Free will typically refers to any form of significant control over one’s actions. This definition is remarkably similar to that of self-regulation—the control of one’s behavior, emotions, and thoughts in pursuit of long-term goals. Indeed, several scholars have proposed that the latter constitutes the psychological equivalent of the former. A large body of empirical work demonstrates that both covert (inner) and overt (private) forms of self-directed speech are causally associated with self-regulatory outcomes such as action planning, problem-solving, emotion regulation, attention, cognitive flexibility, working memory, and self-reflection. It thus seems logical to propose that free will too recruits self-directed speech. This argument is explored by reviewing the relevant literature pertaining to free will, self-regulation, and inner/private speech. More specifically, free will is defined and contrasted with self-regulation, whose definition ends up being remarkably similar. Examples of typical research on private and inner speech are presented and show a key involvement of self-directed speech in self-regulation. The notion that free will depends on inner speech is further explored based on Wiley’s work (2009). One outstanding implication is that individual differences in self-directed speech use could be linked to different levels of free will. That is, people using inner/private speech more efficiently could exhibit freer will, and vice-versa.
References
[1]
Adler, A. (1970). Fundamentals of Individual Psychology. Journal of Individual Psychology, 26, 36-49.
[2]
Alarcón-Rubio, D., Sánchez-Medina, J. A., & Prieto-García, J. R. (2014). Executive Function and Verbal Self-Regulation in Childhood: Developmental Linkages between Partially Internalized Private Speech and Cognitive Flexibility. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29, 95-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.11.002
[3]
Alderson-Day, B., & Fernyhough, C. (2015). Inner Speech: Development, Cognitive Functions, Phenomenology, and Neurobiology. Psychological Bulletin, 141, 931-965. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000021
[4]
Aro, T., Poikkeus, A., Laakso, M., Tolvanen, A., & Ahonen, T. (2014). Associations between Private Speech, Behavioral Self-Regulation, and Cognitive Abilities. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 39, 508-518. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025414556094
[5]
Baer, J., Kaufman, J. C., & Baumeister, R. F. (2008). Are We Free?Psychology and Free Will. None Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189636.001.0001
[6]
Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Prentice-Hall.
[7]
Baumeister, R. F. (2014). Self-regulation, Ego Depletion, and Inhibition. Neuropsychologia, 65, 313-319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.08.012
[8]
Baumeister, R. F., & Heatherton, T. F. (1996). Self-regulation Failure: An Overview. Psychological Inquiry, 7, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0701_1
[9]
Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2003). Self-Regulation and the Executive Function of the Self. In M. R. Leary, & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Handbook of Self and Identity (pp. 197-217). The Guilford Press.
[10]
Bonn, G. B. (2013). Re-Conceptualizing Free Will for the 21st Century: Acting Independently with a Limited Role for Consciousness. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, Article 920. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00920
[11]
Bono, K. E., & Bizri, R. (2013). The Role of Language and Private Speech in Preschoolers’ Self-Regulation. Early Child Development and Care, 184, 658-670. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2013.813846
[12]
Brinthaupt, T. M., Hein, M. B., & Kramer, T. E. (2009). The Self-Talk Scale: Development, Factor Analysis, and Validation. Journal of Personality Assessment, 91, 82-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890802484498
[13]
Clowes, R. (2007). A Self-Regulation Model of Inner Speech and Its Role in the Organisation of Human Conscious Experience. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 14, 59-71.
[14]
Corno, L. (2013). Volitional Aspects of Self-Regulated Learning. In B. J. Zimmerman, & D. H. Schunk (Eds.), Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement (2nd ed., pp. 191-225). Routledge.
[15]
Diaz, R. M., & Berk, L. E. (1992). Private Speech: From Social Interaction to Self-Regulation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
[16]
Diaz, R. M., Winsler, A., Atencio, D. J., & Harbers, K. (1992). Mediation of Self-Regulation through the Use of Private Speech. International Journal of Cognitive Education and Mediated Learning, 2, 155-167.
[17]
Duncan, R. M., & Cheyne, J. A. (2001). Private Speech in Young Adults: Task Difficulty, Self-Regulation, and Psychological Predication. Cognitive Development, 16, 889-906. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2014(01)00069-7
[18]
Feist, J., Feist, G., & Roberts, T. A. (2012). Personality (8th ed). Brown & Benchmark.
