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Language facilitates introspection: Verbal mind-wandering has privileged access to consciousness
Mikaël Bastian1, Sébastien Lerique2, Vincent Adam3
1Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Département d'Études Cognitives de l'École Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 75005 Paris, France; EA 2114, Psychologie des Ages de la vie, Francois Rabelais University, Tours, France.
Consciousness and Cognition
|February 6, 2017
Summary
Inner speech, or internal monologue, helps people notice when their mind is wandering. This research shows language plays a key role in self-awareness and introspection.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- The relationship between introspection and language in healthy cognition is not well understood.
- Mind-wandering episodes offer a unique window into the function of language during introspection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of inner speech in facilitating awareness of mind-wandering.
- To provide empirical evidence for the connection between language and consciousness.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments manipulated verbal working memory using articulatory suppression and verbal material presentation.
- An ecological smartphone study assessed the relationship between inner speech vividness and mind-wandering awareness.
Main Results:
- Articulatory suppression reduced spontaneous awareness of mind-wandering.
- Verbal material enhanced retrospective awareness of mind-wandering.
- Inner speech vividness positively correlated with mind-wandering awareness.
Conclusions:
- Inner speech appears to facilitate the introspection of one's thoughts.
- These findings support a positive link between language and consciousness.
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