Pandemonium-like models have played a central role in theories of perceptual recognition. One model is examined which asserts that information is sorted unidirectionally through a hierarchy of increasingly abstract levels only to a depth required by the logical demands of the task and read off from the appropriate level to control response decisions. The support originally claimed for the model in terms of its application to visual search performance is questioned. It is suggested that the pervasiveness of such models is not due to their competition with alternative theories but rather to methatheoretic considerations.