Whither the Internal Conversation?

Abstract

The internal conversation has a venerable place in the symbolic interactionist tradition but has been the focus of little empirical research by interactionists. After reviewing selected research on the internal conversation (most by noninteractionist sociologists or nonsociologists), we argue that interactionists ought to conduct research of our own to examine claims we have been making and to better understand social life. We propose some worthy areas and avenues of investigation.

Voices in and Uses of Internal Conversations

“…Although sociologists have a long history of making claims about people’s internal conversations and their importance for understanding social selves and social life, these claims have been based on little or no evidence (Schweingruber and Wahl 2019). This paper presents results from what we believe is the first sociological analysis of a large number of self-reported internal conversations.…”

“…The analysis we present here is based on 1,000 of those records. In our earlier review of the state of the internal conversation in sociology (Schweingruber and Wahl 2019), we suggested several research questions sociologists should pursue. In this paper we address two of them: (1) What are the uses of internal conversations and (2) who speaks in internal conversations?…”

Existence as a predicament

“…It is hard to buy a book on-line or a seat on a plane without being told how many are left -the expectation being not that you might decide to splash out and buy several but that you might fear missing out altogether if you do not hurry. It is easy to see how anticipation in this sense might fit with the idea of 'internal conversation' (Archer, 2003;Schweingruber and Wahl, 2019); only empirical research would show whether it does indeed take this form. Archer's own interviews do suggest that this plays an important part:…”

Speaking through the silence: Narratives, interaction, and the construction of sexual selves

“…The Dialogical Self Schweingruber and Wahl (2019) contend that inner dialogue is central to selfconstruction and the understanding of selves. The authors call for symbolic interactionists to take the mantle from the field of psychology and produce empirical studies on inner speech.…”

“…A study on internal conversations was conducted at Iowa State University beginning with the question of why internal conversations are rarely the subject of academic studies, and rarely empirical studies in sociology, when, (1) there is a general consensus that internal conversations are instrumental in formation of selves and (2) there is a ubiquitous nature to internal conversations (Schweingruber and Wahl 2019). To begin both a sociological and empirical foray into internal conversations, students in an introduction to sociology class were asked to selfreport, in written record, an internal conversation they had of their choosing.…”