This is super interesting. There is some research looking at individual differences in the perception of "inner speech": https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S1053810011001954?token=03DA066A6AEFB749D27ED53FBF22244792FD920BC1DA755F6FEB647F5B6C7A7035526A9203579A0E134068092376135A …. I don't feel like I have an internal monologue, so I'd probably be on the low end of this scale.https://twitter.com/KylePlantEmoji/status/1221713792913965061 …
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I only hear inner speech when I am 1) Thinking of what I might say to somewhat else 2) Imagining what I might write 3) Remembering or imagining scenes/scenarios 4) Reading. Otherwise, I don't have an internal narrator.
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I more experience thought in terms of images, metaphors, associations, colors, etc. It feels non-linguistic, and I've always been perplexed when people argue that we "think in language." Similarly, people have been perplexed when I argue that we think in images, metaphors, etc.
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Perhaps this is why I've been so drawn to
@GeorgeLakoff's conceptual metaphor theory, since I feel like I think with metaphors. Though, research shows some people think with and use metaphors less than others: https://keynes.ucc.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/The-Scope-and-Consequences-of-Metaphoric-Thinking-FULL-ARTICLE.pdf …Prikaži ovu nit -
Maybe part of the reason I enjoy writing so much is that I hear an inner voice when I write -- it gives me the chance to put thoughts into words.
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I think it's fascinating that, while we may assume our private, inner experience is similar to that of others, there appear to be deep strong individual differences in what our inner experience looks like
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Though, granted, inner experience is hard to measure and discuss, and may be subject to reporting bias -- maybe people are talking about different things when they talk about their internal monologue.
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Some related findings: there are individual differences in the extent to which people experience mental imagery, with some people experiencing no mental imagery at all -- a condition called "aphantasia."https://aphantasia.com/vviq-aphantasia-test/ …
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And about ~5% (though estimates vary) of the population experiences synesthesia, associating some sensory input (letters, numbers, or musical pitches) with another (colors or taste). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia …
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I have graheme-color synesthesia (I experience colors in response to letters and numbers), and I was surprised when I learned (around high school) that everyone didn't experience something like this.
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My ~wildly speculative~ hypothesis is that people who don't have strong internal monologues might rely more on mental imagery, metaphor, or synesthetic experience rather than language to structure their thoughts.
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It would be cool if there was more research looking at correlations there, plus some more neuroscience research looking at differences in brain structure/function between those who report thinking more in words vs. those who do not.
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There's evidence that children are 3x more likely to have synesthesia, and then have it fade during synaptic pruning in puberty. From
@davideagleman's amazing book on synesthesia: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wednesday-Indigo-Blue-Discovering-Synesthesia/dp/0262516705 ….Prikaži ovu nit -
So, again, some speculation: maybe some people pursue different developmental trajectories after childhood, with some continuing to think more synesthetically in images & metaphors, and others shifting to think more in words.
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Tl;dr: It's fascinating that to learn that people's private, inner experience can be so different from our own. We rarely talk about our inner experience, and I think we often assume it is the same as everyone else's.
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