Inner speech of a person is a complex, completely unstudied phenomenon, studied by psychology, general linguistics, and philosophy. Inner speech in psychology is hidden verbalization that accompanies the thinking process. This manifestation represents the relationship between mental operations, language components, communication interaction, and consciousness. Simply put, it is verbal mental functioning. In fact, a person’s thoughts are able to “work” without verbal elements. However, in reality, verbal structures combine mental operations with the external environment, society, and the solution of personal issues and problems of a social nature. Mental speech is often presented as a “servicing” mechanism for external communication and all active operations of the subject. Consequently, inner speech reveals itself as a silent instrument, a hidden verbalization that arises during mental functioning. It represents a derivative form of sound speech, consciously adapted to perform mental functions in the mind.
What is inner speech
Inner speech is, in psychology, a person’s dialogue with himself, reasoning “to himself.” This is speech addressed inside the personality itself, an appeal to oneself. It helps to analyze, process, interpret the feelings and emotions of the individual. We turn to ourselves when we solve some problems, remember or imagine something, make plans, dream, fantasize.
Most people know this as mentally constructing dialogues or acting out certain situations. With the help of reasoning, the individual comes to awareness and understanding of external phenomena. According to the theory of psychologist B.F. Baev, reasoning permeates all cognitive processes: sensation, perception, observation, memorization, recollection, attention, imagination, and others.
This is a means of self-regulation, self-education, introspection, self-development. It’s not for nothing that psychologists advise speaking out a problematic situation out loud. The information spoken to oneself is incomplete and generalized (we’ll talk more about this in the paragraph “Features of inner speech”). Speaking out loud or writing down information helps to better understand what is happening, to see the overall picture, structure, details, cause-and-effect relationships.
Speaking about internal speech, it is impossible not to highlight the problem of external speech, because external and internal speech are two interrelated elements. Domestic psychologist L.S. Vygotsky viewed reasoning within a person as a connecting element between the transition of thoughts into words and vice versa.
Is it possible to read other people's verbal thoughts?
How to use this in practice? Is it possible, knowing how the brain is activated, to restore a person’s inner speech?
These ideas have been floating around in the scientific and business community for a long time. Elon Musk, who founded the company Neuralink, says that he pursues not only utilitarian goals such as creating implants for patients with brain injuries, but also wants to “improve” people. For example, by implanting chips in the brain, teach us to exchange thoughts directly. An idea worthy of the classics of science fiction literature, but is it so far from reality?
Researchers have been trying for decades to figure out from activation patterns what is happening in a person's inner world.
The general idea of experiments to decode brain activation is this: a person is shown some objects (say, a shoe or a horse), and the scientist uses a functional MRI scanner to see what activation pattern corresponds to this picture. The computer is then trained to associate the two parameters and learn what the subject sees based on brain activity alone. The same principle was applied to visualize human dreams. Participants in the experiment, sleeping in the scanner, were woken up, asked what they had just dreamed, and based on this, the computer was trained to link brain activity to the content of the dream.
The problem comes when scientists try to classify patterns of brain activation that correspond to something more complex than just visual experience.
It is not clear how to group intentions, interests, plans and thoughts about ourselves - in general, everything that usually fills our inner world.
Additionally, brain decoding experiments are typically conducted on separate data for each individual. So when we try to apply the standard method of “mind reading” to everyone, the result will not be accurate, because the functioning of the brain may vary slightly from person to person.
But this does not bother scientists, and experiments to decipher thoughts continue. In addition to scientific significance, they also have practical significance: for example, mind reading will help to understand what is happening to the inner world of a person in a coma and in other complex clinical conditions.
Internal and external speech
The external one is directed to the outside world, the internal one is directed towards the personality itself. However, this is not the only difference.
How does the first type differ from the second:
- external involves a person in social interaction, the second type is recognized by the person himself, is reliably protected from other people, can only be controlled by the one to whom it belongs;
- external codes are accessible to others, codes of the second type of communication are understandable only to its owner.
Thoughts are transformed into words and vice versa. External speech can be oral and written. Each type has its own psychological characteristics and subtypes. Let's take a closer look.
Oral
The most ancient type. Reproduced using sounds and perceived by hearing. Oral speech simplifies interaction as it allows the use of verbal and non-verbal means of communication. As a rule, communication is related to a specific situation, conditions, and subject of discussion. Therefore, people can omit individual words and replace them with gestures. Oral interaction allows you to understand each other perfectly.
