Do I Have an Internal Monologue?

Take this quiz to find out!

It’s a beautiful day!

Did you read that sentence in your head, word for word? Or did you interpret the meaning another way?

Studies indicate somewhere between 30 and 50% of the population has an internal monologue—so they “hear” a voice in their head, even when they’re not speaking aloud. Are you one of them, or do you interpret the world in other ways? Take this quiz, and we’ll tell you everything you need to know.

A smiling man in a brown sweater holds up a large yellow empty talk bubble beside his head.

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Questions Overview

1. Do you ever talk to yourself in your head (as in, you can hear your own voice speaking in your mind)?
  1. Yes, all the time. I can’t help it.
  2. Sometimes, when I’m working through a complex problem.
  3. Never.
  4. I don’t know.
2. When you’re rehearsing for a speech, do you recite the words in your head?
  1. Yes, I rehearse in my head just as if I’m saying the words out loud.
  2. Sometimes, but I also find it helpful to rehearse aloud.
  3. No, I rehearse out loud. I have a hard time rehearsing in my head.
  4. I’m not sure.
3. When you’re reading a book, do you “hear” yourself saying the words in your head?
  1. Yes, always.
  2. Sort of, but it’s in the characters’ voices.
  3. No, I just sort of sense the words I’m reading, if that makes sense.
  4. I don’t know.
4. Do you get songs stuck in your head a lot?
  1. Yes, all the time.
  2. Sometimes.
  3. Rarely or never.
  4. I don’t know.
5. Have you ever watched a movie, and then had the dialogue stuck on replay in your head?
  1. Yes, all the time.
  2. Sometimes, especially with movies I’ve seen a lot.
  3. No, definitely not. I might see the scenes or hear the music in my head though.
  4. I’m not sure. I think about the movie later, but I don’t see or hear it—does that count?
6. When you’re feeling sad, do you struggle with negative self-talk (or, do you hear a voice saying negative things)?
  1. Yes, whenever I’m sad I hear negative self-talk.
  2. Only some of the time.
  3. Never. When I feel bad about myself, I don’t hear a voice.
  4. I don’t know.
7. When you’re happy, do you hear a voice in your head saying positive things?
  1. Yes, definitely! I hear it automatically as I go through my day.
  2. Sometimes, but only when I focus.
  3. Even when I’m happy, I don’t hear a voice saying positive things—I just feel good!
  4. I don’t know.
8. Do you narrate your day in your head?
  1. Yes, everything that happens is filtered through a voice in my head.
  2. Some of it is narrated in my head.
  3. No, I never narrate my life in my head.
  4. I’m not sure.
9. How do you personally define “internal monologue”?
  1. It’s a voice in your mind that just comes and goes when it wants, without your control.
  2. It’s when you intentionally talk to yourself in your head—like to work through a problem or read to yourself.
  3. As far as I can tell, it’s a voice some people seem to have in their heads for silent verbal processing.
  4. I don’t know.

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<\/br>Some studies suggest people with internal monologues also possess strong language skills and are good at solving problems and retaining information, so that\u2019s pretty cool! Your inner monologue may get annoying at times\u2014for instance, when you\u2019re trying to meditate and you just can\u2019t seem to shut out your brain!\u2014but it likely more than makes up for that in your exceptional creativity and problem-solving skills. Go you!","edit_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Stop-Talking-to-Yourself-in-Your-Head"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Find-Your-Inner-Self"}],"link_data":[{"title":"How to Stop Talking to Yourself in Your Head","id":11932413,"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Stop-Talking-to-Yourself-in-Your-Head","image":"\/images\/thumb\/8\/83\/Stop-Talking-to-Yourself-in-Your-Head-Step-13-Version-3.jpg\/-crop-200-200-200px-Stop-Talking-to-Yourself-in-Your-Head-Step-13-Version-3.jpg","alt":"How to Stop Talking to Yourself in Your Head"},{"title":"How to Find Your Inner Self","id":223015,"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Find-Your-Inner-Self","image":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/df\/Find-Your-Inner-Self-Step-19-Version-2.jpg\/-crop-200-200-200px-Find-Your-Inner-Self-Step-19-Version-2.jpg","alt":"How to Find Your Inner Self"}],"minimum":0},{"text":"You might have an internal monologue.","meaning":"Seems like you hear a voice inside from time to time, which means you probably possess strong language skills and are good at solving problems and retaining information. That\u2019s awesome! But whether your internal monologue is there all the time is uncertain, based on your answers. Maybe you bring it out intentionally when you\u2019re trying to process something difficult or when you need to rehearse for something, but the rest of the time, you\u2019re just vibing without a monologue (or you\u2019re just not aware of it, which is really common).
<\/br>It\u2019s possible you make sense of the world using a variety of types of internal processing, including the inner monologue\u2014for instance, maybe you process using visual imagery, or some strange non-symbolic method of decoding the world around you that we just don\u2019t have language for! This probably makes you extra creative. Sounds like you\u2019ve got the best of both worlds, to us.","edit_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Get-to-Know-Yourself"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Deal-With-Your-Emotions"}],"link_data":[{"title":"How to Get to Know Yourself: A Guide to Self-Discovery","id":9413573,"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Get-to-Know-Yourself","image":"\/images\/thumb\/2\/28\/Get-to-Know-Yourself-Step-14.jpg\/-crop-200-200-200px-Get-to-Know-Yourself-Step-14.jpg","alt":"How to Get to Know Yourself: A Guide to Self-Discovery"},{"title":"How to Deal With Your Emotions","id":431301,"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Deal-With-Your-Emotions","image":"\/images\/thumb\/e\/ec\/Deal-With-Your-Emotions-Step-15-Version-2.jpg\/-crop-200-200-200px-Deal-With-Your-Emotions-Step-15-Version-2.jpg","alt":"How to Deal With Your Emotions"}],"minimum":0},{"text":"You probably don\u2019t have an internal monologue.","meaning":"You likely don\u2019t have a little voice inside, but that\u2019s not a bad thing, and it\u2019s super normal. Did you know that there are actually (at least!) 5 different ways people might internally process the world? They are:

