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Voice: A Pathway to Consciousness as “Social Contact to Oneself”

Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science volume 42, pages 92–113 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Starting from a dialogical view of human communicative and cognitive processes, the notion and the phenomenon of voice by different authors is explored. Assuming its concreteness as perceivable event, a description of the phenomenon is then given in five key concepts: indexicality, intonation, body, imitation, and internalization. With regard to the transformation of the phenomenon to an interior experience, as suggested by the notion of voice as psychological position and by the term of inner voice, the concept of internalization is paid special attention to. The experienced voice of a significant other is understood as mechanism of internalization, allowing for the movement from other to self: a meaningful and embodied social form tied to another person. The course of reflection finally leads to considering consciousness in the perspective of voice. The voice of a communicating person is thought to be a powerful means for the emergence of an interior experience of self and other. And this experience is, in turn, linked to consciousness in its complex states.

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Notes

  1. For this see e.g., the International Journal for Dialogical Science (ijds.lemoyne.edu/index.html), the special issues on dialogicity of Culture & Psychology (7, 2001) and of Theory & Psychology (12, 2002).

  2. A comparable conclusion, in terms of dissents, is found in Grant (1997).

  3. Bamberg and Zielke (2007) criticize precisely Hermans’ metaphorical extension and with it the logic of the PPR.

  4. A similar idea underlies the analysis of thinking-aloud-protocols of problem solving persons in Bertau (1999), whereby intrapersonally distinct speaking roles could be identified.

  5. Laver is right to put the “linguistic choices” at the end of the list: A. Mehrabian showed as soon as 1972 that only 7% of words have influence on communication, in contrast to 38% for voice and 55% for nonverbal, bodily communication.

  6. Regarding interactions that are not face to face, I would claim that they need a basis, the live experience of face to face encounters which are then transposed, transformed and abstracted. Skilful use and comprehension of indexicals outside the bodily co-presence in time and space of the interactants (on the telephone, in letters, in e-mails), are all the more elaborated as they can rely on a solid foundation of interactional practices which include the ability to take the perspective of the listener.

  7. Dysfunctions in these vocal exchanges between mothers and infants as symptom of a deficit in intersubjectivity are traced in Muratori and Maestro (2007).

  8. See Vygotsky’s work on paedology—“child study” (1931, in Vygotsky 1998, p. 104).

  9. Introducing his translation of Vygotsky’s text from 1929, Veresov (1999) underlines that Vygotsky used here the terms “irritant” while he used “stimulus” in other articles of the same period.

  10. Children are between age 3 and 5. It is indeed to be noted that children begin around 3 years to go into socio-dramatic pretence play.

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  1. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München, Germany

    Marie-Cécile Bertau

  2. Institut für Psycholinguistik, Universität München, Oettingenstrasse 67, 80538, München, Germany

    Marie-Cécile Bertau

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Bertau, MC. Voice: A Pathway to Consciousness as “Social Contact to Oneself”. Integr. psych. behav. 42, 92–113 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-007-9041-8

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Keywords

  • Voice
  • Alterity
  • Internalization
  • Consciousness
  • Dialogicality