Does Everyone Have an Inner Monologue? The Answer Might Surprise You
If much of your waking hours involve talking to yourself in your head, you might have something called an inner monologue. But, it turns out that “little voice in your head” may not actually be a universal experience—there are lots of ways that people think, and not all of them involve the same degree of internal speech, a.k.a. an internal monologue, that involves words and sentences.
“I think there’s little question that an internal monologue is a real thing that can happen, and that happens often,” says Colin Phillips, Ph.D., psycholinguist, director of the University of Maryland Language Science Center, and member of the Linguistic Society of America, who describes the experience as simply saying a word or a sentence in your head without actually uttering it aloud. It sounds relatively normal—but does everyone have an inner monologue?
While individual internal experiences are difficult to study, “Research suggests that not everyone possesses [an internal monologue],” says Sari Chait, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at the Behavioral Health and Wellness Center in Newton, MA. “It is a relatively new finding though; the belief historically had been that everyone had an internal monologue.”
For those that experience an inner monologue, it can be quite shocking to learn that not everybody thinks in that same way. Ahead, experts explain the science behind why we think the way we do.
What is an inner monologue?
An inner monologue can also be thought of as self-talk, “Essentially you are having a dialogue with yourself, and it's not just necessarily you pondering your own thoughts, which happens frequently,” explains Judy Ho, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist in Manhattan Beach, CA. “This idea of an internal dialogue is really about almost hearing yourself talk in your head without actually speaking and forming sounds.”
This inner speech forms during early childhood, says Ho, who notes that external speech occurs first before one can become aware of the idea of inner speech. “Once you acquire your language skills, you start to engage in more of this internal dialogue,” explains Ho. “A good example of how this might occur for a little child is any kind of imaginary play when they imagine there's another friend that they're talking to.”
Does everyone have an inner monologue?
While most people possess an inner monologue, according to Ho, it is likely that there is a range of ways that people experience their inner voice and that individual inner monologues all sit somewhere on a spectrum. Some people may engage their inner monologue more frequently than others, while some may think in more complete, verbose sentences as opposed to fragmented thoughts and ideas.
While your thoughts may be dominated by words and sentences, it’s true that many people think in terms of images, symbols, or sensations. These ways of thinking accompany a verbal component to thought for most, but in some instances these ways of thinking may almost completely replace an inner monologue, explains Ho. This can happen in individuals who experience developmental delays, those who experience one of the five senses differently than others (such as individuals with hearing impairment), people who have experienced trauma, and so on. Additionally, lots of people simply block out their inner monologue or “may not recognize their internal monologue” for various reasons, says Ho.
Signs you have an inner monologue
According to Chait, you likely possess and inner monologue if any of the below apply to you:
Talking to yourself (aloud)
Hearing your voice in your head while reading, complete with tone and affect
Rehearsing conversations or presentations in your head
Having conversations with yourself in your head
These experiences are different from auditory hallucinations, explains Chait. “People with an internal monologue know it is not a real voice and are able to recognize it as their own internal monologue,” she says.
Pros and cons of having an inner monologue
An inner monologue offers many benefits—it may help people process thoughts, prepare for difficult conversations, and encode information, explains Chait. Additionally, “There may be benefits for storing those thoughts in memory, making it easier to retrieve them later on,” Philips adds.
One’s inner monologue can also be a source for better critical thinking and increased creativity, says Ho, who adds that it is what “makes us uniquely human and allows us to solve problems and do so many wonderful things.”
However, there can be some downsides to particularly developed inner monologues for some individuals. Philips notes that “It’s possible that internal monologue interferes with understanding incoming language,” while Chait explains that some people may have trouble turning the voice off, leading to feelings of anxiety and exhaustion. Lastly, self-deprecating thoughts can tend to spiral for some people, leading to “worst case scenario” ways of thinking, adds Ho.
You Might Also Like