  • Inner speaking<\/b>, or having an internal monologue.<\/li>
  • Inner seeing<\/b>, or visualizing images in your head that help you interpret the world.<\/li>
  • Feelings<\/b>, or processing the world by feeling emotions, like joy or sadness.<\/li>
  • Sensory awareness<\/b>, noticing and remembering the taste, smell, or touch of things and interpreting your experiences primarily through these senses.<\/li>
  • Unsymbolized thinking<\/b>, in which you make sense of your experiences through abstract thinking that\u2019s beyond words, and which we don\u2019t even fully understand. Amazing!<\/li><\/ul>
    So how do you figure out which one you\u2019ve got? Think about this: when you make up a to-do list, do you visualize the list, or do you mentally run through the words on<\/i> the list? The first is a sign you might be a visual processor, while the second is more likely to be what someone with an inner monologue would do. Maybe you remember the feeling of your hand as it wrote out the letters on the paper, in which case you might process your environment through the sensation of touch. Or maybe you interpret the world through complicated non-symbolic processing that\u2019s too advanced for language!

    The different means of processing your experiences likely come with different gifts. For example, if you\u2019re a visual processor, you may be more artistically inclined, whereas people who process the world aurally may have a talent for music. There\u2019s no \u201cbetter\u201d or \u201cworse\u201d way to process the world\u2014only different ways, all amazing in their own ways!","edit_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Find-Your-Inner-Self"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Understand-People"}],"link_data":[{"title":"How to Find Your Inner Self","id":223015,"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Find-Your-Inner-Self","image":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/df\/Find-Your-Inner-Self-Step-19-Version-2.jpg\/-crop-200-200-200px-Find-Your-Inner-Self-Step-19-Version-2.jpg","alt":"How to Find Your Inner Self"},{"title":"How to Understand People","id":1851660,"url":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Understand-People","image":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/78\/Interrogate-Someone-Step-14.jpg\/-crop-200-200-200px-Interrogate-Someone-Step-14.jpg","alt":"How to Understand People"}],"minimum":0},{"text":"It\u2019s unclear if you have an internal monologue.","meaning":"You answered these questions with some hesitation, suggesting maybe you don\u2019t have an internal monologue\u2014or maybe you just haven\u2019t paid enough attention to your thoughts to tell if they\u2019re spoken in your brain or interpreted in some other way. Take this quiz again, and try to vary your answers a bit, or take a look at this list of the 5 different ways people internally process the world to see what resonates with you. They are:
    • Inner speaking<\/b>, or having an internal monologue.<\/li>
    • Inner seeing<\/b>, or visualizing images in your head that help you interpret the world.<\/li>
    • Feelings<\/b>, or processing the world by feeling emotions, like joy or sadness.<\/li>
    • Sensory awareness<\/b>, noticing and remembering the taste, smell, or touch of things and interpreting your experiences primarily through these senses.<\/li>
    • Unsymbolized thinking<\/b>, in which you make sense of your experiences through abstract thinking that\u2019s beyond words, and which we don\u2019t even fully understand. Amazing!<\/li><\/ul>
      We suggest coming back to this quiz at a later date, and in the meantime, try to observe how you process the world around you. Think about it: when you make up a to-do list, do you visualize the list, or do you mentally run through the words on<\/i> the list? The first is a sign you might be a visual processor, while the second is more likely to be what someone with an inner monologue would do. Maybe you remember the feeling of your hand as it wrote out the letters on the paper, in which case you might process your environment through the sensation of touch. Or maybe you interpret the world through complicated non-symbolic processing that\u2019s too advanced for language!

      The different means of processing your experiences likely come with different gifts. For example, if you\u2019re a visual processor, you may be more artistically inclined, whereas people who process the world aurally may have a talent for music. There\u2019s no \u201cbetter\u201d or \u201cworse\u201d way to process the world\u2014only different ways, all amazing in their own ways.

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What Is an Inner Monologue?

An internal monologue (or inner monologue ) is a voice you hear in your head, even when you’re not speaking aloud. You might hear the voice in your head automatically, without realizing it, or you might use your inner voice to talk to yourself (such as to process a complex problem), to read, or to rehearse something (such as for a presentation or play). About 30%-50% of the population have an inner monologue, while the remainder don’t or aren’t aware of it if they have it.

Believe it or not, most people have a pretty limited understanding of how they themselves process the world, let alone how anybody else could process it differently from how they do. It can be difficult to truly study a person’s pristine internal experience— pristine as in undisturbed , not pure or clean —because, like a wild animal, it runs away when you get too close to it! Psychologist Russell Hurlburt, who studies internal processing, has identified five main ways people process the world, including through an inner monologue:

  • Inner speaking
  • Inner seeing
  • Feelings
  • Sensory awareness
  • Unsymbolized thinking

Maybe you have an internal monologue—or maybe you process the world a little differently. There’s no right or wrong way!

Want to learn more?

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