We are used to the fact that speech is needed only for communication with others. Therefore, noticing a passerby thinking aloud, someone will consider him an eccentric, and someone will even cross to the other side of the street. However, do not rush to conclusions: scientists have their own opinion on this matter.
Talking to yourself is absolutely normal in childhood, as it helps the child to get used to the world around him. Although adults do not tend to think aloud, sometimes we notice someone mumbling under their breath. Remember – perhaps you yourself repeated something in an undertone when you rushed around the house in search of a missing thing.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have come to the conclusion that such conversations are not accidental and really help to find the thing we are looking for. This is confirmed by the results of experiments. Participants who repeated the name of the missing item aloud found it much faster than those who silently searched for it.
However, if the muttering that accompanies the search for the missing keys seems completely harmless, then thinking about yourself in the third person is sure to cause surprise. But no matter how strange this behavior may seem, sometimes it can even be useful.
A University of Michigan research team led by Jason Moser conducted a series of experiments to explore the power of thinking about yourself in the third person. The researchers invited 89 students and asked them to prepare a short interview speech for the job of their dreams.
To collect their thoughts and reduce their stress levels, the researchers asked them to analyze their own emotions before performing. One group had to think about their condition in the first person for five minutes, and the other in the third person. It turned out that the participants in the second group performed more successfully in front of the interviewers and experienced less stress and shame.
Thinking in the third person allows you to look at the situation from the outside, as if it happened to our friend.
How to explain the results of the experiment? Further research revealed that when we talk about ourselves in the third person, there is little activity in the area of the brain responsible for processing painful experiences. Therefore, the second group managed to cope with stress and successfully demonstrate public speaking skills.
When else can thinking in the third person be useful? Moser suggests that talking about yourself in the third person can help with phobic disorders. For example, if you suffer from aerophobia and your plane has just entered a zone of turbulence, such an exercise will reduce panic and allow you to take control of your emotions.
In addition, thinking in the third person allows you to look at the situation from the outside, as if it happened to our acquaintance. This way we distance ourselves from the current emotional state and become less involved in what is happening, and this helps to see all the opportunities and risks.
Remaining in captivity of emotions, we tend to underestimate or overestimate what happened, and distancing from the experience allows us to be objective. This technique is useful in any situation that requires the concentration of attention and resources: both schoolchildren and students in exams, and businessmen during important negotiations.
So warn your loved ones: let them not be surprised if they suddenly notice how you mumble under your breath.