On Activating Exemplars C. Neil Macrae University of Bristol, England Galen V. Bodenhausen Northwestern University Alan B. Milne University of Aberdeen, Scotland Luigi Castelli University of Bologna, Italy Astrid M. Schloerscheidt University of Bristol, England and Sasha Greco University of St. Andrews, Scotland Received: May 12, 1997; revised: December 15, 1997; accepted February 11, 1998 In four experiments, we investigated the automaticity of exemplar activation. In the first three studies, using a modified flanker task, we investigated the involuntary activation of exemplar-based representations in the presence of triggering verbal stimuli. Results of all three studies demonstrated the unintentional activation of exemplars in memory. In addition, we also identified the temporal parameters (i.e., Study 2) and cerebral localization The authors thank Jeff Sherman, Eliot Smith, Yaacov Trope, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on this work. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Neil Macrae, Department of Psychology, University of Bristol, 8 Woodland Rd., Bristol BS81TN United Kingdom. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 34, 330–354 (1998) ARTICLE NO. JS981353 330 0022-1031/98 $25.00 Copyright  1998 by Academic Press All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.