Inner monologue: does everyone think in words?
What research knows about the inner voice, and about people who think without one
5 min read
Contents
No, not everyone. How often people experience their thinking as an inner voice ranges from near constant to nonexistent (Nedergaard & Lupyan 2024). Since 2024 there has been a name for the lack of an inner voice: anendophasia.
What is an inner monologue?
An inner monologue means inner speech: thoughts experienced as sentences in a language without saying them out loud. Researchers also call it covert speech or verbal thinking (Alderson-Day & Fernyhough 2015).
People who speak inwardly most often experience it in their own naturally inflected voice, just without sound (Hurlburt, Heavey & Kelsey 2013). There are many variations. Questionnaires such as the VISQ-R distinguish, for example, condensed, dialogic and evaluative inner speech as well as the voices of other people (Alderson-Day et al. 2018).
Does everyone have an inner monologue?
For a long time the inner voice was taken for granted. Recent studies show that it differs greatly between people: in adults it ranges from near constant to nonexistent (Nedergaard & Lupyan 2024).
A close look comes from studies in which people note what is going on inside them at random moments. In one such study, 10 random moments were described for each of 30 students. Inner speech occurred in about a quarter of the moments, as did inner seeing, thinking without words or images, feelings and sensory awareness. How often these forms occurred varied widely from person to person (Heavey & Hurlburt 2008).
- people
- 30
- Heavey & Hurlburt 2008
- random moments per person
- 10
- described and analysed
- common forms of experience
- 5
- inner speech is one of them
How many people have no inner monologue?
Nobody knows exactly. We have not found a reliable figure for the population in the research. What is certain: some people say they speak inwardly rarely or not at all.
How do you think without an inner voice?
People who do not think in words still think. Research on inner experience distinguishes several forms that are common in everyday life (Heavey & Hurlburt 2008):
- Inner speechThoughts as sentences in your own voice.
- Inner seeingThoughts as pictures in the mind’s eye.
- Thinking without words or imagesA clear thought that is neither spoken nor seen.
- FeelingsThe experience is mainly a mood or emotion.
- Sensory awarenessAttention rests on what you are seeing, hearing or feeling right now.
Words and images do not exclude each other. A questionnaire on modes of thinking found four factors: internal verbalisation, visual imagery, imagery of written words and the mental manipulation of representations. All four were positively related to one another (Roebuck & Lupyan 2020).
Anendophasia: when the inner voice is missing
In 2024, Nedergaard and Lupyan proposed the term “anendophasia” for the lack of inner speech. In their studies they compared 46 adults who reported little inner speech with 47 adults who reported a lot of it.
Differences
- lower performance on a verbal working memory task
- more difficulty judging whether two words rhyme
No differences
- when switching between tasks
- in perceiving categories
Anendophasia is not a diagnosis. There are no fixed criteria and no cut-off above which someone counts as anendophasic. The term describes a variety of experience that is only beginning to be studied.
Inner monologue and aphantasia
Aphantasia is about images, the inner monologue about words. They are separate concepts. Closely related is anauralia: the lack of auditory imagery, that is, inwardly hearing voices, music or sounds. Anendophasia, by contrast, refers to inner speaking itself. We have not found a study that measures both in the same group.
You might assume that people without mental images think more in words instead. The data do not support that so simply: in the questionnaire by Roebuck and Lupyan (2020), inner words and inner images were positively related, not opposed. That is why it is worth looking at both separately: images with the VST-16, the inner voice with the IVS-15.
What is the inner voice for?
A major review links inner speech to cognitive development in childhood, to monitoring one’s own speech, to planning and controlling actions and to mental illness. Inner speech appears to perform important functions and shares resources with other thought processes (Alderson-Day & Fernyhough 2015).
In the study with 30 students, more frequent inner speech went along with lower psychological distress (Heavey & Hurlburt 2008). That is an association in a small group, not proof that an inner voice makes you healthier.
Limits of the research
- All findings rest on self-reports. Whether someone speaks inwardly cannot be measured from the outside.
- Questionnaires and descriptions of random moments lead to different pictures; the authors attribute this to the methods (Hurlburt, Heavey & Kelsey 2013).
- The studies are small. There is no figure for how common a lack of inner monologue is in the population.
- There is no cut-off for anendophasia. Our self-test, too, gives orientation, not a diagnosis.
Frequently asked questions about the inner monologue
Does everyone have an inner monologue?
No. In adults, the experience of an inner voice ranges from near constant to nonexistent (Nedergaard & Lupyan 2024).
How many people have no inner monologue?
There is no reliable figure for the population. Studies only show that people differ greatly and that some people hardly speak inwardly at all.
What is it called when you have no inner voice?
In 2024, Nedergaard and Lupyan proposed the term “anendophasia”. It is not a diagnosis but a name for a variety of experience.
How do you think without an inner monologue?
For example in images, in feelings or in clear thoughts without words or images. These forms are common in everyday life (Heavey & Hurlburt 2008).
Is it bad not to have an inner voice?
No, it is not an illness. In one study, people with little inner speech did somewhat worse on two word tasks but not on other tasks (Nedergaard & Lupyan 2024).
How can I find out whether I have an inner monologue?
Pay attention a few times a day to what is going on inside you. Our self-test IVS-15 presents 15 statements about inner speech and takes about 5 minutes.
Scientific sources
- Nedergaard, J. S. K. & Lupyan, G. (2024). Not Everybody Has an Inner Voice: Behavioral Consequences of Anendophasia. Psychological Science, 35(7), 780–797. doi:10.1177/09567976241243004
- Heavey, C. L. & Hurlburt, R. T. (2008). The phenomena of inner experience. Consciousness and Cognition, 17(3), 798–810. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2007.12.006
- Hurlburt, R. T., Heavey, C. L. & Kelsey, J. M. (2013). Toward a phenomenology of inner speaking. Consciousness and Cognition, 22(4), 1477–1494. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2013.10.003
- Alderson-Day, B. & Fernyhough, C. (2015). Inner Speech: Development, Cognitive Functions, Phenomenology, and Neurobiology. Psychological Bulletin, 141(5), 931–965. doi:10.1037/bul0000021
- Alderson-Day, B., Mitrenga, K., Wilkinson, S., McCarthy-Jones, S. & Fernyhough, C. (2018). The varieties of inner speech questionnaire – Revised (VISQ-R): Replicating and refining links between inner speech and psychopathology. Consciousness and Cognition, 65, 48–58. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2018.07.001
- Roebuck, H. & Lupyan, G. (2020). The Internal Representations Questionnaire: Measuring modes of thinking. Behavior Research Methods, 52(5), 2053–2070. doi:10.3758/s13428-020-01354-y
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How often do you speak inwardly?
The IVS-15 presents 15 statements, from talking to yourself to the voices of others. It is meant for orientation and is not a diagnosis.