26 September,2010 10:40 AM IST | | IANS
Normally talking to yourself may be dubbed as an indication of madness but a new research shows it might be good for you.
The study revealed that people who chat to themselves are good at exercising self-control in stressful situations, reports express.co.uk.
Using your "inner voice" plays an important role in controlling impulsive behaviour, according to scientists.
Psychologists from Toronto University in Canada gave volunteers self-control tasks in which they were asked to talk to themselves or keep their mind blank.
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When participants saw a particular symbol on the screen, they were told to press a button. If they saw another symbol, they had to refrain from pushing the button.
The test measures self-control because there are more "press" than "don't press" trials.
The researchers then included measures to block participants from using their "inner voice". This stopped them talking to themselves while doing the test.
Researcher Michael Inzlicht said: "We found people acted more impulsively when they couldn't use their inner voice through the tasks."
"Without being able to verbalise messages to themselves, they were not able to exercise the same amount of self control as when they could talk themselves.
"This study shows that talking to ourselves helps us exercise self control and prevents impulsive decisions," he added.