The oral type of communication comes in two forms: dialogical and monologue. Let's look at each form in more detail.
Dialogue form
Involves interaction between two or more people. Each participant takes turns listening to others and speaking himself, that is, he acts either as an active person or as a passive person. An alternative name for this type is supported. Participants support each other, listen, and change roles.
The specificity of this type is direct personal interaction, the participants see and hear each other. Therefore, they can adjust the presentation of information using tone, voice timbre, intonation, speed, facial expressions, and gestures. The speaking participant also sees the reactions of other people, due to which he can correct his reasoning, for example, if he notices that his speech is boring. In general, in this case, verbal communication is combined with nonverbal communication.
Monologue form
It involves the influence of one person on another (others), that is, one speaks and the others listen. This is a more complex type. Although the active participant sees the reactions of passive listeners, he must think through the entire text of the speech in advance. The speaker must have well-developed psychological observation, speech culture, and active thinking. A monologue is also more difficult for listeners. They have to concentrate for a long time and follow the logic of the presentation. The monologue type, in terms of the specificity of perception, is closer to written reasoning.
Written
This type develops on the basis of oral communication. Expressed through writing symbols and perceived by sight. This is a complex type for both the person presenting the information and the person receiving it. The specificity of written communication is that it allows you to communicate at a distance, at different times. The difficulty is that the one who writes down his thoughts cannot know exactly the characteristics of the reader in advance. He cannot use non-verbal means of communication. Like oral communication, written communication can be dialogical (for example, communication on a social network) and monological (for example, writing a book).
In psychology
Internal dialogue
in psychological research (in particular, in such areas as psychology of consciousness, psychology of speech, etc.) acts as:
- the phenomenon of consciousness and self-awareness (dialogical consciousness), thinking and speech,
- an integral component of altered states of consciousness, as well as their occurrence and development,
- psychotherapeutic appointment,
- method of artistic depiction of the inner world of literary heroes,
- a psychotechnical tool used in various religious and meditative practices.
Concept
A.V. Vizgina proposes that internal dialogue is understood as the subject’s developed speech activity to varying degrees, aimed at aspects of reality and his own “I” that are significant to him. The specificity of this activity is determined by the interaction of at least two divergent points of view developed by the same subject.
According to A.V. Rossokhin’s definition, internal dialogue is “an intrapsychic process occurring in a speech dialogic form, aimed at resolving intellectually ambiguous, personally, emotionally significant, conflict issues.” However, in accordance with the position of this author, internal dialogue is not a clash of opposing semantic positions due to the presence of an insoluble problem, but “a way of “getting used to” and processing by the subject of emotionally rich, personally and/or intellectually significant contents of consciousness, which can also be positively charged "
Signs
The structure of internal dialogue includes internalized images of significant others (“internal interlocutors”) and various (pathological, neutral, positive) forms of relationships between them.
Also, signs of internal dialogue include:
- activity of its participants
- change of semantic positions, voices (according to M. M. Bakhtin), speech subjects (internal, internalized interlocutors)
Basic functions (meaning)
According to the ideas of A.V. Rossokhin, internal dialogue is a mechanism of personal transformation
, and in accordance with this, its main functions include:
- Implementation of thinking and reflection processes.
- Awareness of the contents and some components of the structure of a person’s self-awareness.
- Changing the structure of self-awareness, the hierarchy of motives.
Classifications
G. M. Kuchinsky highlights the obvious
- when only one of the discussion positions is verbalized, and
hidden
internal dialogue, in which both positions are verbalized.
A.V. Vizgina distinguishes 3 main forms of internal dialogue:
- Genetically initial, rudimentary forms that characterize the child’s consciousness and self-awareness.
- Developed (formed, established) forms, which include - mental - implementers of thinking processes, and personal internal dialogues.
- Dialogues of conflicting personalities, empirically identified in Gestalt therapy, transactional analysis and cognitive psychotherapy.
Inner speech and its features
It can be compared to a specific individual code. The person himself understands it perfectly, but it is a set of individual words, concepts, sounds, letters, images, sensations, conventions that are incomprehensible and inaccessible to other people. Psychologists call this a mental code.
