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[MBTI General] Thinking out loud: Introverts do it too, don't they?

Ribonuke

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I remember reading somewhere that Extraverts have a greater tendency to "think out loud" than Introverts. Is this true? I know quite a number of Introverts (myself and my mother included, both almost certainly INFJs) who think out loud even when (we think) we're alone. Hell, I myself will even carry on conversations with animals as if they were people; you should hear some of the weird taunts that come out of my mouth when I'm spraying ant-killer all around my room!

But I digress... if Extraverts are supposedly more likely to 'think out loud' than Introverts do, then what Introverts are most likely to think out loud? Those who use Feeling (IxFPs and IxFJs)?
 

highlander

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I do it. Sometimes by myself and sometimes with others. I rather enjoy it with people I trust.
 

RaptorWizard

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I think out loud all the time; sometimes it's talking to myself, other times it's by bouncing a bunch of ideas around with other people - the more you generate, the better the progress!
 

Lux

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I tend to think out loud at times. I also do the conversation thing you mentioned. So, yep.
 

Seymour

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I almost never think out loud. Very rarely I'll do so when extremely tired, or if there is lots of background chatter as a focusing technique.
 

Ribonuke

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I see...maybe it's more of a thing people with Extraverted Feeling do, then?

I guess that would make sense; people with Extraverted Feeling might be more prone to anthropomorphizing different ideologies in our brain, so it would be like envisioning some sort of dialogue with ourselves, with the other parts of our brain as its audience?

I think part of the reason why I myself do it is to try and convert my thoughts from a less visual/abstract format into a more verbal/concrete medium. I just realized that my thought processes are a lot less easily described as I previously gave myself credit for. For instance today, while I was attempting to explain to my dad (an ENFJ) the uncomfortably close connection between one of my acquaintances and his own father, I was at a loss for words. Any word that I attempted to use--"spoiled", "awkward", "uncomfortable", "dishonest"--failed to capture the true essence of the idea in my head; even now, I still can't seem to find any concrete evidence or concepts to back up my claims, other than from what I know about the general character of the acquaintance and his father... ._.;; Ah well.

Then again, I also tend to talk to myself whenever I feel like my thoughts need to be expressed, even when I have no suitable audience present. But instead of carrying on full-fledged conversations with myself, however, I would say it tends to come forth in random one-liners and declarations.

For instance, when I was doing research for a project about American Railway safety in the latter 19th Century and read the following line from an article about a horrific accident that occurred in 1871:

http://www.celebrateboston.com/disasters/revere-train-wreck-1871.htm said:
Passengers were trapped inside the splintered coach, with survivors having to pry off the roof to try and free victims. The steam boiler on the locomotive burst, with boiling water scalding to death some of the trapped passengers.

If I remember correctly, I was alone in my room when I read this, and my reaction was a mixture of cringing and squeamish laughter, soon followed by the verbal exclamation "Oh god, this is horrible! What were those bigwigs in engineering thinking when they designed that train?!" Which is more in line with what I was thinking in the first place when I brought up the subject of "thinking aloud".

((By the way, I meant to post this in the general MBTI forum, but I guess I posted it here by mistake! ^^;; But that's alright; I was more interested in hearing the perspectives of my fellow INFx brethren. The question itself arose due to writing, when I realized that one of my characters--who I think may be either an IxTP or INFJ in a Ni-Ti loop--was prone to thinking out loud.))
 

baccheion

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Absolutely. Especially when I start getting stuck. I start jumping around shaking it off, then start rambling out loud until it all becomes coherent.
 

autumnandtherain

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Oh yes, I definitely do that. I can sometimes forget that there are others around me when reading and laugh out loud or mutter at my book...

Plus, talking "at" people can sometimes help me get my thoughts in order.
 

Alight owl

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I've heard that INFJs tend to monologue - guilty. I can seriously talk someone's ear off (as long as i trust them).
I also talk to myself when i'm walking to try and make sense of my muddled thoughts/feelings

maybe people who extrovert their judging function tend to think out loud? just a hazy thought...
 

AzulEyes

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I thought thinking out loud was a Te trait. I TOTALLY talk through steps out loud and think out loud to the point where people around me will be like, 'Are you talking to ME?' (ENFP- Ne, Fi, Te, Si)
 

autumnandtherain

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Not sure if this has anything to do with our type, but I find it interesting because I usually talk out loud to myself, while my INTP mother tends to mutter to herself rather than talk out loud...
 

Froody Blue Gem

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When I'm alone or amongst people I'm comfortable with, I think out loud a lot. People get weirded out but I still do it. I especially do it when I'm anxious, or trying to process something. It helps to ease the anxiety to talk it through. Or sometimes, I'll just say nonsense things and it helps to tone the anxiety down for whatever reason. It just helps me to process things. If I am in a public place, I refrain myself from doing it but I am sometimes tempted to do it.
 

Zhaylin

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I'm forever talking to myself... or my bird... or my cats or dogs, video game characters, TV shows... :rotfl:
If I accidentally knock something off my desk, I apologize to whatever it was :rolleyes:
If I belch or fart, WHEN I'M BY MYSELF, I still say excuse me rofl.
I talk to drivers who share the road with me "hello there, Speedy." "Where the heck do you think you're going?" "Okay, Mr. Jerkface!" plus the usual thank yous and sorry's.

I do try to dial it back when I'm around other people though.
 

ceecee

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Occasionally but mostly it's just inner monologue. Unless it's other drivers.
 

Stigmata

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I often find myself walking around talking to myself without realizing how that might appear to others.
 
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