according to this interactive-activation model, the wse is explained as such: when the target letter is presented within a word, the feature detectors, letter detectors and word detectors will all be activated, adding weight to the final recognition of the stimulus. however, when only the letter is presented, only the letter detector level will be activated. therefore, we may remember the presented stimulus word more clearly, and thereby be more accurate in identifying its component letters, as observed in the wse.