Talking to oneself might not necessarily be indicative of a problem, and researchers are delving into why people do it.

Dr. Tom Brinthaupt, an MTSU Department of Psychology professor who studies self-talk, will deliver the keynote address at the Middle Tennessee Psychological Association’s spring 2018 meeting at 11:15 a.m. Saturday, April 21, in the College of Education Building.

Dr. Tom Brinthaupt

Brinthaupt’s topic is “Why Do People Differ in How Often They Talk to Themselves?” He will summarize historical and contemporary definitions of self-talk as well as his own research program. Audience members will have the opportunity to talk to themselves during the presentation.

The Self-Talk Scale, a standardized measure of how often individuals talk to themselves, also will be a feature of Brinthaupt’s discussion. He maintains that two different hypotheses have emerged from use of the Self-Talk Scale.

The “social isolation” theory posits that individuals who spend more time alone or who have more socially isolating experiences will talk to themselves more. The “cognitive disruption” theory posits that individuals who experience disordered thinking will engage in more self-talk.

Both undergraduate and graduate students will present their own research to colleagues from other colleges and universities during the academic conference, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Friday, April 13 is the deadline to submit papers and to register for the conference. The registration fee is $5 for students and community members and $15 for faculty and other professionals.

You can register here. Research papers can be submitted here.

For more information, contact psychology professor William Langston at 615-898-5489 or william.langston@mtsu.edu.

You also can listen to Brinthaupt’s recent discussion about his “self-talk” research on the “MTSU On the Record” public affairs radio program below.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)