Inner speech as a cognitive process mediating self-consciousness and inhibiting self-deception

Psychol Rep. 1995 Feb;76(1):259-65. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1995.76.1.259.

Abstract

The cognitive processes which mediate self-consciousness are unknown. although Morin and others have suggested that inner speech may mediate self-consciousness. We developed a questionnaire which measures the extent to which one talks to oneself about oneself. As expected, the correlation between inner speech and self-consciousness was significant. A German version of the 1979 self-deception questionnaire by Sackeim and Gur correlated negatively with the scores on inner speech, suggesting the validity of the questionnaire. We also replicated the negative association between depression and self-deception in a different culture.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Awareness
  • Defense Mechanisms*
  • Depression / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Internal-External Control*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Personality Inventory
  • Self Concept*
  • Thinking*