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Apparently there is people who think with a voice in their heads
- Thread starter Yamanote Line
- Start date
I feel like it would be harder to properly weigh information without being able to think with a voice. Like I do all sorts of thinking without it but it's often more impulsive, emotional or subconcious. If I was trying to analyse something I'd have to lay it all out and hear the different sides of it and think about it better. Otherwise I guess I would just write it all out. At least from having an inner voice I feel like thats how I'd function, not saying thats the case.
Having an inner voice does cause issues though. I use that voice when I read and write which slows things down. Speed readers have learned to read without saying it internally and just absorb the meaning through glancing. Also I think it could lead to decision paralysis, at least for me as someone with anxiety. I sit and weigh bits of information over and over worrying which is best which I might not do if I didn't speak internally so much. Not to mention that when you test run what you will say in your head it is rarely recieved the same way in reality.
I wouldn't say I think in my own voice though, the voice is indistinct. Like if you had to describe a dream, it exists but it's impossible to describe - it has no real traits.
Having an inner voice does cause issues though. I use that voice when I read and write which slows things down. Speed readers have learned to read without saying it internally and just absorb the meaning through glancing. Also I think it could lead to decision paralysis, at least for me as someone with anxiety. I sit and weigh bits of information over and over worrying which is best which I might not do if I didn't speak internally so much. Not to mention that when you test run what you will say in your head it is rarely recieved the same way in reality.
I wouldn't say I think in my own voice though, the voice is indistinct. Like if you had to describe a dream, it exists but it's impossible to describe - it has no real traits.
I'm mixed. I do definitely have an inner monologue, but it isn't there all the time. It's not always there when I read, unless I'm intentionally imagining it in a voice like when I'm reading fiction. It's often there when I'm working something out, but other times replaced by mental images/charts instead of words. A lot of my thinking is visual or conceptual instead of through internal voice. I'm a very visual person. But it's usually a mix, rather than one or the other.
The best description of what goes on in my brain would be a tiny me standing in front of a white board, frequently mumbling to himself while drawing on the board.
The best description of what goes on in my brain would be a tiny me standing in front of a white board, frequently mumbling to himself while drawing on the board.
I have two. One for my native language, and one for English.
It's kind of handy to have two of the in different languages, as I can swap between them as some concepts are easier to explain in English and some easier in Danish. Tough this can lead to disagreements. As they don't think exactly alike due to having a different language base.
It somehow allows me to more or less turn off my ability to understand the other language if I think really loudly in the other. Great for public transports, just tune out the chatter by thinking in English.
The really weird thing is that I can even swap mid-sentence. And if I do, I can affect my spoken language, too. Starting a sentence in one language and ending it in another without it being more that a flick of a mental switch.
It's kind of handy to have two of the in different languages, as I can swap between them as some concepts are easier to explain in English and some easier in Danish. Tough this can lead to disagreements. As they don't think exactly alike due to having a different language base.
It somehow allows me to more or less turn off my ability to understand the other language if I think really loudly in the other. Great for public transports, just tune out the chatter by thinking in English.
The really weird thing is that I can even swap mid-sentence. And if I do, I can affect my spoken language, too. Starting a sentence in one language and ending it in another without it being more that a flick of a mental switch.
It's kind of a weird question because sure I think with a narrative and "say" things in my head but it's not like a voice which I equate to an audible sound, like I'm not hearing my actual voice inside my head, it's more abstract.
I think in English despite Finnish being my first language. Literal decades of consuming 99% of my media in English has led to that. Even when I'm speaking in my native language, whenever I stop to think, it's in English. It's weird.
What's really wacky though is that when I read or watch something in Japanese I don't actually think at all, in any language. It comes down to concepts. That's definitely made learning the language easier because there's less of an impulse to try to translate it into a language I'm already fluent in, but I still find it kind of strange how this language is rewriting my brain. I wonder if given a couple more years of daily studying I'll stop thinking in English altogether and become one of the 5%.
