Does Everyone Have an Inner Monologue?

Reviewed by David Susman, PhDReviewed by David Susman, PhD

As you read this, you may hear the words “spoken” in your head. That little voice is your inner monologue, also referred to as your inner voice, inner speech, or your self-talk. Research has shown a great deal of variation in how often people experience their inner monologue, with some people not having this experience at all.

Keep reading to learn more about what an inner monologue is and its prevalence (spoiler: researchers disagree on this topic). We also explore how people without an inner monologue think. Finally, we examine why some people may lack an inner voice, along with the pros and cons of both having it and not.

What Is an Inner Monologue?

Many people’s internal experience includes a verbal quality that comes across as a monologue. This inner monologue uses language, but the individual doesn’t need to move their mouth or be heard to form the words that are central to it.

This private speech is addressed only to ourselves and is something we feel like we can “hear.” One's inner monologue is complete with tone and inflection, even though it’s not audible.

Takeaway

Children typically develop an inner monologue around the age of 2 or 3, in conjunction with the development of expressive language, which includes both verbal and nonverbal communication.

Inner Speech Dimensions

Research has indicated there are three dimensions to inner speech:

• Condensation, or how concise or verbose your inner monologue is. In some instances, one’s inner voice may be descriptive and talkative, with self-talk that includes whole sentences and paragraphs. In others, it may only use a single word or fragments of a sentence.

• Dialogality, or whether you’re thinking in one or multiple voices. Sometimes we may only hear one voice in our head, such as when we tell ourselves things we need to remember or encourage ourselves before tackling a difficult task. But other times, we may think in multiple voices, such as when we anticipate future conversations by imagining what we and the other person will say, or when we have an internal debate in which we think of several different perspectives at once.

• Intentionality, or whether you’re deliberately using your inner monologue. In some cases, such as when we want to practice an upcoming presentation, we may intentionally employ our inner monologue. However, in other cases, such as when our mind wanders, our inner monologue may be active even though we didn’t make a conscious decision to use it.

How Prevalent Are Inner Monologues?

This is a question without a concrete answer. The reason is because inner monologues are extremely difficult to study. After all, no one can peer into another person’s mind and see exactly what and how they’re thinking.

As a result, researchers have come up with different ways to study inner monologues. Some of these have included self-report surveys and experience sampling. In the latter, research participants are asked to keep diaries or take part in interviews in order to provide open-ended data about their inner experiences.

Explainer

An experience sampling method called Descriptive Experience Sampling is often used in studies of inner speech. It was developed by psychology professor Russell Hurlburt and requires that research participants report on their inner experiences at random times throughout the day.

In short, these different ways of investigating inner monologues have led to inconsistent results. As a result, researchers have come up with different answers to the question of how prevalent they really are.

Some scholars have suggested that everyone has an inner monologue, and it never stops during waking hours. Others posit that some people lack an inner speech, adding that even people who do have this experience vary widely in terms of frequency throughout the day.

Discrepancies in Prevalence

For example, Hurlburt estimates that between 30% and 50% of people frequently experience an inner monologue. His research using Descriptive Experience Sampling has indicated that most people don’t experience their inner monologue all the time, and many go through large parts of their days without experiencing it at all.

On the other hand, researchers using different research methods have concluded that the frequency of inner speech is much higher. One study suggests that people experience it 75% of the time.

How Do People Without an Inner Monologue Think?

For those who have an inner monologue, it can be hard to understand how people think when they don't have this experience. However, research has shown people generally think in five different ways, only one of which involves an inner monologue.

Those ways of thinking are:

• Inner speech: Our inner monologue in which we speak words in our mind.

• Inner seeing: Imagining an image in our mind that doesn’t match what we’re seeing in reality. For example, you might conjure an image of a place you want to vacation.

• Unsymbolized thinking: Thinking but without employing words, images, or other symbolic methods of communication. For instance, you might go through the motions of brushing your teeth without consciously envisioning or telling yourself to complete each step.

• Feeling: Consciously considering your emotions. For example, you might acknowledge that you’re feeling overjoyed after getting good news.

• Sensory awareness: Idly thinking about one sensory aspect of the environment while not thinking about others. For instance, on a windy day, you may feel the wind and notice the way it makes your clothes blow around you, but instead of thinking about that, you focus your thoughts on how cutting the wind feels on your hands.
  

Takeaway

Some people may think in all five of these ways, while others may be limited to one or two. As a result, people without an inner monologue are likely to be thinking in one or more ways that don’t involve inner speech.

Why Do Some People Lack an Inner Monologue?

Research on why some people lack an inner monologue is in its infancy and, therefore, there are no firm answers to the question of why some people may not experience this phenomenon. One study found that people with aphantasia, an inability to see visual imagery in one’s mind, also had weak or completely absent inner monologues, which the researchers labeled anauralia.

The opposite was also true, with people who could conjure vivid visual imagery also tending to experience a vivid inner monologue. However, more research is needed to understand why the inability to see visual imagery would impact whether one has an inner monologue and vice versa.

Pros and Cons of an Inner Monologue

An inner monologue has been found to have benefits across a wide range of domains, including planning, problem-solving, self-regulation, self-reflection, emotion regulation, and perspective-taking. One’s inner monologue can also be a source of motivation, instruction, and positive self-reinforcement.

On the other hand, for some people, self-criticism is a regular feature of their inner monologue. This is a major drawback of inner monologues, and studies have found critical self-talk is associated with lower self-esteem and more frequent automatic negative statements about the self.

The other ways of thinking that don't involve an inner monologue, outlined above, likely have benefits and drawbacks as well. However, more research is necessary to understand what they may be.

Related: What Is the Meaning of the 'Inner Self'?

Read the original article on Verywell Mind.