Talking to Yourself Has Cognitive Benefits, Study Finds

[n2doc]

ScienceDaily (Apr. 17, 2012) — Most people talk to themselves at least every few days, and many report talking to themselves on an hourly basis. What purpose is served by this seemingly irrational behavior? Previous research has suggested that such self-directed speech in children can help guide their behavior. For example, children often talk themselves step-by-step through tying their shoelaces, as if reminding themselves to focus on the job in hand.

"One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody's listening." Franklin P. Jones once said.

Can talking to oneself also help adults?

In a recent study published in Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, psychologists Gary Lupyan (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Daniel Swingley (University of Pennsylvania) conducted a series of experiments to discover whether talking to oneself can help when searching for particular objects. The studies were inspired by observations that people often audibly mutter to themselves when trying to find, for example, a jar of Peanut Butter on a supermarket shelf, or the stick of butter in their fridge.

In the first experiment, participants were shown 20 pictures of various objects and asked to find a particular one. In some trials, participants saw a text label telling them what object they should find ("Please search for the teapot.&quot In other trials, the same subjects were asked to search again while actually say the word to themselves. It was found that speaking to themselves helped people find the objects more quickly.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120417221613.htm

[hobbit709]

1. Talking to yourself is no problem.

It's when you start having losing arguments with yourself.

[Brickbat]

2. I work at home, and I do this all the time, but usually in another language.

[hobbit709]

3. I mumble curses and imprecations in six languages.

[CTyankee]

7. My grandson is bilingual and often talks to himself in Italian, then switches to English in

conversation with non-Italian speaking adults. He did this once in a doctor's office who wondered aloud "does he often babble in nonsense?" Her face was red when she was informed that he was bilingual. Since he is a very blond, blue eyed kid and his mom a native English speaker, the doc was understandably confused (altho his name is VERY Italian).

[Fumesucker]

4. Evidently I have never met Franklin P Jones..

Or he would never have said that..

[PoliticAverse]

5. Just don't take it too far...

[SDjack]

6. Problem begins when talking to yourself progresses to listening to those voices

in your head, esp. when they make so much sense.

[benld74]

8. I tell my wife, "I just like having a conversation with someone intelligent for a change!"

[Marzupialis]

9. I find it helps my memory

I repeat what I have to do during the day in my mind, and I feel that it helps me forget less.

[Nay]

10. I must be in good shape then! nt

[Quantess]

11. Wow, I guess I'm doing something right, then.

Sometimes I can't make myself shut up. LOL

[MrSlayer]

12. Gandalf Greyhame puts it this way.

"I was talking aloud to myself. A habit of the old: they choose the wisest person present to speak to."

I use this often.

[AsahinaKimi]

13. i like to talk

to myself in Japanese.. it keeps me practicing! nani ka ita? I said...I like to talk to myself in Japanese.. Doshite? Because .. Naze? ....demare! gomen nasai.. eep![/] ...nevermind.