What's really wacky though is that when I read or watch something in Japanese I don't actually think at all, in any language. It comes down to concepts. That's definitely made learning the language easier because there's less of an impulse to try to translate it into a language I'm already fluent in, but I still find it kind of strange how this language is rewriting my brain. I wonder if given a couple more years of daily studying I'll stop thinking in English altogether and become one of the 5%.
I talk to myself all the time, and it's always my voice. Since I was a kid it's my primary way to "think". Sometimes it make sense to imagine pictures (like a movie) and play it in my head to better understand a situation. But most of my thinking (beyond trying to solve a mathematical or geometric problem, for example) is done by contemplating with an inner voice, or silent narrator of my usually boring life. Like a conversation with a "twin". It's not that deep TBH. I'm not always thinking about the ebb and flow of the universe, or the meaning of life. The voice usually comes out when I'm waiting in line at the grocery store and ... "Holy crap, who needs 10 cases of diet coke!? The guts on some of these people..." LOL.
This is a great example TBF :
This is a great example TBF :
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My ADHD makes it really hard for me to "Think" so creating a voice in my head actually helped me a lot.
I talked to a friend about this awhile back, he also thinks in English even though he's a Swede living in Sweden. I think it's pretty cool that can happen.
I was wondering if I'm just using a voice in my head because I read the topic title but then I remembered I use voiced thoughts to figure out if something I'm thinking sounds stupid or not. Otherwise I have a hard time telling good ideas from bad ones.
If I'm having trouble focusing (most of the time) I'll think and read with a "voice" inside my head. When I'm really focused or engaged, though, it's not there.
The voice usually sounds like mine, but if I've been listening to an audiobook or really absorbed in a show, it can sound like someone else. Neil Gaiman's voice in particular gets stuck in my head for a while after listening to him read something.
The voice usually sounds like mine, but if I've been listening to an audiobook or really absorbed in a show, it can sound like someone else. Neil Gaiman's voice in particular gets stuck in my head for a while after listening to him read something.
Everything I process is pretty much done linguistically. I have an inner voice, which "sounds" pretty much the same as my speaking voice (or at least how my speaking voice sounds to me, since we all sound different to ourselves than we do to others. I know what my voice sounds like to others from hearing recordings of myself, but that's not what the inner voice sounds like). I can change how it "sounds" if I consciously choose to do so, but its still just me, the inner id so to speak. Am I capable of processing certain thoughts non verbally? Sure, though even then the verbal side of my brain is likely to chime in on them so only kind of. For example, a few minutes ago I was feeling a sense of tired and that kind of passed over me. But my mind certainly processed "Man, I'm tired, wish I slept better last night." As I type this I'm thinking the words as I go but I'm not thinking the individual letters as I type them or thinking "Okay fingers, type" or anything like that. If I think about it I know I'm telling my body to type this on some level, but that's not on a linguistic level.
Good, it was posted. This is why I read through threads, first!
My inner voice is a clear un-accented American voice rather than my own. Sometimes I mix it up though, and argue with someone with a different voice. Also just do images sometimes.
I don't understand these monsters who think in their head
Just like the weird people who see images in their heads
Just like the weird people who see images in their heads
I think the internal voice monologue is just a tool that people's brains use to organize thoughts more so than the origin of the thoughts. Like when I have an internal monologue I can often "skip" through parts without losing the meaning because my internal voice is still slower than the underlying thoughts. Giving time to think the entire internal voice through helps clarify things in my head and such, but the general gist is something I've put together before any of the words come to my head in the first place. So it's not hard to imagine some people might create other mechanisms and frameworks for processing thoughts
I certainly have an inner voice. It reminds me of my social anxieties and the impostor syndrome I suffer from. It's the voice telling me I'm going to embarrass myself if I try to be myself. It's the voice that tells me that I don't deserve the job I'm in because there's no way that I actually know what I'm doing. When it's not reminding me of my insecurities though, it helps me work out problems and process information. I'm thankful there's only 1 voice in there and it's not terribly overbearing.
Yep, this describes the way I feel as well. I know I don't 'hear' my own voice in my head because every time I'm ever confronted with a recording of my voice I am very surprised by how I sound. When I read especially once I get into a flow of reading I will often find myself 'visualizing' the words as if I'm looking at an internal whiteboard/blackboard with words written on them.
