Sound that impinges on the inner ear and the auditory nerve arrives as a fairly meaningless stimulus. At this point, it should be viewed as:
a. perception.
b. sensation.
c. an auditory stimulus item.
d. free of environmental noise.
I think it is either a, b, or c and I do know that it is not d.
Sensation is awareness of a stimulus, B.
A. Perception
To determine the correct answer, let's first understand the difference between perception and sensation:
Sensation is the process where our sensory organs detect and respond to external stimuli, such as sound waves entering the ear. It involves the physical and physiological experience of the stimulus.
Perception, on the other hand, refers to the interpretation and processing of those sensory stimuli by the brain. It involves making sense of the sensations, giving them meaning in the context of our experiences, memories, and understanding of the world.
Now, let's analyze the options:
a. Perception: Perception occurs after the stimuli are processed by the brain. The initial impingement of sound on the inner ear and the auditory nerve is not yet processed or interpreted by the brain, so it is not perception.
b. Sensation: The initial sound that impinges on the inner ear and the auditory nerve is a physiological response, a sensory experience. Therefore, it can be considered a sensation.
c. An auditory stimulus item: This option is a bit vague. It implies that the sound can be treated as an item in itself, but it does not capture the whole process of sensation and perception. It is not the most accurate choice.
d. Free of environmental noise: This option is unrelated to whether the sound should be seen as perception, sensation, or an auditory stimulus item.
Based on the above analysis, the most suitable answer is b. sensation, as it correctly describes the initial experience of sound impinging on the inner ear and auditory nerve before it is processed or given meaning by the brain.