O conceito de autoconsciência em psicologia é definido como a habilidade de o indivíduo se tornar objeto de sua própria consciência. Este trabalho visou a investigar essa tradicional definição de forma teórica e empírica. Considerações sobre o conceito de autoconsciência sob a perspectiva da fenomenologia, do pragmatismo e da semiótica sugerem uma abordagem da autoconsciência não apenas como objeto da consciência, mas como uma instância presente em toda a experiência humana. Esta conclusão da parte teórica é posta à prova empírica em dois contextos que viabilizam o estudo da autoconsciência em psicologia: as medidas de autorrelato e a conversa interna verbalizada em tarefas de resolução de problemas. Para realizar estes dois estudos empíricos, a tese ainda envolveu a adaptação de três medidas de autorrelato relacionadas à autoconsciência para a população brasileira: a Escala de Autoabsorção, a Escala de Autorrelfexão e Insight e a Escala Filadélfia de Mindfulness. Os estudos empíricos que se seguiram apontaram resultados que sugerem inovações no conceito de autoconsciência em psicologia, no sentido de contemplar não apenas sua dimensão reflexiva, mas também pré-reflexiva. Tais achados puderam ser observados tanto nas dimensões resultantes da análise fatorial realizada com todos os itens das medidas de autorrelato integrantes do estudo, assim como na conversa interna verbalizada dos participantes que resolveram a problemas analíticos e de insight. / Self-consciousness has been definied within the Psychological Science as a capacity that one has to become the object of their own consciousness. This dissertation aimed to investigate such traditional definition using theoretical and empircal procedures. Considerations on the concept of self-consciousness in the phenomenological, pragmatical and semiotic approaches suggest an understanding of self-consciouness not only as an object of consciousness, but also as an instance that is present throughout the whole human experience. This conclusion is under empirical testing in two contexts that allow the study of selfconsciousness in Psychology: self-report measures and verbalized inner speech in problem-solving tasks. In order to proceed with these two empirical studies, this dissertation had to include the adaptation to the Brazilian population of three selfreport measures related to self-consciousness: the Self-Absorption Scale, the Self- Reflection and Insight Scale and the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale. The following empirical studies suggested results related to inovations in the concept of self-consciousness to the Psychological Science, so that it would include not only its reflexive dimension, but also its pre-reflective one. Such outcomes were observed not only in the resulting dimensions of a factorial analysis of all the items from the self-report measures used in this study, but also in the verbalized inner speech of those participants who solved analytical and insight problem tasks.

O presente estudo teve por objetivo explorar os diferentes estilos de conversa interna (CI) ou reflexividade, definidos como comunicativo, autônomo, metarreflexivo, e fraturado. Os autorrelatos da experiência da conversa interna foram obtidos por entrevistas com sete mulheres e três homens, de formações e ocupações diversificadas, com idade variando entre 24 e 63 anos. Os relatos foram analisados e interpretados de acordo com a orientação fenomenológica. A descrição focalizou a apreensão do fenômeno em uma estrutura simples e básica de um agente primário (capacitações cognitivas gerais e compartilhadas): quando ocorre, como se realiza, sobre quais conteúdos, para que serve e em que ajuda. A redução apontou três especificações de um agente corporativo (organizado e articulado): 1) quanto à experiência em si (comum, natural, habitual); 2) quanto à generalidade e à normalidade (não seria coisa de louco)? e 3) quanto à forma (se metódica e organizada; se espontânea e quase inconsciente). Interpretou-se que os modos de reflexividade, enquanto traslados qualitativos interculturais e atemporais sustentam-se em sua replicabilidade, com possíveis variações em implementações, preferências e manifestações. / This study intended to explore the different styles of internal conversation (IC) or reflexivity, defined as communicative, autonomous, meta-reflexive, and fractured. The self-reported experiences of internal conversation were obtained by interviewing seven women and three men of diverse backgrounds and occupations, aged between 24 and 63 years. The self-reported experiences were analyzed and interpreted in accordance with the phenomenological orientation. The description focused on understanding the phenomenon in a simple and basic structure of a primary agent (general and shared thinking skills): when it happens, how it happens, what are its contents, what purpose it serves and in which way it is helpful. The reduction pointed to three specifications of a corporate agent (organized and articulated): 1) in regards to the experience itself (common, natural, habitual); 2) whether it is general and normal (isn’t it something crazy?), and 3) regarding its form (is it methodical and organized or spontaneous and almost unconscious?). It was inferred from this study that the styles of reflexivity, while having inter-cultural and timeless qualities, are sustained in their universality, with possible variations in implementations, preferences and manifestations.