Psychological features of inner speech:
- Condensation. As a rule, there is only one main member of the sentence: the subject or predicate. Remember what thought arises when we see a cat on the street: “Cat!” At the same time, we have time to think and realize that she is walking or eating something, what color she is, etc.
- Silence. However, verbalization depends on the characteristics of the articulatory apparatus of a particular person. Sometimes this manifests itself as muttering, whispering, “thinking out loud,” or even full-on loud dialogue with oneself.
- Semantics prevails over phonetics. As a rule, vowel sounds are dropped (they carry less load).
- Pronoun. In our thoughts, we consider an object in specific conditions, point out its properties, location, etc. Example: “Yesterday I tried to call him three times, he didn’t pick up. Why? Maybe it’s because of the way I answered him at our last meeting?”
- Reflected in kinesthetic, auditory and visual images. Surely you have noticed that you can see, hear and even feel what we think about.
Despite the soundlessness of thoughts, the speech apparatus is always involved in their formation and development. Pronunciation and elaboration of words are always preserved. This is not visible to the naked eye, but a special technique can record the movements of the tongue and lips. In people with a mobile speech apparatus, movements can be seen with the naked eye. In addition, movement activity is higher under the following conditions:
- solving a difficult problem;
- difficulties during information analysis;
- stress, tension, fatigue, exhaustion;
- searching for new approaches to solving the problem;
- emotional overexcitation;
- information overload, excess of images, ideas and other things.
At such moments, conversations with oneself become more noticeable and louder. Example: “Yeah, well, well, well, I need to think about it. I did this, then that, and this is what happened. And if so? No, it doesn't work. And so? Not the same again."
When solving simple problems, as you hone certain skills through exercises, conversations “to yourself” become narrower, and the activity of the speech apparatus decreases. Again, this is clearly visible in everyday life, especially in the workplace. When learning new instructions, many people say their actions out loud or silently. The more often they repeat this, the less they need to say it.
Study methods
To study abilities, psychologists and linguists use different methods:
Observation
The total time spent on conversations with others and monologues, gestures, facial expressions, changes in tone, tempo, and expressiveness is taken into account. When observing, natural thinking is maintained, which is a huge advantage. Conversation
An effective method for studying ability. With its help, you can find out the interlocutor’s attitude to the assigned task, evaluate mental capabilities, and learn language skills. During the conversation, direct or indirect questions may be asked. Experiment. Researchers create conditions for the subject and change them to obtain information. Additionally, data on brain function can be read using specialized equipment. Questioning. Used to study thinking. Questionnaires are prepared in advance, questions are selected on one or more topics of interest. A detailed result is given by open-ended questionnaires that force the subject to activate his thinking. Testing. Allows you to measure the level of intellectual development and find out the features of thinking.
Researchers analyze the data obtained and draw conclusions.
Mechanism of development of inner speech
In psychology, there is still no unified theory about how the formation of inner speech occurs. It is generally accepted that this begins in childhood; the child’s inner speech is formed under the influence of adults. The contradiction and problem of the phenomenon is as follows: some authors believe that it develops from the external. Others are sure that it develops along with the external one. Let's look at two popular theories.
According to Vygotsky
According to L.S. Vygotsky, conversation within the personality develops from the child’s external speech, directed at himself (egocentric). Those people who have children have probably seen that while playing, a young child often talks to himself. Psychologists call this egocentric speech.
In what period is a child’s inner speech formed: 3–5 years. As the child grows up, conversations with oneself go deeper and deeper and turn into conversations “to oneself.” Usually the transition is completed by the beginning of schooling, that is, by 6–7 years. Further development occurs as a result of mastering writing.
According to Blonsky
P.P. Blonsky believes that the internal type of communication develops along with the external one. Already in the first year of life, the child silently repeats the words with which adults address him. Further development occurs along with the development of external communication.
The concept of speech activity
Definition 1 Speech activity is a process of active and purposeful interaction between people, which takes place in the form of communication, mediated by certain linguistic constructs and determined by the current situation.
