The Rate of Expanded Inner Speech During Spontaneous Sentence Productions

Abstract

The rate of expanded inner speech and speech aloud was compared in 20 typical adults (3 males, 17 females; M age = 24 years, SD = 4). Participants generated and timed spontaneous sentences with both expanded inner speech and speech aloud following the instruction to say “the first thing that comes to mind.” The rate of expanded inner speech was slightly, but significantly, faster than the rate of speech aloud. The findings supported the hypothesis that expanded inner speech was faster than speech aloud because of the time required to move the articulators in the latter. Physical measures of speaking rate are needed to validate self-timed measures. Limitations of the study and directions for research are discussed.