O conceito de autoconsciência em psicologia é definido como a habilidade de o indivíduo se tornar objeto de sua própria consciência. Este trabalho visou a investigar essa tradicional definição de forma teórica e empírica. Considerações sobre o conceito de autoconsciência sob a perspectiva da fenomenologia, do pragmatismo e da semiótica sugerem uma abordagem da autoconsciência não apenas como objeto da consciência, mas como uma instância presente em toda a experiência humana. Esta conclusão da parte teórica é posta à prova empírica em dois contextos que viabilizam o estudo da autoconsciência em psicologia: as medidas de autorrelato e a conversa interna verbalizada em tarefas de resolução de problemas. Para realizar estes dois estudos empíricos, a tese ainda envolveu a adaptação de três medidas de autorrelato relacionadas à autoconsciência para a população brasileira: a Escala de Autoabsorção, a Escala de Autorrelfexão e Insight e a Escala Filadélfia de Mindfulness. Os estudos empíricos que se seguiram apontaram resultados que sugerem inovações no conceito de autoconsciência em psicologia, no sentido de contemplar não apenas sua dimensão reflexiva, mas também pré-reflexiva. Tais achados puderam ser observados tanto nas dimensões resultantes da análise fatorial realizada com todos os itens das medidas de autorrelato integrantes do estudo, assim como na conversa interna verbalizada dos participantes que resolveram a problemas analíticos e de insight. / Self-consciousness has been definied within the Psychological Science as a capacity that one has to become the object of their own consciousness. This dissertation aimed to investigate such traditional definition using theoretical and empircal procedures. Considerations on the concept of self-consciousness in the phenomenological, pragmatical and semiotic approaches suggest an understanding of self-consciouness not only as an object of consciousness, but also as an instance that is present throughout the whole human experience. This conclusion is under empirical testing in two contexts that allow the study of selfconsciousness in Psychology: self-report measures and verbalized inner speech in problem-solving tasks. In order to proceed with these two empirical studies, this dissertation had to include the adaptation to the Brazilian population of three selfreport measures related to self-consciousness: the Self-Absorption Scale, the Self- Reflection and Insight Scale and the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale. The following empirical studies suggested results related to inovations in the concept of self-consciousness to the Psychological Science, so that it would include not only its reflexive dimension, but also its pre-reflective one. Such outcomes were observed not only in the resulting dimensions of a factorial analysis of all the items from the self-report measures used in this study, but also in the verbalized inner speech of those participants who solved analytical and insight problem tasks.

O presente estudo teve por objetivo explorar os diferentes estilos de conversa interna (CI) ou reflexividade, definidos como comunicativo, autônomo, metarreflexivo, e fraturado. Os autorrelatos da experiência da conversa interna foram obtidos por entrevistas com sete mulheres e três homens, de formações e ocupações diversificadas, com idade variando entre 24 e 63 anos. Os relatos foram analisados e interpretados de acordo com a orientação fenomenológica. A descrição focalizou a apreensão do fenômeno em uma estrutura simples e básica de um agente primário (capacitações cognitivas gerais e compartilhadas): quando ocorre, como se realiza, sobre quais conteúdos, para que serve e em que ajuda. A redução apontou três especificações de um agente corporativo (organizado e articulado): 1) quanto à experiência em si (comum, natural, habitual); 2) quanto à generalidade e à normalidade (não seria coisa de louco)? e 3) quanto à forma (se metódica e organizada; se espontânea e quase inconsciente). Interpretou-se que os modos de reflexividade, enquanto traslados qualitativos interculturais e atemporais sustentam-se em sua replicabilidade, com possíveis variações em implementações, preferências e manifestações. / This study intended to explore the different styles of internal conversation (IC) or reflexivity, defined as communicative, autonomous, meta-reflexive, and fractured. The self-reported experiences of internal conversation were obtained by interviewing seven women and three men of diverse backgrounds and occupations, aged between 24 and 63 years. The self-reported experiences were analyzed and interpreted in accordance with the phenomenological orientation. The description focused on understanding the phenomenon in a simple and basic structure of a primary agent (general and shared thinking skills): when it happens, how it happens, what are its contents, what purpose it serves and in which way it is helpful. The reduction pointed to three specifications of a corporate agent (organized and articulated): 1) in regards to the experience itself (common, natural, habitual); 2) whether it is general and normal (isn’t it something crazy?), and 3) regarding its form (is it methodical and organized or spontaneous and almost unconscious?). It was inferred from this study that the styles of reflexivity, while having inter-cultural and timeless qualities, are sustained in their universality, with possible variations in implementations, preferences and manifestations.