The concept of speech activity is not uniform and generally accepted. Currently, as a rule, speech activity is considered from two points of view:
- speech activity is “language material”, which, along with the “language system” and “speech organization”, is one of the aspects of language and represents a set of individual acts of speaking and understanding; this definition of the concept of speech activity is considered Shcherbov’s understanding of speech activity, since it was introduced by L. V. Shcherba and a number of other Soviet scientists in the 1920s-1930s, and is used in the methodology of teaching foreign languages, where the concept of “types of speech activity” is actively cultivated (speaking, listening, reading, writing);
- speech activity is a type of activity that stands out along with labor, cognitive, play activities, which is characterized by psychological organization, that is, the presence of an objective motive, purposefulness, creative component, and is implemented through several successive phases (orientation, planning, implementation of the plan, control ); This understanding of speech activity actively spread in the 1960s, when psycholinguistics was formed as a holistic direction.
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In accordance with the degree of importance for the acting subjects, speech activity can act as an independent activity, which is characterized by its own system of motivation and consists of speech actions subordinate to the goal and speech operations corresponding to a specific situation, and in the form of individual speech acts that are built into one or another extralinguistic activities. In the last quarter of the last century, within the framework of the psychological direction of linguistics, the concept of “communication activity” / “communicative activity” became widespread, in connection with which the concept of “speech activity” began to be used in a narrower meaning: it began to be understood as activity, the motive of which is associated only with production speech itself, and not with its use outside the communicative act
In the last quarter of the last century, within the framework of the psychological direction of linguistics, the concept of “communication activity” / “communicative activity” became widespread, in connection with which the concept of “speech activity” began to be used in a narrower meaning: it began to be understood as activity, the motive of which is associated only with production speech itself, and not with its use outside the communicative act.
Inner speech: what is it for?
Inner speech is needed to prepare external communication (written or oral). We first think through what we want to say, select the best words, and then speak out. It is worth noting that mental self-talk constantly sounds inside any person. For some it is a “swarm of thoughts”, for others it is a structured analysis of situations or simply pleasant memories or fantasies. In some people the verbalization of thoughts is more pronounced, in others it is weaker. It depends on the specifics of character and temperament, the characteristics of the work.
So, why does a person need inner speech:
- processing, analysis, awareness, generalization, selection, understanding of the information received;
- self-regulation of activities, actions, words;
- self-hypnosis, self-motivation;
- self-esteem of words and actions.
Let's pay special attention to the last point. Reasoning within oneself forms a person’s self-esteem. This happens according to the following scheme: self-talk, opinion about oneself, actions, self-esteem. Remember how often we think one thing and say another, we hide our true thoughts and intentions.
Self-talk requires special attention; it determines thinking. What kind of thinking do you have: negative or positive? What do you most often think about yourself: bad or good? Do you often mentally scold yourself, or do you praise and support yourself more often?
The content and state of internal dialogue is a true indicator of a person’s psychological health. She also acts as a psychotherapist. It is important to ensure that your thoughts have a positive, rather than destructive, impact on your personality, self-esteem, and self-awareness.
In esotericism
In the teachings of Carlos Castaneda
The term is used in the teachings of Carlos Castaneda, according to which internal dialogue is a tool that a person unconsciously uses to rigidly fix his picture of the world (perception). A side effect of using internal dialogue is the complete belief that the perceived world is unchanging and final. This makes a person “hard” (“stupid”) - incapable of understanding and perceiving anything that lies beyond his understanding of the world.
According to the teachings of Carlos Castaneda, flyers (inorganic beings), through the “built-in mind”, “convince” a person to give preference in perceiving the world to the following feelings: boredom, pity, greed, envy, etc. These feelings are the basis of the internal dialogue of modern man, which is the reason his abnormal selfishness for an animal. The process of conducting internal dialogue makes the energy of a person (prey) suitable for absorption by flyers (predators). Flyers leave little energy for a person to maintain life, and such a low level of energy is fertile ground for the formation of attentional fixations on one's own ego, internal dialogue and self-reflection.
The influence of flyers on a person remains unnoticed due to upbringing: a person perceives the “attacks” of the “built-in mind” as an internal voice or premonitions, and the “commands” of the internal dialogue formed under the influence of these feelings as their own thoughts. The technique of complete (internal) silence leads a person to awareness of the “commands” of the internal dialogue and the detection of “attacks” of the “built-in mind”, which opens up the possibility of ignoring them, which in turn causes a gradual attenuation of the internal dialogue and ultimately leads to internal silence and destruction a familiar picture of the world and awareness of the energetic part of the human self.
All techniques of the warrior's path are aimed at accelerating the achievement of a state of internal silence (the natural state for all living beings, in which there is no internal dialogue).