[19]
Fernyhough, C., & Borghi, A. M. (2023). Inner Speech as Language Process and Cognitive Tool. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27, 1180-1193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2023.08.014
[20]
Fernyhough, C., & Fradley, E. (2005). Private Speech on an Executive Task: Relations with Task Difficulty and Task Performance. Cognitive Development, 20, 103-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2004.11.002
[21]
Frauenglass, M. H., & Diaz, R. M. (1985). Self-Regulatory Functions of Children’s Private Speech: A Critical Analysis of Recent Challenges to Vygotsky’s Theory. Developmental Psychology, 21, 357-364. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.21.2.357
[22]
Guo, X., & Dobkins, K. (2023). Private Speech Amount Positively Predicts Memory Performance in Young Adults. Consciousness and Cognition, 113, Article ID: 103534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2023.103534
[23]
Heatherton, T. F., & Baumeister, R. F. (1996). Self-Regulation Failure: Past, Present, and Future. Psychological Inquiry, 7, 90-98. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0701_20
[24]
Ingvar, D. H. (1999). On volition: A Neurophysiologically Oriented Essay. Journal of Con-Sciousness Studies, 6, 1-10.
[25]
Kendall, P. C., & Hollon, S. D. (1981). Assessing Self-Referent Speech: Methods in Measurement of Self-Statements. In P. C. Kendall, & S. D. Hollon (Eds.), Assessment Strategies for Cognitive: Behavioral Interventions (pp. 85-118). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-404460-9.50010-0
[26]
Kohlberg, L., Yaeger, J., & Hjertholm, E. (1968). Private Speech: Four Studies and a Review of Theories. Child Development, 39, 691-736. https://doi.org/10.2307/1126979
[27]
Krafft, K. C., & Berk, L. E. (1998). Private Speech in Two Preschools: Significance of Open-Ended Activities and Make-Believe Play for Verbal Self-regulation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 13, 637-658. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0885-2006(99)80065-9
Lavazza, A. (2016). Free Will and Neuroscience: From Explaining Freedom Away to New Ways of Operationalizing and Measuring It. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10, Article 262. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00262
[30]
Libet, B., Gleason, C. A., Wright, E. W., & Pearl, D. K. (1983). Time of Conscious Intention to Act in Relation to Onset of Cerebral Activity (Readiness-Potential). Brain, 106, 623-642. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/106.3.623
[31]
Lidstone, J. S. M., Meins, E., & Fernyhough, C. (2010). The Roles of Private Speech and Inner Speech in Planning during Middle Childhood: Evidence from a Dual Task Paradigm. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 107, 438-451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2010.06.002
[32]
MacKay, D. G. (2014). Constraints on Theories of Inner Speech. In D. Reisberg (Ed.), Auditory Imagery (pp. 121-149). Psychology Press.
[33]
Martin, J. (2004). Self-Regulated Learning, Social Cognitive Theory, and Agency. Educational Psychologist, 39, 135-145. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3902_4
[34]
Maslow, A. (1962). Toward a Psychology of Being. D Van Nostrand. https://doi.org/10.1037/10793-000
[35]
Meichenbaum, D. (1977). Cognitive-Behavior Modification: An Integrative Approach. Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9739-8
[36]
Meichenbaum, D. H., & Goodman, J. (1971). Training Impulsive Children to Talk to Themselves: A Means of Developing Self-Control. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 77, 115-126. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0030773
[37]
Morin, A. (2018). The Self-Reflective Functions of Inner Speech: Thirteen Years Later. In P. Langland-Hassan, & A. Vicente (Eds.), Inner Speech: New Voices (pp. 276-298). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198796640.003.0012
[38]
Mulvihill, A., Carroll, A., Dux, P. E., & Matthews, N. (2019). Self-Directed Speech and Self-Regulation in Childhood Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Current Findings and Future Directions. Development and Psychopathology, 32, 205-217. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579418001670
[39]
Murphy, N., & Brown, W. S. (2007). Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will. None Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199215393.001.0001
[40]
O’Connor, T., & Christopher, F. (2022). Free Will. In E. N. Zalta, & U. Nodelman (Eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2022/entries/freewill
[41]
Porpora, D., & Shumar, W. (2010). Self-Talk and Self-Reflection. In M. S. Archer (Ed.), Conversations about Reflexivity (pp. 206-220). Routledge.
[42]
Rogers, C. R. (1961). On Becoming a Person: A Psychotherapists View of Psychotherapy. Houghton Mifflin.
[43]
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2006). Self‐Regulation and the Problem of Human Autonomy: Does Psychology Need Choice, Self‐Determination, and Will? Journal of Personality, 74, 1557-1586. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00420.x
[44]
Tullett, A. M., & Inzlicht, M. (2010). The Voice of Self-Control: Blocking the Inner Voice Increases Impulsive Responding. Acta Psychologica, 135, 252-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.07.008
[45]
Wiley, N. (2009). Inner Speech and Agency. In M. S. Archer (Ed.), Conversations about Reflexivity(pp. 17-38). Routledge.
[46]
Winsler, A. (2009). Still Talking to Ourselves after All These Years: A Review of Current Research on Private Speech. In A. Winsler, C. Fernyhough, & I. Montero (Eds.), Private Speech, Executive Functioning, and the Development of Verbal Self-Regulation (pp. 3-41). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511581533.003
[47]
Zivin, G. (1979). The Development of Self-Regulation through Private Speech. Wiley.