O conceito de autoconsciência em psicologia é definido como a habilidade de o indivíduo se tornar objeto de sua própria consciência. Este trabalho visou a investigar essa tradicional definição de forma teórica e empírica. Considerações sobre o conceito de autoconsciência sob a perspectiva da fenomenologia, do pragmatismo e da semiótica sugerem uma abordagem da autoconsciência não apenas como objeto da consciência, mas como uma instância presente em toda a experiência humana. Esta conclusão da parte teórica é posta à prova empírica em dois contextos que viabilizam o estudo da autoconsciência em psicologia: as medidas de autorrelato e a conversa interna verbalizada em tarefas de resolução de problemas. Para realizar estes dois estudos empíricos, a tese ainda envolveu a adaptação de três medidas de autorrelato relacionadas à autoconsciência para a população brasileira: a Escala de Autoabsorção, a Escala de Autorrelfexão e Insight e a Escala Filadélfia de Mindfulness. Os estudos empíricos que se seguiram apontaram resultados que sugerem inovações no conceito de autoconsciência em psicologia, no sentido de contemplar não apenas sua dimensão reflexiva, mas também pré-reflexiva. Tais achados puderam ser observados tanto nas dimensões resultantes da análise fatorial realizada com todos os itens das medidas de autorrelato integrantes do estudo, assim como na conversa interna verbalizada dos participantes que resolveram a problemas analíticos e de insight. / Self-consciousness has been definied within the Psychological Science as a capacity that one has to become the object of their own consciousness. This dissertation aimed to investigate such traditional definition using theoretical and empircal procedures. Considerations on the concept of self-consciousness in the phenomenological, pragmatical and semiotic approaches suggest an understanding of self-consciouness not only as an object of consciousness, but also as an instance that is present throughout the whole human experience. This conclusion is under empirical testing in two contexts that allow the study of selfconsciousness in Psychology: self-report measures and verbalized inner speech in problem-solving tasks. In order to proceed with these two empirical studies, this dissertation had to include the adaptation to the Brazilian population of three selfreport measures related to self-consciousness: the Self-Absorption Scale, the Self- Reflection and Insight Scale and the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale. The following empirical studies suggested results related to inovations in the concept of self-consciousness to the Psychological Science, so that it would include not only its reflexive dimension, but also its pre-reflective one. Such outcomes were observed not only in the resulting dimensions of a factorial analysis of all the items from the self-report measures used in this study, but also in the verbalized inner speech of those participants who solved analytical and insight problem tasks.

