Theory of the perception of spoken words proposed in the mid-1980s. It assumes a "recognition lexicon" in which each word is represented by a full and independent "recognition element". When the system receives the beginning of a relevant acoustic signal, all elements matching it are fully articulated, and as more of the signal is received, the system tries to match it independently with each of them. Wherever it fails the element is deactivated; this process continues until only one remains active.