an urn. EARN
76. She said the light rain was missed. MIST
77. He turned red when he blew. AIR
78. He didn’t knot. TIE
79. He complained about the heet. TRACK
80. He came in last. LOSE
PRACTICE:
He begged to get more colas. COKES
She ate the berry. GRAVE
He admired the prints. PRINCESS
He saw the plane. PRAIRIE
He didn’t hear her pleas. THANK YOU
She said the book had been read. BLUE
He wished the car had been towed. FROG
She thought that she had won. TWO
He knew better than to stare. STEP