What is meant by "proximal stimulus" in sensory perception?

The term "proximal stimulus" refers to the information that our sensory receptors receive about an object in the environment. When we interact with our surroundings, our senses pick up various forms of energy (light, sound waves, chemical signals, etc.) that represent the properties of objects. This incoming data is what the sensory receptors relay to the brain, allowing us to perceive all the different aspects of those objects, such as their color, shape, texture, and other characteristics.

In contrast, the actual object in the environment is termed the "distal stimulus," and while it exists independently of our perception, we don’t directly perceive it; rather, we perceive the proximal stimulus created by interaction with it. The brain’s interpretation of sensory input comes later in the perceptual process and involves creating a mental representation of the distal stimulus based on the proximal stimulus received. Lastly, physical properties of external stimuli refer to the measurable attributes of those stimuli (like wavelength or intensity), which humans perceive through proximal stimuli, but are not the proximal stimuli themselves.