My research says that there are a lot of people who don’t ever naturally form images, and then there are other people who form very florid, high-fidelity, Technicolor, moving images,’ [psychologist Russell T. Hurlburt] said. ‘Some people have inner lives dominated by speech, body sensations or emotions… and yet others by “unsymbolized thinking” that can take the form of wordless questions like, “Should I have the ham sandwich or the roast beef?”’
In a 2006 book, ‘Exploring Inner Experience,’ Dr. Hurlburt suggests that these differences may be linked to personality and behavior. Inner speakers tend to be more confident, for example, and those who think in pictures tend to have trouble empathizing with others.
Differences in thinking style may also help explain some aspects of mental illness. In studies conducted with Sharon Jones-Forrester and Stephanie Doucette, Dr. Hurlburt found that bulimic women experienced a clutter of simultaneous thoughts that could often be cleared by purging.
‘Why is that? I have no idea,’ Dr. Hurlburt said. ‘But I haven’t found anything about it in the bulimia literature.’”
[photo credit: a quick take on "lateral thinking" – or how to think like no one else]
Douglas Faneuil is the founder of Living Proof Productions, a not-for-profit devoted to suicide prevention based in New York City. He also designs database solutions for companies throughout the Northeast.