Theory and the Communicative Construction of Self Talking to yourself

Inside and Out

Since Locke’s use of the term to describe moving mind-stuff between isolated individuals, “communication” has been saddled with the job of mediating interiority and exteriority.

Inside and Out Since Locke’s use of the term to describe moving mind-stuff between isolated individuals, “communication” has been saddled with the job of mediating interiority and exteriority. See John Durham Peters (1989), “John Locke, the Individual, and the origin of communication. ”

Inside and Out This notion births the dream of telepathy and the nightmare of solipsism, which dominated the cultural world of the 19 th century (and persists to this day).

Inside and Out But what is “interiority?”

Inside and Out How much of your interior monologue is, rather, a dialogue with the social world?

Inside and Out Raise your hand if you have a personality.

Inside and Out Raise your hand if you have a personality. If so, where is it?

Inside and Out A critical communication theorist might argue that you have a set of relatively scripted strategies (theory-driven rituals) for dealing with social situations, coupled with a name (your “me”) that reifies (i.e. makes seem natural) those practices.

Inside and Out How for instance, does a person become “shy?”

Inside and Out The point is: much of what we take to be our “inside” comes from “outside.”

Inside and Out The point is: much of what we take to be our “inside” comes from “outside.” We are immersed in a talkative social world (starting with very early childhood), and those rituals and communicative practices shape our identities and ways of seeing everyday situations.

Inside and Out Let’s listen to the voices in our heads!

A typology of intrapersonal communication

Problem solving

A typology of intrapersonal communication Problem solving or mindful/purpose driven mental activity activity

A typology of intrapersonal communication Problem solving or mindful/purpose driven mental activity activity working on a song, poem, calculation, or some explicitly creative act internal organizational activity, such as planning and plotting; calculating; academic/intellectual activity meditation, prayer

A typology of intrapersonal communication Rehearsal or rehashing:

A typology of intrapersonal communication Rehearsal or rehashing: thinking about what you or others said fantasizing about ideal or negative ideal interactions preparing for difficult interactions or recalling past interactions, whether triumphs or troubles

A typology of intrapersonal communication Rehearsal or rehashing: thinking about what you or others said fantasizing about ideal or negative ideal interactions preparing for difficult interactions or recalling past interactions, whether triumphs or troubles This (like many of our intrapersonal types) is part of the maintenance of the “Looking Glass Self” – coined by Charles Horton Cooley

A typology of intrapersonal communication Conversation or negotiation with an internalized specific other:

A typology of intrapersonal communication Conversation or negotiation with an internalized specific other: intrapersonal contact or relation with a disciplinary authority, hero, or villain—parent or other strong family member, mentor, teacher, religious leader, romantic partner, media figure

A typology of intrapersonal communication Conversation or negotiation with an internalized specific other: What is the character of this conversation?

A typology of intrapersonal communication Conversation or negotiation with an internalized specific other: What is the character of this conversation? Is it the voice of discipline and authority?

A typology of intrapersonal communication Conversation or negotiation with an internalized specific other: What is the character of this conversation? Is it the voice of discipline and authority? Constant critique/threat?

A typology of intrapersonal communication Conversation or negotiation with an internalized specific other: What is the character of this conversation? Is it the voice of discipline and authority? Constant critique/threat? An internal affirmation/benevolence?

A typology of intrapersonal communication Conversation or negotiation with an internalized specific other: note here (and elsewhere): some of the voices may be welcomed and others may be intrusive.

A typology of intrapersonal communication Corporeal “voice” about the body and its states:

A typology of intrapersonal communication Corporeal “voice” about the body and its states: hunger, anxiety, hot/cold and other comforts, sexuality and sexual desire; other thoughts that have a causal relation to the body

A typology of intrapersonal communication Corporeal “voice” about the body and its states: how much of what you hear in your verbal/semi-verbalized internal narrative is attributable to a bodily cause or could be a verbal correlate to a bodily state?

A typology of intrapersonal communication Corporeal “voice” about the body and its states: Does your internal voice change with exercise, food, etc.? Does your voice quiet, focus, amplify, clarify, obscure, etc. when you exercise or do other things to change the corporeal state (such as drugs or alcohol, fasting, vigorous play, etc)?

A typology of intrapersonal communication Maintenance related chatter:

A typology of intrapersonal communication Maintenance related chatter: personal preening, internal checks, songs in your head, non or less than mindful personal affirmations or negations that form background noise.

Some questions

1. How much of our “internal” voice has an external or social origin?

Some questions 1. How much of our “internal” voice has an external or social origin? Does the inside/outside distinction hold?

Some questions 1.How much of our “internal” voice has an external or social origin? Does the inside/outside distinction hold? 2.What are the underlying theories (or assumptive pre-understandings) that shape your internal mono/dialogue in a given situation?

Some questions 1.How much of our “internal” voice has an external or social origin? Does the inside/outside distinction hold? 2.What are the underlying theories (or assumptive pre-understandings) that shape your internal mono/dialogue in a given situation? 3.Does your intrapersonal talk change when you are mediated (e.g. with headphones, or smartphones, or with a blog or diary, or in your car, etc.?

Some questions 1.How much of our “internal” voice has an external or social origin? Does the inside/outside distinction hold? 2.What are the underlying theories (or assumptive pre- understandings) that shape your internal mono/dialogue in a given situation? 3.Does your intrapersonal talk change when you are mediated (e.g. with headphones, or smartphones, or with a blog or diary, or in your car, etc.? 4.What is the value in our extension of the domain communication to cover what we normally call “thought” ?