People Who Talk To Themselves Aren’t Crazy, They’re Actually Geniuses

Many people hold a widespread belief that talking to yourself is supposedly the first tell-tale sign of impending insanity.

If this belief were true, most of us would have been declared clinically insane by the time we turned five, as this is the age by which the majority of people begin engaging in out loud, self-directed speech.

Previous research has heavily suggested that such self-directed speech in children can help guide their behavior. For example, children often talk themselves step-by-step through tying their shoelaces, as if reminding themselves to focus on the task at hand.

Self-speech or “self-talk” is observed speech spoken to oneself for communication, self-guidance, and self-regulation of behavior.

But just recently, scientists revealed that self-directed speech doesn’t just benefit children.

A group of psychologists found out that it has positive effects fod adults too.

In a new study published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, it was found that self-directed speech can benefit individuals, most particularly when trying to find something. In a series of experiments, Gary Lupyan and Daniel Swingley, psychologists from University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Pennsylvania, respectively, observed some people who often audibly speak to themselves when searching for an item, like for instance, a specific brand of cereal on a supermarket shelf, or a lost pair of car keys.

When compared to those who don’t engage in such seemingly ‘irrational behaviour’, they found that those who engage in self-directed speech are able to find things quicker, and more efficiently than their counterparts.