The closest I come to hear a voice in my head is when I'm trying to simulate how a future conversation with someone will go. Then I will tend to hear the other party especially if I am already familiar with their voice/dialect.
I have different voices for different trains of thought, mostly borrowed from friends / family.
I think in a voice if I'm thinking about saying something. Random thoughts are visual or conceptual. The poll results are crazy to me.
If I think about eating pizza, I don't hear "I want pizza" in my head unless I plan on saying it. My mind just imagines the look, smell and taste of the pizza. If I think in words, it's only because I'm about to say out loud, "I want pizza."
If I think about eating pizza, I don't hear "I want pizza" in my head unless I plan on saying it. My mind just imagines the look, smell and taste of the pizza. If I think in words, it's only because I'm about to say out loud, "I want pizza."
My step son has slight autism and he talks nonstop. It turns out that he often talks to himself out loud? Stuff that, if it was me, I would process with my inner voice, but when I talked to him about it he had NO idea what I was talking about? Turns out he doesn't have an inner voice?
I'm more shocked people don't have this. Like how can someone not have an inner monologue, seems interesting and boring lol.
Edit: I didn't even think of people that are deaf and now my mind is blown because I legit have never even thought about that dynamic. I'm gonna go have a conversation with my inside voice about this development.
Edit: I didn't even think of people that are deaf and now my mind is blown because I legit have never even thought about that dynamic. I'm gonna go have a conversation with my inside voice about this development.
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That is very interesting. The mind is really still a mystery. If you think about it (or voice about it duh) babies before learning a language must think in a different way. It would be fascinating to learn how the process of acquiring a language molds the brain.
Also, no one really research the percentage of the population that do or don't have a inner monologue, right?
I myself have a non stoping monologue that only turns off if I am sleeping (I guess). For much I try I can't stop it consciously (there is no such a think as no thought). When reading the voice changes to keep track of the characters most of the time.
Also, no one really research the percentage of the population that do or don't have a inner monologue, right?
I myself have a non stoping monologue that only turns off if I am sleeping (I guess). For much I try I can't stop it consciously (there is no such a think as no thought). When reading the voice changes to keep track of the characters most of the time.
Being an only child, my inner voice is actually very prevalent. I have conversations with it daily. It also is what reads. I hear my voice when reading. It actually makes me a slower reader than a lot of people tho.
Always found this fascinating particularly as someone that has suffered with depression issues throughout life - my inner monologue is almost like my own final boss at times. I didn't realise people couldn't be without a voice in their head for a long time.
My visual memory and imagination is very strong in some parts too, I actually don't memorise certain things like road names or locations because I remember the space they inhabit and the route visually (it's almost like google maps lol) as opposed to text as information so aphantasia interests me a great deal.
My visual memory and imagination is very strong in some parts too, I actually don't memorise certain things like road names or locations because I remember the space they inhabit and the route visually (it's almost like google maps lol) as opposed to text as information so aphantasia interests me a great deal.
Wonder if the same people who don't hear voices are the same who don't/can't see images in there minds eye.
I not only have inner monologues I tend to think aloud a lot too and it'll sound like I'm having a conversation with someone.
It's weird to describe. Sometimes I can think without a voice, and I think it might be me reciting the muscle memory it would take to physically utter those words.
That honestly always looks kinda weird. No way to keep it inside?
When I was young, and I still do this but not as much, I would play out full episodes of shows I liked in my head to help me fall asleep. I figured everyone could do stuff like that. I definitely have an in monologue and often talk to myself out loud too lol.
There is a whole discussion on how much of a voice it is. Is it a realtime voice? Can you actually hear it (audible)? Are all your thoughts that voice? Can you also think in concepts, images, etc.
It's the opposite for me. While I'm pretty sure there have been times where I have an internal "voice," it is definitely not the default. I primarily think in concepts/images.
I think in concepts and images too, then may internally comment on them to help my thinking if I didn't have someone to bounce an idea with.
This is a really interesting area which I can see even more research going into moving foward.
Not a particular voice, more of an inner monologue. Kinda weird when it happens in english (not my native language).