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Relativity in Hearing and Stimulus Discrimination.

William M Baum1,2,3

  • 11University of California, Davis, Davis, CA USA.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Sound perception is subjective and relies on behavioral judgments, not objective reality. Without an observer to judge, a falling tree makes no sound from a behavioral science perspective.

Keywords:
DualismHearingMentalismPerceptionPrivate eventsSoundStimulus discrimination

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Science
  • Psychology of Perception

Background:

  • The perception of sound and other phenomena is explored through the lens of behavioral science.
  • Subjectivity in perception is highlighted, as individuals may experience or not experience the same event.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the definition and reality of sound perception based on observable behavior and judgments.
  • To establish that sound, like other perceptions, lacks objective reality independent of an observer's judgment.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizes comparative judgments between observers and subjects (e.g., humans and pigeons).
  • Examines concept learning in pigeons based on experimenter judgments and subject responses.
  • References experiments involving drug effects on pigeon behavior and corresponding experimenter judgments.

Main Results:

  • Discrimination and concept formation are based on comparing judgments.
  • Discrepancies in judgment can only be resolved by deeming one party mistaken.
  • Pigeon behavior in experiments correlates with experimenter judgments regarding stimuli or conditions.

Conclusions:

  • Sound is not an objective reality but a product of behavioral judgment.
  • An event, such as a tree falling, does not produce sound if there is no observer to make a judgment.
  • The science of behavior defines phenomena based on observable and comparable actions and judgments.