I think every verbal person has the ability to “speak” phrases in their mind; people without an internal monologue (as is, I suppose, the case for me) just don’t need / tend to do that with every thought they have.
This is my experience too. I can rehearse words to say or simulate the conversation of others in my head. I just don't use words when I'm not doing wordy things myself.
I didn't know the Comic strip Partially Clips was a pun until I told someone about the strip, then as soon as the words came out of my mouth realised the joke.
On the other hand I can play back non verbal sounds I have heard in my head, which I think not everyone can do either. Not to the degree of my daughter though, I mentioned how I had noticed an ad was using a singer (not super famous but we knew who they were) and when I told her about it some days later her eyes went blank as she listened to it again and then she said, "Oh yes, it's Nataly"
> This is my experience too. I can rehearse words to say or simulate the conversation of others in my head. I just don't use words when I'm not doing wordy things myself.
Yep, same here. Most curiously though, I think I had an internal monologue in my childhood and teenage years, but sometime around 16–18 y.o. it went away. Sadly, I don’t remember the exact moment, as I’ve only learned about this topic around 20.
> the Comic strip Partially Clips was a pun
Whoah, took me a while too, even though you’ve explicitly told it’s there. xD
> I can play back non verbal sounds I have heard in my head, which I think not everyone can do
I'm the opposite of you two. My brain won't stfu. I took Ritalin since grade 3 until I was in my 40's. That never got rid of it, but it did make it easier to focus in spite of all the chatter and other mental distractions.
Now I'm old and lazy, and that seems to have a similar effect. The racing thoughts are still there, but they don't get in my way now that I have far fewer responsibilities to take care of.
Yes, indeed. My argument is the intrusive thoughts wouldn’t be internally verbalised, thus such a device, in my opinion, wouldn’t be able to spell them out.
With me, they'd have 10 different things to parse. Some would be spot on. Some would be way the heck out in left field. And occasionally, some are totally obtrusive and definitely not meant to be spoken.
Thoughts are intrusive when they get in the way of what you are trying to get out of a thought process.
Of course someone without an internal monologue can have intrusive thoughts! Do you think intrusive thoughts have to come in the form of a monologue? You don't have intrusive 'scenes' in your everyday experience?
I think it is fair to say that internal dialog includes whatever mode someone primarily thinks with internally. If it is words, images, or kinesthetic, only the modality is different. I don't see how these modes wouldn't constitute internal dialog if that's how people think internally. These are the primary ways people generally do form their internal world.
There are also olfactory (imagine smelling cinnamon in a slice of apple pie) and gustatory (think of vinegar). These two don't tend to occur in dialog form, but they can enhance or reinforce the other modes. Animals like dogs might not agree with that suggestion.
There are people with no internal monologue whatsoever.