Concepts, abstractness and inner speech

Abstract

We explore the role of inner speech (covert self-directed talk) during the acquisition and use of concepts differing in abstractness. Following Vygotsky, inner speech results from the internalization of linguistically mediated interactions that regulate cognition and behaviour. When we acquire and process abstract concepts, uncertainties about word meaning might lead us to search actively for their meaning. Inner speech might play a role in this searching process and be differentially involved in concept learning compared with use of known concepts. Importantly, inner speech comes in different varieties—e.g. it can be expanded or condensed (with the latter involving syntactic and semantic forms of abbreviation). Do we use inner speech differently with concepts varying in abstractness? Which kinds of inner speech do we preferentially use with different kinds of abstract concepts (e.g. emotions versus numbers)? What other features of inner speech, such as dialogicality, might facilitate our use of concepts varying in abstractness (by allowing us to monitor the limits of our knowledge in simulated social exchanges, through a process we term inner social metacognition )? In tackling these questions, we address the possibility that different varieties of inner speech are flexibly used during the acquisition of concepts and their everyday use. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Concepts in interaction: social engagement and inner experiences’.

Concepts in interaction: social engagement and inner experiences

“…The paper by Borghi & Fernyhough [ 9 ] focuses on the role inner speech plays during conceptual acquisition and use. They contend that inner speech might be particularly crucial for abstract concepts owing to their complexity and the following uncertainty they generate.…”

“…Other papers focus more explicitly on language and its relationship with concepts, showing the importance of inner language, verbal labels and word associations for concrete and abstract concepts, and highlighting the role of language in enhancing cognition. Across the various sections, the theme issue offers many insights into the differences between kinds of concepts, from the significant distinction between concrete and abstract ones [ 2 , 8 , 9 , 56 , 57 ], to specific concepts like the religious [ 58 ], the social [ 59 , 60 ], the olfactory [ 61 ] and the emotional ones [ 38 , 42 ].…”

“…While our theme issue focuses on the investigation of concepts and categorization through the lens of social interaction, it also has implications in other areas, for example, for research on metacognition [ 3 , 9 , 61 , 62 ], and theoretical perspectives such as ecological psychology and extended cognition [ 5 , 63 , 64 ].…”

“…to form and use abstract concepts [7] (e.g. [8,9]). Embodied and grounded approaches to cognition have successfully underlined the role of sensorimotor processes and, recently, of interoception for concepts [10][11][12].…”

Editorial: Physical and psychological proximity in humans: From the body to the mind and vice-versa

“…A challenging empirical research that remains largely unexplored concerns the investigation of collective psychophysiology during so-called high-level psychological functions, e.g., internalizing and processing complex abstractions, especially within real-time social interactions (cf. Bolis and Schilbach, 2020 ; Borghi and Fernyhough, 2023 ; Fini et al, 2023 ).…”