Editing Intrapersonal communication (section)

== Relation to interpersonal communication ==
{{main|Interpersonal communication}}
[[File:Small group conversation at a Gurteen Knowledge Cafe.jpg|thumb|alt=Photo of a small group conversation|Intrapersonal communication contrasts with interpersonal communication, in which several people are involved.]]
Both intrapersonal and interpersonal communication involve the exchange of messages. For interpersonal communication, the sender and the receiver are distinct persons, like when talking to a friend on the phone. For intrapersonal communication, one and the same person occupies both of these roles.{{sfn|Barker|Wiseman|1966|pp=173, 175}} Despite this difference, the two are closely related. For example, some theorists, like Linda Costigan Lederman, conceptualize inner dialogue in analogy to social interaction as an exchange between different parts of the self.{{sfn|Lantolf|2009|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2veMwywplPUC 566–569]|loc=Intrapersonal Communication Theories}}{{sfn|Lederman|2002|pp=[https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/intrapersonal-communication 490–492]|loc=Intrapersonal communication}}{{sfn|Steinberg|2007|p=141}}

The two phenomena also influence each other in various ways. For example, the positive and negative feedback a person receives from other people shapes their [[self-concept]] or how they see themselves. This in turn has implications for how they talk to themselves in the form of positive or negative self-talk.<ref>{{multiref2 |1={{harvnb|Lederman|2002|pp=[https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/intrapersonal-communication 490–492]|loc=Intrapersonal communication}} |2={{harvnb|Collange|Fiske|Sanitioso|2009|p=138}} |3={{harvnb|Collins|1984|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vxb3UKZyIJEC&pg=PA148 148–149]}} |4={{harvnb|Wrench|Punyanunt-Carter|Thweatt|2020|loc=[https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/interpersonalcommunication/chapter/3/ 3. Intrapersonal Communication]}} }}</ref> But the converse is also true: how a person talks to themselves affects how they interact with other people.{{sfn|Lederman|2002|pp=[https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/intrapersonal-communication 490–492]|loc=Intrapersonal communication}} One reason for this is that some form of inner dialog is usually involved when talking to others to interpret what they say and to determine what one wants to communicate to them.{{sfn|Farley|1992|pp=481–484}}{{sfn|Lederman|2002|pp=[https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/intrapersonal-communication 490–492]|loc=Intrapersonal communication}} For example, if a person's intrapersonal communication is characterized by [[self-criticism]], this may make it hard for them to accept praise from other people. On a more basic level, it can affect how messages from other people are interpreted. For example, an overly self-critical person may interpret an honest compliment as a form of [[sarcasm]].{{sfn|Lederman|2002|pp=[https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/intrapersonal-communication 490–492]|loc=Intrapersonal communication}}

However, self-talk may also interfere with the ability to listen. For example, when a person has an important meeting later today, their thoughts may be racing around this topic, making the person less responsive to interactions in the present.{{sfn|Steinberg|2007|p=139}}{{sfn|Farley|1992|pp=481–484}} In some cases, the listener is very keen on making a response. This may cause their attention to focus mainly on their self-talk formulating a message. As a result, they may miss important aspects of what the current speaker is saying.{{sfn|Farley|1992|pp=481–484}} Positive and effective self-talk, on the other hand, tends to make people better at communicating with others.{{sfn|Farley|1992|pp=481–484}}{{sfn|Steinberg|2007|p=155}} One way to become better at interpersonal communication is to become aware of this self-talk and to be able to balance it with the need of listening.{{sfn|Farley|1992|pp=481–484}}

Another discussion in the academic literature is about the question of whether intrapersonal communication is in some sense more basic than interpersonal communication.{{sfn|Lederman|2002|pp=[https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/intrapersonal-communication 490–492]|loc=Intrapersonal communication}} This is based on the idea that some form of intrapersonal communication is necessary for and accompanies interpersonal communication.{{sfn|Barker|Wiseman|1966|p=173}} For example, when a person receives a message from a friend inviting them to their favorite restaurant, there are often various internal reactions to this message before sending an answer in return. These reactions include sights and scents, memories from previous visits, checking whether this would clash with other plans, and devising a route to get to the restaurant. These reactions are forms of intrapersonal communication.{{sfn|UMN staff|2010}}{{sfn|Farley|1992|pp=481–484}} Other examples include self-talk in an attempt to evaluate the positions expressed by the speaker to assess whether one agrees or disagrees with them.{{sfn|Farley|1992|pp=481–484}} But intrapersonal communication can also occur by itself without another party being involved.{{sfn|Barker|Wiseman|1966|p=173}}

For these reasons, some theorists, like [[James Honeycutt]] and Sheila Steinberg, have claimed that intrapersonal communication is the foundation of all other forms of communication.{{sfn|Honeycutt|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1hPoBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA249 249]}}{{sfn|Steinberg|2007|p=62}}{{sfn|Cunningham|1992|pp=597, 599–600, 603}} Similar claims are that intrapersonal communication is omnipresent and that it is a requirement or preliminary of interpersonal communication.{{sfn|Ehrlich|2000|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GmlrWZ_xE1kC&pg=PA38 38–41]}}{{sfn|Farley|1992|pp=481–484}} However, the claim of the primacy of intrapersonal communication is not generally accepted and many theorists hold that social interaction is more basic. They often see inner speech as an internalized or derivative version of social speech.{{sfn|Guerrero|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uz2Y3xl71CIC&pg=PA49 49–50]}}{{sfn|Lantolf|2009|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2veMwywplPUC 566–569]|loc=Intrapersonal Communication Theories}}

A closely related issue concerns the questions of how interpersonal and intrapersonal communication interact in the development of children. According to [[Jean Piaget]], for example, intrapersonal communication develops first and manifests as a form of egocentric speech. This happens during play activities and may help the child learn to control their activities and plan ahead. Piaget holds that, at this early stage, children are not yet fully social beings and are more concerned with developing their individuality. On this view, interpersonal speech only arises later in the person's development.{{sfn|Lantolf|2009|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2veMwywplPUC 566–569]|loc=Intrapersonal Communication Theories}}{{sfn|Anderson|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FrbGuo2mxCMC&pg=PA239 239]}}{{sfn|Dorrit Cohn|1978|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dmIQoPdb1SgC&pg=PA95 95–96]}} This view is opposed by [[Lev Vygotsky]], who argues that intrapersonal communication only happens as an internalization of interpersonal communication. According to him, children learn the tools for self-talk when their parents talk to them to regulate their behavior, for example, through suggestions, warnings, or commands. Intrapersonal communication may then be understood as an attempt by the child to regulate their behavior through similar means.{{sfn|Lantolf|2009|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2veMwywplPUC 566–569]|loc=Intrapersonal Communication Theories}}{{sfn|Vocate|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fZOk5Fpuj54C&pg=PA14 14]}}{{sfn|Shaffer|Kipp|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CuvXxrhk8HUC&pg=PA290 290]}}