Glossary • 395Constructive nature of memory The idea that what people report as memories are constructed
based on what actually happened plus additional factors, such as expectations, other
knowledge, and other life experiences. (8)
Control processes In Atkinson and Shiffrin’s modal model of memory, active processes that
can be controlled by the person and may differ from one task to another. Rehearsal is an
example of a control process. (5)
Controlled processing Processing that involves close attention. This term is especially
associated with Schneider and Shiffrin’s (1977) experiment, which showed that controlled
processing was needed in the difficult, varied mapping condition of their experiment, even
after extensive practice. (4)
Convergent thinking Thinking that works toward finding a solution to a specific problem that
usually has a correct answer. Can be contrasted with Divergent thinking. (12)
Covert attention Occurs when attention is shifted without moving the eyes, commonly
referred to as seeing something “out of the corner of one’s eye.” Contrasts with Overt
attention. (4)
Creative cognition A technique developed by Finke to train people to think creatively. (12)
Cryptomnesia Unconscious plagiarism of the work of others. This has been associated with
errors in source monitoring. (8)
Cued recall A procedure for testing memory in which a participant is presented with cues, such
as words or phrases, to aid recall of previously experienced stimuli. See also Free recall. (7)
Cultural life script Life events that commonly occur in a particular culture. (8)
Cultural life script hypothesis The idea that events in a person’s life story become easier to
recall when they fit the cultural life script for that person’s culture. (8)Decay Process by which information is lost from memory due to the passage of time. (5)
Decisions Making choices between alternatives. (13)
Declarative memory Memory that involves conscious recollections of previously experienced
events (episodic memory) or facts (semantic memory). (6)
Deductive reasoning Reasoning that involves syllogisms in which a conclusion logically fol-
lows from premises. See also Inductive reasoning. (13)
Deep processing Processing that involves attention to meaning and relating an item to some-
thing else. Deep processing is usually associated with elaborative rehearsal. See also Depth of
processing; Shallow processing. (7)
Definitional approach to categorization The idea that we can decide whether something
is a member of a category by determining whether the object meets the definition of the
category. See also Family resemblance. (9)
Delayed partial report method Procedure used in Sperling’s experiment on the properties of
the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report only some of the stimuli
in a briefly presented display. A cue tone that was delayed for a fraction of a second after
the display was extinguished indicated which part of the display to report. See also Partial
report method; Whole report method. (5)
Delayed-response task A task in which information is provided, a delay is imposed, and then
memory is tested. This task has been used to study short-term memory by testing monkeys’
ability to hold information about the location of a food reward during a delay. (5)
Dendrites Structures that branch out from the cell body to receive electrical signals from other
neurons. (2)
Denying the antecedent A conditional syllogism of the following form: If p, then q; not p;
therefore, not q. This is an invalid form of conditional syllogism. See Table 13.1. See also
Affirming the consequent. (13)
Denying the consequent A conditional syllogism of the following form: If p, then q; not q;
therefore, not p. The consequent, q, is denied in the second premise. This is a valid form of
conditional syllogism. See Table 13.1. See also Affirming the antecedent. (13)
Depictive representation Corresponds to spatial representation. So called because a spatial
representation can be depicted by a picture. (10)
Depth of processing The idea that the processing that occurs as an item is being encoded into
memory can be deep or shallow. Deep processing involves attention to meaning and is asso-
ciated with elaborative rehearsal. Shallow processing involves repetition with little attention
to meaning and is associated with maintenance rehearsal. See also Levels of processing. (7)33559_14_glossary_p391-410.indd 39533559_14_glossary_p391-410.indd 395 13/04/10 5:47 PM13/04/10 5:47 PM
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