The Rate of Inner Speech

Author

Mary Angela Brock

Date of Graduation

Spring 2008

Degree

Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Committee Chair

Ronald Netsell

Abstract

Little is known about how fast we talk to ourselves inside our head. Intuitively, most people seem to think they talk faster inside their head than they do aloud. Results from earlier studies were inconclusive. The purpose of the present study was to compare the rate of inner speech to speech spoken aloud using a new paradigm. The participants were told to say the first thing that came to mind using inner speech. Then they said the same utterance aloud. They pressed a start and stop key to time the duration of their utterances. The means between the groups were not statistically different. For individuals, some were faster with inner speech, and some were faster when talking aloud. Implications are discussed.

Keywords

Covert speech, overt speech, inner speech, subvocalization, speaking rate

Subject Categories

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Copyright

© Mary Angela Brock

Recommended Citation

Brock, Mary Angela, "The Rate of Inner Speech" (2008). MSU Graduate Theses. 2008.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/2008