Many attempts have been made to explain the nature of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) or the phenomenon of “hearing voices”. In the contemporary discussion of auditory verbal hallucinations, the raw material of the voices of AVH is seen as either inner speech, a spontaneously activated auditory experience, or imagined speech. Some contemporary theories of AVH are self-proclaimed self-monitoring theories which claim that AVH are the result of a failure of self-monitoring of some raw material, while other theories claim that AVH are produced without a self-monitoring failure. In this paper, I argue that even the theories that claim to not rely on self-monitoring, are in fact selfmonitoring theories. I argue that any viable theory of AVH will need to be a self-monitoring theory. Further, I argue that Daniel Gregory’s imagined speech self-monitoring theory is the most parsimonious and complete of the explanatory theories of AVH since it is able to explain characteristics that other theories cannot, including AVH that take place in what seem to be the voices of others, perceived spatial location, intensity of sound, multiple voices, and the intermittent nature of AVH. Further, I show that the imagined speech theory can be well integrated into a general understanding of schizophrenia, while still retaining its explanatory power for all populations that experience AVH, not just schizophrenics, and that for these reasons, it is the strongest contemporary explanatory theory of auditory verbal hallucinations. / Många försök har gjorts för att förklara naturen av auditiva verbala hallucinationer (AVH) eller fenomenet att "höra röster". I den samtida diskussionen om auditiva verbala hallucinationer ses råmaterialet till rösterna i AVH som antingen inre tal, en spontant aktiverad auditiv upplevelse, eller inbillat tal. Vissa samtida teorier om AVH är självutnämnda teorier om självövervakning som hävdar att AVH är resultatet av ett misslyckande i självövervakningen av något råmaterial, medan andra teorier hävdar att AVH produceras utan ett misslyckande i självövervakning. I den här uppsatsen hävdar jag att även de teorier som påstår att de inte är beroende av självövervakning i själva verket är det. Jag hävdar att varje användbar teori om AVH måste vara en teori om självövervakning. Vidare argumenterar jag att Daniel Gregorys Imagined Speech Theory är den mest sparsamma och fullständiga av de förklarande teorierna om AVH eftersom den kan förklara egenskaper som andra teorier inte kan förklara, inklusive AVH som äger rum i vad som verkar vara andras röster, upplevd rumslig placering, ljudintensitet, flera röster och AVH:s intermittenta karaktär. Vidare visar jag att The Imagined Speech Theory kan integreras väl i en allmän förståelse av schizofreni, samtidigt som den behåller sin förklaringskraft för alla populationer som upplever AVH, inte bara schizofreniker, och att den av dessa skäl är den starkaste samtida förklaringsteorin för auditiva verbala hallucinationer. / De nombreuses tentatives ont été faites pour expliquer la nature des hallucinations auditives verbales (HAV) ou le phénomène des "voix entendues". Dans la discussion contemporaine sur les hallucinations auditives verbales, la matière première des voix des HAV est considérée comme étant soit un discours intérieur, soit une expérience auditive activée spontanément, soit un discours imaginé. Certaines théories contemporaines de l'HVA sont des théories autoproclamées d'autosurveillance qui prétendent que l’HVA est le résultat d'un échec d'autosurveillance d'une certaine matière première, tandis que d'autres théories prétendent que l’HVA est produite sans échec d'autosurveillance. Dans cet essai, je soutiens que même les théories qui prétendent ne pas reposer sur une autosurveillance, sont en fait des théories d'autosurveillance. Je soutiens que toute théorie viable de l’HAV devra être une théorie d'autosurveillance. En outre, je soutiens que la théorie de l'autosurveillance de la parole imaginée (The Imagined Speech Theory) de Daniel Gregory est la plus parcimonieuse et la plus complète des théories explicatives de l’HAV puisqu'elle est capable d'expliquer des caractéristiques que les autres théories ne peuvent pas expliquer, y compris les HAV qui a lieu dans ce qui semble être la voix des autres, la localisation spatiale perçue, l'intensité du son, les voix multiples et la nature intermittente. En outre, je montre que la théorie de la parole imaginée peut être bien intégrée dans une compréhension générale de la schizophrénie, tout en conservant son pouvoir explicatif pour toutes les populations qui font l'expérience des HAV, pas seulement les schizophrènes, et que pour ces raisons, c'est la théorie explicative contemporaine la plus solide des hallucinations auditives verbales.

