Language facilitates introspection: Verbal mind-wandering has privileged access to consciousness

Consciousness and Cognition

Volumn 49, Issue , 2017, Pages 86-97

  Bastian, Mikaël ^a,b   Lerique, Sébastien ^c,d   Adam, Vincent ^e   Franklin, Michael S ^f   Schooler, Jonathan W ^f   Sackur, Jérôme ^a,d  

^a PSL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY   (France)

^b UNIVERSITÉ DE TOURS   (France)

^c CENTRE MARC BLOCH   (Germany)

^d ÉCOLE DES HAUTES ÉTUDES EN SCIENCES SOCIALES   (France)

^e UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^f UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

Attention; Consciousness; Inner speech; Meta awareness; Mind wandering; Verbal working memory

Indexed keywords

AWARENESS; CONSCIOUSNESS; HUMAN; HUMAN EXPERIMENT; INTROSPECTION; LANGUAGE; SMARTPHONE; SPEECH; WORKING MEMORY; ADOLESCENT; ADULT; ATTENTION; FEMALE; MALE; PHYSIOLOGY; SHORT TERM MEMORY; YOUNG ADULT;

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; ATTENTION; AWARENESS; CONSCIOUSNESS; FEMALE; HUMANS; LANGUAGE; MALE; MEMORY, SHORT-TERM; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 85012249444     PISSN: 10538100     EISSN: 10902376     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.01.002     Document Type: Article

References (73)

