diff --git a/lib/factory_girl.rb b/lib/factory_girl.rb
index 18f191a..8da549d 100644
--- a/lib/factory_girl.rb
+++ b/lib/factory_girl.rb
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ require 'factory_girl/aliases'
 # Example:
 #   Factory(:user, :name => 'Joe')
 def Factory (name, attrs = {})
-  Factory.create(name, attrs)
+  Factory.default_strategy(name, attrs)
 end
 
 if defined? Rails
diff --git a/lib/factory_girl/factory.rb b/lib/factory_girl/factory.rb
index 3db1c0d..c772459 100644
--- a/lib/factory_girl/factory.rb
+++ b/lib/factory_girl/factory.rb
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ class Factory
   def build_class #:nodoc:
     @build_class ||= class_for(class_name)
   end
+  
+  def default_strategy #:nodoc:
+    @options[:default_strategy] || :create
+  end
 
   def initialize (name, options = {}) #:nodoc:
     assert_valid_options(options)
@@ -170,7 +174,7 @@ class Factory
     s = Sequence.new(&block)
     add_attribute(name) { s.next }
   end
-
+  
   # Generates and returns a Hash of attributes from this factory. Attributes
   # can be individually overridden by passing in a Hash of attribute => value
   # pairs.
@@ -230,7 +234,11 @@ class Factory
   #   A mock object with generated attributes stubbed out (Object)
   def self.stub (name, overrides = {})
     factory_by_name(name).run(Proxy::Stub, overrides)
-  end  
+  end
+  
+  def self.default_strategy (name, overrides = {})  
+    self.send(factory_by_name(name).default_strategy, name, overrides)
+  end
 
   def self.find_definitions #:nodoc:
     definition_file_paths.each do |path|
@@ -284,10 +292,17 @@ class Factory
   end
 
   def assert_valid_options(options)
-    invalid_keys = options.keys - [:class, :parent] 
+    invalid_keys = options.keys - [:class, :parent, :default_strategy] 
     unless invalid_keys == []
       raise ArgumentError, "Unknown arguments: #{invalid_keys.inspect}"
     end
+    assert_valid_strategy(options[:default_strategy]) if options[:default_strategy]
+  end
+  
+  def assert_valid_strategy(strategy)
+    unless Factory::Proxy.const_defined? variable_name_to_class_name(strategy)
+      raise ArgumentError, "Unknown strategy: #{strategy}"
+    end
   end
 
   # Based on ActiveSupport's underscore inflector
diff --git a/test/factory_test.rb b/test/factory_test.rb
index 47b904e..8ce2966 100644
--- a/test/factory_test.rb
+++ b/test/factory_test.rb
@@ -46,13 +46,17 @@ factory = Factory.new(:post)
     should "have a build class" do
       assert_equal @class, @factory.build_class
     end
+    
+    should "have a default strategy" do
+      assert_equal :create, @factory.default_strategy
+    end
 
     should "not allow the same attribute to be added twice" do
       assert_raise(Factory::AttributeDefinitionError) do
         2.times { @factory.add_attribute :first_name }
       end
     end
-
+    
     should "add a static attribute when an attribute is defined with a value" do
       attribute = mock('attribute', :name => :name)
       Factory::Attribute::Static.
@@ -238,7 +242,7 @@ factory = Factory.new(:post)
         assert_nil @result[:test]
       end
     end
-
+    
     should "guess the build class from the factory name" do
       assert_equal User, @factory.build_class
     end
@@ -362,8 +366,18 @@ factory = Factory.new(:post)
         returns('result')
       assert_equal 'result', Factory.stub(@name, :attr => 'value')
     end    
+    
+    should "use default strategy option as Factory.default_strategy" do
+      @factory.stubs(:default_strategy).returns(:create)
+      @factory.
+        expects(:run).
+        with(Factory::Proxy::Create, :attr => 'value').
+        returns('result')
+      assert_equal 'result', Factory.default_strategy(@name, :attr => 'value')
+    end    
 
-    should "use Proxy::Create for the global Factory method" do
+    should "use the default strategy for the global Factory method" do
+      @factory.stubs(:default_strategy).returns(:create)    
       @factory.
         expects(:run).
         with(Factory::Proxy::Create, :attr => 'value').
@@ -384,7 +398,7 @@ factory = Factory.new(:post)
     end
   end
   
-  context 'defining a factory using a parent attribute' do
+  context 'defining a factory with a parent parameter' do
     setup do
       @parent = Factory.define :object do |f|
         f.name  'Name'
@@ -422,6 +436,17 @@ factory = Factory.new(:post)
     end
   end
   
+  context 'defining a factory with a default strategy parameter' do
+    should 'raise an ArgumentError when trying to use a non-existent factory' do
+      assert_raise(ArgumentError) { Factory.define(:object, :default_strategy => :nonexistent) {} }
+    end
+    
+    should 'create a new factory with a specified default strategy' do
+      factory = Factory.define(:object, :default_strategy => :stub) {}
+      assert_equal :stub, factory.default_strategy
+    end
+  end 
+  
   def self.context_in_directory_with_files(*files)
     context "in a directory with #{files.to_sentence}" do
       setup do
diff --git a/test/integration_test.rb b/test/integration_test.rb
index 8c94368..b564fdc 100644
--- a/test/integration_test.rb
+++ b/test/integration_test.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ class IntegrationTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
       f.email {|a| "#{a.first_name}.#{a.last_name}@example.com".downcase }
     end
 
-    Factory.define Post do |f|
+    Factory.define Post, :default_strategy => :attributes_for do |f|
       f.name   'Test Post'
       f.association :author, :factory => :user
     end
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ class IntegrationTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     end
 
   end  
-
+  
   context "an instance generated by a factory with a custom class name" do
 
     setup do
@@ -225,5 +225,11 @@ class IntegrationTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     end
 
   end  
+  
+  context "a factory with a default strategy specified" do
+    should "generate instances according to the strategy" do
+      assert_kind_of Hash, Factory(:post) 
+    end
+  end
 
 end