Slot-filling theories of conceptual combination assume that
both constituent concepts are activated before they are
combined. However, these theories have difficulty in
explaining why combined phrase features are sometimes more
available than the features of the constituent nouns. In this
study, we investigate the time course of conceptual
knowledge activation. Using three verification tasks of
varying complexity we demonstrate that basic taxonomic
knowledge is retrieved more quickly than modal specific
conceptual features. Applying this finding to conceptual
combination, we demonstrate that participants take longer to
reject combinations requiring the activation of instance
specific features (e.g. frog tail) than those that can be rejected
based on more generalized taxonomic knowledge (e.g.
daffodil tail). These findings provide convergent evidence that
conceptual knowledge is activated dynamically and
selectively rather than all at once. We discuss the implications
for existing theories