1. Abramson, M., Goldinger, S.D., What the reader's eye tells the mind's ear: Silent reading activates inner speech. Perception & Psychophysics 59:7 (1997), 1059–1068, 10.3758/BF03205520.
2. Alderson-Day, B., Fernyhough, C., Inner speech: Development, cognitive functions, phenomenology, and neurobiology. Psychological Bulletin, 2015, 10.1037/bul0000021.
3. Bahrami, B., Olsen, K., Latham, P.E., Roepstorff, A., Rees, G., Frith, C.D., Optimally interacting minds. Science (New York, N.Y.) 329:5995 (2010), 1081–1085, 10.1126/science.1185718.
4. Baird, B., Smallwood, J., Fishman, D.J.F., Mrazek, M.D., Schooler, J.W., Unnoticed intrusions: Dissociations of meta-consciousness in thought suppression. Consciousness and Cognition 22:3 (2013), 1003–1012, 10.1016/j.concog.2013.06.009.
5. Bates, D., Mächler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S. (2014). Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models using lme4. arXiv:1406.5823 [stat]. Retrieved from http://arxiv.org/abs/1406.5823.
6. Baumeister, R.F., Masicampo, E.J., Conscious thought is for facilitating social and cultural interactions: How mental simulations serve the animal-culture interface. Psychological Review 117:3 (2010), 945–971, 10.1037/a0019393.
7. Brady, T.F., Konkle, T., Alvarez, G.A., Oliva, A., Visual long-term memory has a massive storage capacity for object details. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105:38 (2008), 14325–14329, 10.1073/pnas.0803390105.
8. Brown, K.W., Ryan, R.M., The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84:4 (2003), 822–848.
9. Carruthers, P., The cognitive functions of language. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 25:06 (2002), 657–674, 10.1017/S0140525X02000122.
10. Cauda, F., Torta, D.M.E., Sacco, K., D'Agata, F., Geda, E., Duca, S.,.. Vercelli, A., Functional anatomy of cortical areas characterized by Von Economo neurons. Brain Structure & Function 218:1 (2013), 1–20, 10.1007/s00429-012-0382-9.
11. Christoff, K., Gordon, A.M., Smallwood, J., Smith, R., Schooler, J.W., Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106:21 (2009), 8719–8724.
12. Cragg, L., Nation, K., Language and the development of cognitive control. Topics in Cognitive Science 2:4 (2010), 631–642, 10.1111/j.1756-8765.2009.01080.x.
13. Craig, A.D.B., How do you feel–now? The anterior insula and human awareness. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience 10:1 (2009), 59–70, 10.1038/nrn2555.
14. Dehaene, S., Changeux, J.-P., Naccache, L., Sackur, J., Sergent, C., Conscious, preconscious, and subliminal processing: A testable taxonomy. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 10:5 (2006), 204–211, 10.1016/j.tics.2006.03.007.
15. Demertzi, A., Soddu, A., Faymonville, M.-E., Bahri, M.A., Gosseries, O., Vanhaudenhuyse, A.,.. Laureys, S., Hypnotic modulation of resting state fMRI default mode and extrinsic network connectivity. Progress in Brain Research 193 (2011), 309–322, 10.1016/B978-0-444-53839-0.00020-X.
16. Dietrich, A., Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the experience of flow. Consciousness and Cognition 13:4 (2004), 746–761, 10.1016/j.concog.2004.07.002.
17. Emerson, M.J., Miyake, A., The role of inner speech in task switching: A dual-task investigation. Journal of Memory and Language 48:1 (2003), 148–168, 10.1016/S0749-596X(02)00511-9.
18. Fleming, S.M., Huijgen, J., Dolan, R.J., Prefrontal contributions to metacognition in perceptual decision making. The Journal of Neuroscience 32:18 (2012), 6117–6125, 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6489-11.2012.
19. Fleming, S.M., Weil, R.S., Nagy, Z., Dolan, R.J., Rees, G., Relating introspective accuracy to individual differences in brain structure. Science (New York, N.Y.) 329:5998 (2010), 1541–1543, 10.1126/science.1191883.
20. Fox, K.C.R., Zakarauskas, P., Dixon, M., Ellamil, M., Thompson, E., Christoff, K., Meditation experience predicts introspective accuracy. PLoS ONE, 7(9), 2012, e45370, 10.1371/journal.pone.0045370.
21. Franklin, M.S., Mrazek, M.D., Anderson, C.L., Johnston, C., Smallwood, J., Kingstone, A., Schooler, J.W., Tracking distraction: The relationship between mind-wandering, meta-awareness, and ADHD symptomatology. Journal of Attention Disorders, 2014, 10.1177/1087054714543494.
22. Gaillard, V., Destrebecqz, A., Cleeremans, A., The influence of articulatory suppression on the control of implicit sequence knowledge. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, 2012, 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00208.
23. Geva, S., Jones, P.S., Crinion, J.T., Price, C.J., Baron, J.-C., Warburton, E.A., The neural correlates of inner speech defined by voxel-based lesion–symptom mapping. Brain 134:10 (2011), 3071–3082, 10.1093/brain/awr232.
24. Grebot, E., Validation du questionnaire de style cognitif de Paivio auprès d'une population française. European Review of Applied Psychology 50:1 (2000), 87–95.
25. Hasenkamp, W., Wilson-Mendenhall, C.D., Duncan, E., Barsalou, L.W., Mind wandering and attention during focused meditation: A fine-grained temporal analysis of fluctuating cognitive states. NeuroImage 59:1 (2012), 750–760, 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.07.008.