Bakgrund: Då barn möts av en kognitiv utmaning talar de ofta högt med sig själva. Detta är en vanlig strategi hos barn i femårsåldern och kallas privat tal (private speech) vilket gradvis, i takt med att barnen åldras, utvecklas till en tyst form kallat inre tal. Inre tal är centralt i flera kognitiva uppgifter bland annat planering och problemlösning och är även involverat i arbetsminnet, främst i den fonologiska loopen. Det finns en begränsning i arbetsminnets kapacitet och även den fonologiska loopen är begränsad hos barn med utvecklingsstörning. Arbetsminneskapaciteten och utvecklingen av fonologiska loopen har en stor avgörande betydelse i tillägnandet av ordförrådet och därför kan en begränsning eller försening leda till en försening även i ordförrådet. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka inre tal hos barn med utvecklingsstörning samt att undersöka om det finns något samband mellan barnens inre tal och det aktiva respektive passiva ordförrådets storlek. Metod: I studien deltog 28 barn. Målgruppen bestod av 14 barn med lätt till måttlig utvecklingsstörning i åldrarna 8:4-16:0 år. Kontrollgruppen bestod av 14 barn med typisk utveckling i åldrarna 4:8-8:6 år. De båda grupperna matchades efter deras testresultat på Ravens färgade progressiva matriser. Det aktiva ordförrådet testades med Boston Naming Test och det passiva ordförrådet undersöktes med Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. För att undersöka barnens inre tal och minnesstrategier användes European Picture Span Study.  Resultat: Resultatet visar att barnen i kontrollgruppen har ett större passivt och aktivt ordförråd jämfört med målgruppen och att ett större ordförråd hos kontrollgruppen tycks ha viss betydelse för att barnen ska välja en mer mogen strategi. Målgruppen i föreliggande studie använder sig av verbala strategier i mindre utsträckning än kontrollgruppen, men de tycks ha utvecklat en medvetenhet kring sin strategianvändning. Analyserna visar även ett signifikant samband mellan uppnådd spannivå och storleken på det passiva ordförrådet hos målgruppen, medan det hos kontrollgruppen finns ett signifikant samband mellan uppnådd spannivå och storleken på det aktiva ordförrådet. / Background: When children are faced by a cognitive challenge they often speak out loud to themselves. This is a common strategy in five year old children and is called private speech, which gradually, is developed into a silent form called inner speech. Inner speech is essential in several cognitive tasks including planning and problem solving, and is also involved in the working memory, particularly in the phonological loop. Children with intellectual disabilities have a limitation in the capacity of the working memory and in the phonological loop. The capacity of the working memory and the development of the phonological loop have a big importance in the acquisition of the vocabulary, therefore a limitation or delay in these skills lead to a delay in the vocabulary. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the inner speech in children with intellectual disabilities and to investigate the correlation between the inner speech and the dimension of the active and passive vocabulary.  Method: 28 children participated. The target group consisted of 14 children with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities aged 8:4-16:0 years. The control group consisted of 14 children with typical development aged 4:8-8:6 years. The two groups were matched according to their test results on Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices. The active vocabulary was tested with Boston Naming Test and the passive vocabulary was examined with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. To examine the inner speech and memory strategies the European Picture Span Study was used. Results: The result showed that the children in the control group have a bigger passive and active vocabulary compared to the target group and that there is a correlation between having a big vocabulary and using a more mature strategy in the control group. The target group use phonological strategies to a smaller extent than the control group, but they seem to have developed a consciousness regarding their use of strategies. The analysis also shows a significant correlation between span level and the size of the passive vocabulary in the target group, whilst there is a significant correlation between the span level and the active vocabulary in the control group.

L'objectif général de cette thèse est d'explorer l'impact des lésions du cervelet sur les séquelles motrices et cognitives des enfants traités pour tumeur du cervelet maligne ou bénigne. En nous basant sur trois études cliniques, nos objectifs généraux ont été (1) d'examiner si ces enfant présentaient des déficits dans l'établissement d'automatismes moteurs et cognitifs, (2) de préciser les facteurs associés aux difficultés d'automatisation et (3) d'examiner l'impact de ces difficultés sur la scolarité et le devenir à long terme de ces enfants. La première étude avait pour objectif spécifique d'examiner le devenir à long terme de 46 adultes et de 18 adolescents traités dans l'enfance chirurgicalement pour un astrocytome pilocytique du cervelet. Elle a mis en évidence un devenir à long terme satisfaisant dans l'ensemble, bien que des difficultés cognitives et motrices aient été rapportées, en particulier par les sujets qui ont le plus réussi leurs parcours scolaires. La perte d'autonomie était associée à des complications postopératoires telles que le mutisme cérébelleux et l'invasion du tronc cérébral. La deuxième étude a porté sur une cohorte de 17 enfants et adolescents traités pour un astrocytome pilocytique