Stimuli: The Foundation at L1

Function & Name

The sender actively emits or generates stimuli and these are the elemental psychological means in any communicative event. To have any communicative effect, the stimulus must generate sufficient impact to make contact. This impact is biologically mediated via a recipient's sensory organs, but for our psychosocial purposes, communication depends on noticing and perceiving.

So this is Communication at Level-1. «Stimulus» is the THEE-name for «the psychosocial use of biological mechanisms for sending or receiving a message.»

Technology? Of course, biology may use technology to simplify, amplify, mechanize or otherwise mediate communication: but the drum must be physically hit or the keyboard must be physically tapped. Our bodies cannot be removed from the equation.

There do not appear to be any alternate names or even close synonyms for 'stimulus'

Stimuli are not intrinsically meaningful, but they serve as the essential infrastructure i.e. they are pure means for communication. Read an evolutionary story about this.

To restate: For a communicative event to occur:

• the sender (or initiator) must generate Stimuli-L1 that are psychosocially appropriate and recognizable i.e. have the potential to convey meaning or make sense and that are intense enough to create an impact.
• the recipient must notice the Stimuli-L1 i.e. give attention to what is sensed or felt and recognize the potential for meaning. Examples of sensing stimuli:

• hearing sounds
• smelling odours
• feeling touch/pressure
• sensing tastes
• feeling pain
• seeing sights, especially in regard to the body (e.g. postures, gestures, a look in the eye, facial movements).

Errors & Failure

A human Stimulus must be socially recognizable as a communication—or it is just another stimulus-sensation, amongst innumerable stimuli that bombard us, continually, as long as we live. 

Speculation about Animals: They communicate via stimuli and sensing; bodily organs and cells also communicate with each other (neuronally, chemically). Except perhaps in animals very close to man, these communications are pre-programmed or instinct-based and interaction is not socially planned.

Communication can fail spectacularly at the Stimulus Level due to:

• inattention—to stimuli-sensations;
• deliberately ignoring the stimulus;
• biological deficiencies  e.g. blindness, deafness. More.

A deaf mute is mute because of the deafness, not because of any speech or language impediment. In autism, there appears to be damage to the fundamentals of sensing stimuli and the integration of stimuli to express meaning.

---

• Stimuli-L1 are necessary but insufficient for our communications: proceed to the next level.

Originally posted: 18-Mar-2011; Last updated 25-Sep-2011.