26. Heavey, C.L., Hurlburt, R.T., The phenomena of inner experience. Consciousness and Cognition 17:3 (2008), 798–810, 10.1016/j.concog.2007.12.006.
27. Hurlburt, R.T., Heavey, C.L., To beep or not to beep: Obtaining accurate reports about awareness. Journal of Consciousness Studies 11:7–8 (2004), 113–128.
28. Jiang, Y., Costello, P., He, S., Processing of invisible stimuli: Advantage of upright faces and recognizable words in overcoming interocular suppression. Psychological Science 18:4 (2007), 349–355, 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01902.x.
29. Klinger, E., Modes of normal conscious flow. Pope, K.S., Singer, J.L., (eds.) The stream of consciousness: Scientific investigation into the flow of experience, 1978, Plenum.
30. Kornell, N., Metacognition in humans and animals. Current Directions in Psychological Science 18:1 (2009), 11–15, 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01597.x.
31. Lamme, V.A.F., Towards a true neural stance on consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 10:11 (2006), 494–501, 10.1016/j.tics.2006.09.001.
32. Lau, H., Rosenthal, D., Empirical support for higher-order theories of conscious awareness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 15:8 (2011), 365–373, 10.1016/j.tics.2011.05.009.
33. Lidstone, J.S.M., Meins, E., Fernyhough, C., The roles of private speech and inner speech in planning during middle childhood: Evidence from a dual task paradigm. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 107:4 (2010), 438–451, 10.1016/j.jecp.2010.06.002.
34. Marvel, C.L., Desmond, J.E., From storage to manipulation: How the neural correlates of verbal working memory reflect varying demands on inner speech. Brain and Language 120:1 (2012), 42–51, 10.1016/j.bandl.2011.08.005.
35. Mayer, J.L., Farmer, R.F., The development and psychometric evaluation of a new measure of dissociative activities. Journal of Personality Assessment 80:2 (2003), 185–196, 10.1207/S15327752JPA8002_07.
36. McCaig, R.G., Dixon, M., Keramatian, K., Liu, I., Christoff, K., Improved modulation of rostrolateral prefrontal cortex using real-time fMRI training and meta-cognitive awareness. NeuroImage 55:3 (2011), 1298–1305, 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.12.016.
37. McCurdy, L.Y., Maniscalco, B., Metcalfe, J., Liu, K.Y., de Lange, F.P., Lau, H., Anatomical coupling between distinct metacognitive systems for memory and visual perception. The Journal of Neuroscience 33:5 (2013), 1897–1906, 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1890-12.2013.
38. Mcguire, P.K., Silbersweig, D.A., Wright, I., Murray, R.M., Frackowiak, R.S.J., Frith, C.D., The neural correlates of Inner speech and auditory verbal imagery in schizophrenia: Relationship to auditory verbal hallucinations. British Journal of Psychiatry 169:AOU (1996), 148–159.
39. McVay, J.C., Meier, M.E., Touron, D.R., Kane, M.J., Aging ebbs the flow of thought: Adult age differences in mind wandering, executive control, and self-evaluation. Acta Psychologica 142:1 (2013), 136–147.
40. Miles, L.K., Karpinska, K., Lumsden, J., Macrae, C.N., The meandering mind: Vection and mental time travel. PLoS ONE, 5(5), 2010, e10825, 10.1371/journal.pone.0010825.
41. Miller, J., Vieweg, P., Kruize, N., McLea, B., Subjective reports of stimulus, response, and decision times in speeded tasks: How accurate are decision time reports?. Consciousness and Cognition 19:4 (2010), 1013–1036, 10.1016/j.concog.2010.06.001.
42. Miyake, A., Emerson, M.J., Padilla, F., Ahn, J., Inner speech as a retrieval aid for task goals: The effects of cue type and articulatory suppression in the random task cuing paradigm. Acta Psychologica 115:2–3 (2004), 123–142, 10.1016/j.actpsy.2003.12.004.
43. Morin, A., Possible links between self-awareness and inner speech theoretical background, underlying mechanisms, and empirical evidence. Journal of Consciousness Studies 12:4–5 (2005), 115–134.
44. Morin, A., Everett, J., Inner speech as a mediator of self-awareness, self-consciousness, and self-knowledge: An hypothesis. New Ideas in Psychology 8:3 (1990), 337–356, 10.1016/0732-118X(94)90020-5.
45. Morin, A., Hamper, B., Self-reflection and the inner voice: Activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus during perceptual and conceptual self-referential thinking. The Open Neuroimaging Journal 6 (2012), 78–89, 10.2174/1874440001206010078.
46. Mrazek, M.D., Smallwood, J., Schooler, J.W., Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. Emotion, 12(3), 2012, 442.
47. Nakamura, J., Csikszentmihalyi, M., The concept of flow. Snyder, C.R., Lopez, S.J., (eds.) Handbook of positive psychology, 2002, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, US, 89–105.
48. Paivio, A., Harshman, R., Factor analysis of a questionnaire on imagery and verbal habits and skills. Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue Canadienne de Psychologie 37:4 (1983), 461–483, 10.1037/h0080749.
49. Pintner, R., Inner speech during silent reading. Psychological Review 20:2 (1913), 129–153, 10.1037/h0073362.
