PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Mindfulness
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1569493
This article is part of the Research TopicApplications of Mindfulness in Media and Communication StudiesView all 14 articles
Reconsidering intrapersonal communication through an interdisciplinary lens
Provisionally accepted
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
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Intrapersonal communication is a classification of phenomena such as self-talk and imagined interactions in which communicative messages are contained within a single individual and internal systems comprise both sender and receiver roles. Historically, the construct has met criticism with objections rooted in the notion that intrapersonal communication is simply a form of social cognition, but not all self-communicative behaviors have clear or empirically defined social cognitive connections. Self-directed behaviors, from inner speech to mindfulness, permit individuals to shape and interpret their experiences, and would benefit from a unified framework.Relevant work is discussed supporting the perspective that intrapersonal communication constitutes a valuable interdisciplinary classification, including early research, functional and developmental approaches, and current connected methodologies and their limitations. A theoretical model is proposed that can guide understanding of the boundaries of intrapersonal communication by characterizing sender and receiver roles in the intrapersonal interaction based on active and inactive status.
Keywords: Intrapersonal communication, Consciousness, mindfulness, Well-being, self-talk Font: Italic Formatted: Font: Italic Formatted: Font: Italic Formatted: Font: Italic Formatted: Font: Italic Formatted: Font: Italic
Received: 08 Apr 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bainbridge, Bryant and Dale. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Constance Bainbridge, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
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