Intrapersonal communication
Examples are thinking to oneself "I will do better next time" after having made a mistake or imagining a conversation with one's boss in preparation for leaving work early.
In a wider sense, however, there are also types of self-to-self communication that are mediated through external means, like when writing a diary or a shopping list for oneself.
Other phenomena related to intrapersonal communication include planning, problem-solving, perception, reasoning, self-persuasion, introspection, and dreaming.
Of special relevance in this regard is the self-concept, i.e. how a person sees themself, specifically their self-esteem or how they evaluate their abilities and characteristics.
Larry Barker and Gordon Wiseman define it as "the creating, functioning, and evaluating of symbolic processes which operate primarily within oneself".
For example, when an employee decides to leave work early, they may engage in an inner dialogue by mentally going through possible negative comments from their boss and potential responses.
[8] Some theorists, like James Watson and Anne Hill, restrict the definition of intrapersonal communication to inner experiences or "what goes on inside our heads", like talking to oneself within one's mind.
[6][2] But in a wider sense, it also includes external forms of self-to-self communication, such as speaking to oneself aloud during private speech or writing a diary or a shopping list.
[12][6] Frank J. Macke and Dean Barnlund stress that the mechanical exchange of messages is not sufficient and that intrapersonal communication has to do with meaning and making sense of things.
Further phenomena are data processing like drawing inferences, thinking, and self-persuasion as well as memory, introspection, dreaming, imagining, and feeling.
[12][35] According to the model proposed by Barker and Wiseman in 1966, intrapersonal communication starts with the reception of external and internal stimuli carrying information.
Internal stimuli include a wide range of impressions, both concerning the state of the body, like pain, but also encompassing feelings.
[47][49][50] Sheila Steinberg follows Graeme Burton and Richard Dimbleby by understanding intrapersonal communication as a process involving five elements: decoding, integration, memory, perceptual sets, and encoding.
Perceptual sets are ingrained ways of organizing and evaluating this information, for example, how feminine and masculine traits are conceived.
A closely related approach is to talk not of distinct parts of a single self but of different selves in the same person, like an emotional self, an intellectual self, or a physical self.
For example, some theorists, like Linda Costigan Lederman, conceptualize inner dialogue in analogy to social interaction as an exchange between different parts of the self.
These reactions include sights and scents, memories from previous visits, checking whether this would clash with other plans, and devising a route to get to the restaurant.
According to him, children learn the tools for self-talk when their parents talk to them to regulate their behavior, for example, through suggestions, warnings, or commands.
It has a vital role in mental functions such as shaping and controlling one's thoughts, regulating one's behavior, reasoning, problem-solving, and planning as well as remembering.
It often accompanies diverse communicative tasks, such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing, for example, to understand an expression or to formulate a new one.
[23][67] Intrapersonal communication can also be applied to a great variety of creative tasks, like using it to come up with musical compositions, paintings, or dance routines.
[68] The goal of some external forms of intrapersonal communication, like taking notes at school or writing a shopping list, is to aid memory.
Often-discussed examples are found in Dorothy Richardson's Pilgrimage, James Joyce's Ulysses, and Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway.
Generally speaking, people are more likely to use the second-person pronoun when there is a need for self-regulation, an imperative to overcome difficulties, and facilitation of hard actions.
[96] A 2014 study by Sanda Dolcos and Dolores Albarracin indicates that using the second-person pronoun to provide self-suggestions is more effective in promoting the intentions to carry out behaviors and performances.
[100][99] Self-esteem is a central aspect characterizing intrapersonal communication and refers to a person's subjective evaluation of their abilities and characteristics.
Low self-esteem is linked to problems ranging from depression, loneliness, and alienation to drug abuse and teenage pregnancy.
[105] A similar topic is discussed by Simon Jones and Charles Fernyhough, who explain cases of auditory verbal hallucinations as a form of inner speech.
For example, when seeing that a person dresses well and takes care of their health, one may infer that certain intrapersonal relationships are responsible for this behavior.
[110] A method to study intrapersonal communication in natural environments, developed by Russell Hurlburt, is to have participants describe their inner experience at random intervals the moment a beeper goes off.