50. Premack, D., Human and animal cognition: Continuity and discontinuity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104:35 (2007), 13861–13867, 10.1073/pnas.0706147104.
51. R Core Team, R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Retrieved from , 2014.
52. Reder, L.M., Ritter, F.E., What determines initial feeling of knowing? Familiarity with question terms, not with the answer. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 18:3 (1992), 435–451, 10.1037/0278-7393.18.3.435.
53. RepovŠ, G., Baddeley, A., The multi-component model of working memory: Explorations in experimental cognitive psychology. Neuroscience 139:1 (2006), 5–21, 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.12.061.
54. Robertson, I.H., Manly, T., Andrade, J., Baddeley, B.T., Yiend, J., “Oops!”: Performance correlates of everyday attentional failures in traumatic brain injured and normal subjects. Neuropsychologia 35:6 (1997), 747–758.
55. Sayette, M.A., Reichle, E.D., Schooler, J.W., Lost in the sauce the effects of alcohol on mind wandering?. Psychological Science 20:6 (2009), 747–752, 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02351.x.
56. Sayette, M.A., Schooler, J.W., Reichle, E.D., Out for a smoke: The impact of cigarette craving on zoning out during reading. Psychological Science 21:1 (2010), 26–30, 10.1177/0956797609354059.
57. Schooler, J.W., Re-representing consciousness: Dissociations between experience and meta-consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 6:8 (2002), 339–344.
58. Schooler, J.W., Reichle, E.D., Halpern, D.V., Zoning out while reading: Evidence for dissociations between experience and metaconsciousness. Thinking and seeing: Visual metacognition in adults and children, 2004, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, US, 203–226.
59. Schooler, J.W., Smallwood, J., Christoff, K., Handy, T.C., Reichle, E.D., Sayette, M.A., Meta-awareness, perceptual decoupling and the wandering mind. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 15:7 (2011), 319–326, 10.1016/j.tics.2011.05.006.
60. Semendeferi, K., Armstrong, E., Schleicher, A., Zilles, K., Van Hoesen, G.W., Prefrontal cortex in humans and apes: A comparative study of area 10. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 114:3 (2001), 224–241, 10.1002/1096-8644(200103)114:3∗224::AID-AJPA1022∗3.0.CO;2-I.
61. Shea, N., Boldt, A., Bang, D., Yeung, N., Heyes, C., Frith, C.D., Supra-personal cognitive control and metacognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 18:4 (2014), 186–193, 10.1016/j.tics.2014.01.006.
62. Smallwood, J., Nind, L., O'Connor, R.C., When is your head at? An exploration of the factors associated with the temporal focus of the wandering mind. Consciousness and Cognition 18:1 (2009), 118–125, 10.1016/j.concog.2008.11.004.
63. Smallwood, J., O'Connor, R.C., Sudberry, M.V., Haskell, C., Ballantyne, C., The consequences of encoding information on the maintenance of internally generated images and thoughts: The role of meaning complexes. Consciousness and Cognition 13:4 (2004), 789–820, 10.1016/j.concog.2004.07.004.
64. Smallwood, J., Schooler, J.W., The restless mind. Psychological Bulletin 132:6 (2006), 946–958, 10.1037/0033-2909.132.6.946.
65. Spocter, M.A., Hopkins, W.D., Barks, S.K., Bianchi, S., Hehmeyer, A.E., Anderson, S.M.,.. Sherwood, C.C., Neuropil distribution in the cerebral cortex differs between humans and chimpanzees. The Journal of Comparative Neurology 520:13 (2012), 2917–2929, 10.1002/cne.23074.
66. Stawarczyk, D., Cassol, H., D'Argembeau, A., Phenomenology of future-oriented mind-wandering episodes. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 2013, 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00425.
67. Tang, Y.-Y., Ma, Y., Fan, Y., Feng, H., Wang, J., Feng, S.,.. Fan, M., Central and autonomic nervous system interaction is altered by short-term meditation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106:22 (2009), 8865–8870, 10.1073/pnas.0904031106.
68. Trapnell, P.D., Campbell, J.D., Private self-consciousness and the five-factor model of personality: Distinguishing rumination from reflection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76:2 (1999), 284–304.
69. Tullett, A.M., Inzlicht, M., The voice of self-control: Blocking the inner voice increases impulsive responding. Acta Psychologica 135:2 (2010), 252–256, 10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.07.008.
70. Vygotsky, L.S., Thought and language. 1962, M.I.T. Press, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
71. Winkielman, P., Schooler, J.W., Splitting consciousness: Unconscious, conscious, and metaconscious processes in social cognition. European Review of Social Psychology 22:1 (2011), 1–35, 10.1080/10463283.2011.576580.
72. Wittmann, M., The inner sense of time: How the brain creates a representation of duration. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 14:3 (2013), 217–223, 10.1038/nrn3452.
73. Yang, Y.-H., Yeh, S.-L., Accessing the meaning of invisible words. Consciousness and Cognition 20:2 (2011), 223–233, 10.1016/j.concog.2010.07.005.