It would be a mix for me. (I mean deaf and mute people still have a thought process even if they have never heard the language as a voice in their head--I assume) Sometimes it can be an internal monologue, but other times, especially doing engineering tasks, there are no words it is just visualization of steps or process or concepts. i also have noticed that if I'm thinking in language I can type it very fast and it flows, if I try to talk to people the act of verbalizing interupts pulling the words forward in thoughts. And I have to pause to think of words or process for a sentence. The only way this doesn't happen is for very rehearsed topics.
this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2023
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I think that's pretty much the same as asking "do you dream in voice or in images". I'm sure the vast majority of people use a mix, and not one or the other.
That said, it's just a feeling? Like, you feel pulled towards or repulsed by one or the other action.
Strong sensations might even have a "blitz" or snapshot of the possible future, but without blocking or occupying your eyesight. Something really bad might have you see yourself or others in tears, or whatever action is likely to fit them given the situation.
I wouldn't say that I think in images, at least not purely. If it requires deep thought then I'll spell it out in my mind, and if it requires speed (such as simple math) then I'll just skip the voice and use the abstracts of my mind directly.
That said, itβs just a feeling? Like, you feel pulled towards or repulsed by one or the other action.
This is why I was asking tbh, as it seemed to me like it's somewhere between a clear, conscious thought (be that voiced/images/etc.) and a sort of subconscious feeling or intuition that may not be as clearly expressible. The common description of a "little voice" for conscience would seem to suggest for some who experience it this way it may be closer to something one might transcribe, e.g. "I thought I should, but..."
Which is why it led me to wonder, "So how's that go for those who don't experience it as a little voice...?"
I personally feel, as that is how I experience it, that thinking using your inner voice is just another layer on top of your more basic consciousness which of course is layered on top of your subconsciousness, as, at least for me, using the inner voice is something I do to acknowledge and analyse a feeling i already experienced.
Experiencing the thought and using it for making a decision usually takes 100ms~1s, and trying to articulate it for communication to other people takes seconds to minutes.
Communication by talking is painfully slow, discussions would be so much more exciting if we could just send thoughts or ideas directly.
If it's a more complex problem, like confessing love or being angry at someone, then I'll flash through multiple thoughts, options, and consequences in quick succession, perhaps followed by the usual slow recreation of a hypothetical situation in a theater of mind, which is often supported by, but not centered around, my inner voice, and which I imagine is much more similar to articulating everything you think.
To clarify, this theater of mind is heavily centered around emotions. It expresses these using visualized motions and direct feelings, both in my own position, but also if I were in theirs. The inner voice usually sets the speed, as I can only think so fast using it. Without it I might jump around, from scene to scene, marking each with a feeling, state, or emotion that I wish to achieve, and then later revisit each scene and adding the voiceover.
Again, I cannot but believe that everyone also experiences that first step of just flashing through thoughts before living them out in your mind.
Please apologize my long answer, this is very fun but also somewhat challenging to talk about, as I have only ever experienced my way of thinking. I'm sure you understand. :D
Humans very easily process language. If they know a language, I think they'll have some sort of 'internal monologue'. Also, pop culture promotes a conscience in that sense. So, I think anyone who's fluent with a language would probably talk to themselves, and that's what a bunch of their 'conscience' would look like.
But for humans without language, we still have brain areas for processing pleasure, danger, 'gut feelings'. Like humans with language, their behaviour/conscience would probably be shaped by what's worked and what not worked in the past, as well as survival instincts. But it'd be more emotional or physical than talking to oneself. That's my two cents anyway!
Fwiw it's not so much without a language as it is there are some people who think without an internal monologue from what I've read here & there. They can speak and write in a language no problem, but their primary mode of thought is different.
I don't know all the different forms that may take, nor how prevalent it is, only that it's not unheard of.
It is easy to feel that something is wrong without using words to describe the feeling.
I'm very mixed. Either my brain is rampaging a dramatized '220wpm' monologue at me, of which I'm at the whims of, or I'm engaged in a nice 'flow state' where my body becomes reactive based on emotional feeling rather than any conscious thought.
During wonderful moments of introspection, I'll attempt to talk to and identify these feelings. It helps repurpose them towards my goals, as they're typically influenced by what has worked and hasn't in the past just as @[email protected] mentioned. We don't always see eye to eye though.
CBT has been great at redirecting these functions towards my goals rather than what my body 'feels' works. Logic and Emotions, COMBINE!
Sometimes my emotions will conjure a 'feeling' of like, an overlayed reality probably similar to what @[email protected] mentioned experiencing for their engineering. I still see everything normally that my eyes are reporting, but then there's another reality that I feel is occurring simultaneously. This is great for melding with tools like a bread knife (the bread must be evenly cut...) or riding a motorcycle. The latter I can identify things like my center of gravity and project/manipulate it. After 3 crashes, I was able to drift my bike in the rain without eating shit. It is always 'verbally silent' per-say during these moments.
I've intentionally nurtured it ever since I got a hold of VR and became more conscious of it occurring, so tbh I'm not sure if it's always been this way or if it's even what you're looking for.
RN my subconscious feels like it wants me to mention that it's inefficient to vocalize thoughts in the mind. No 'words' appeared for that, it's a feeling whether it's right or wrong; I put my fingers down and this is the output. There's also sometimes conflicting feelings so it's difficult to 'flow' and a lot of post-editing occurs, although I've attempted to keep this paragraph more 'rough' per say.
idk if this is what you're looking for, but I hope it helps!
I think the term you're looking for is internal monologue. I can't really answer the question, but as I am bilingual I do sometimes catch myself thinking without having an internal monologue and I can tell I'm thinking but haven't reached a conclusion almost like watching a progress bar while the language part of my brain catches up.
Seriously, what?