cérébelleux. Elle a exploré l'automatisation de la lecture et discuté la théorie cérébelleuse de la dyslexie. Les résultats ont mis en évidence une difficulté de suppression des mouvements articulatoires chez la plupart des sujets qui était associée à un faible indice de Mémoire de Travail Verbale. La troisième étude a porté sur 16 enfants traités pour un astrocytome pilocytique du cervelet et 16 enfants traités pour un médulloblastome. Elle avait pour objectifs (1) d'étudier l'apprentissage moteur et différents automatismes cognitifs intervenant notamment dans la lecture et le calcul mental et (2) de préciser les relations entre les différentes mesures de la difficulté d'automatisation motrice et cognitive. Les résultats ont confirmé la difficulté de suppression des mouvements articulatoires et ont montré que les enfants traités pour tumeur du cervelet se différenciaient des enfants sains de âge par un apprentissage moteur moindre, en particulier avec la main non dominante et par une lenteur en lecture, en calcul mental, en dénomination rapide et en double tâche. Par ailleurs, l'atteinte des noyaux dentelés était liée à une baisse de l'efficience intellectuelle, en particulier chez les enfants traités pour un médulloblastome, à un apprentissage moteur moindre avec la main dominante, à une difficulté de suppression des mouvements articulatoires, et à une lenteur de calcul mental. Ce travail de thèse offre des résultats pionniers dans la compréhension de l'impact des lésions cérébelleuses sur les apprentissages chez l'enfant. / The general aim this doctoral dissertation is to explore the impact of cerebellar lesions on motor and cognitive sequelae in children treated for malignant or benign tumor of the cerebellum. In three clinical studies, we in (1) examine whether these children exhibited deficits in motor and cognitive automation, (2) identify factors associated with difficulties in automation and (3) examine the impact of these difficulties on schooling and long-term outcome. The first study examines the long-term outcome of 46 adults and 18 adolescents treated surgically in childhood for cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma. Most subjects showed a positive long-term outcome, despite report of cognitive and motor difficulties, especially by subjects with successful school careers. The loss of autonomy was associated with postoperative complications, post cerebellar mutism, or invasion of the brain stem. The second study in 17 children and adolescents treated for pilocytic cerebellar astrocytoma aimed to examine the automation of reading and to discuss the cerebellar theory of dyslexia. The results highlighted a difficulty of suppressing articulatory movements in most subjects, associated with low index of Verbal Working Memory. The third study concerned 16 children treated for pilocytic astrocytoma of the cerebellum and 16 children treated for medulloblastoma. Its objectives were to (1) investigate motor learning and different cognitive automations involved in particularly in reading and mental calculation (2) clarify the relationship between different measures of motor and cognitive automation. The results confirmed the difficulty to suppress articulatory movements and showed lower motor learning effect, especially with the non-dominant hand, slowness in reading, mental calculation, rapid naming and dual task. Furthermore, dentate nuclei damage was linked to lower intellectual efficiency (IQ), particularly in children treated for medulloblastoma; to a lesser motor learning for the dominant hand, a difficulty to suppress articulatory movements, and slowness in mental calculation. This work offers pioneer results in understanding the impact of cerebellar lesions in children learning.

Speech production not only relies on spoken (overt speech) but also on silent output (inner speech). Little is known about whether inner and overt speech are processed differently and which neural mechanisms are involved. By simultaneously applying electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we tried to disentangle executive control from motor and linguistic processes. A preparation phase was introduced additionally to the examination of overt and inner speech directly during naming (i.e., speech execution). Participants completed a picture-naming paradigm in which the pure preparation phase of a subsequent speech production and the actual speech execution phase could be differentiated. fNIRS results revealed a larger activation for overt rather than inner speech at bilateral prefrontal to parietal regions during the preparation and at bilateral temporal regions during the execution phase. EEG results showed a larger negativity for inner compared to overt speech between 200 and 500 ms during the preparation phase and between 300 and 500 ms during the execution phase. Findings of the preparation phase indicated that differences between inner and overt speech are not exclusively driven by specific linguistic and motor processes but also impacted by inhibitory mechanisms. Results of the execution phase suggest that inhibitory processes operate during phonological code retrieval and encoding.

Studies in adults showed differential neural processing between overt and inner speech. So far, it is unclear whether inner and overt speech are processed differentially in children. The present study examines the pre-activation of the speech network in order to disentangle domain-general executive control from linguistic control of inner and overt speech production in 6- to 7-year-olds by simultaneously applying electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Children underwent a picture-naming task in which the pure preparation of a subsequent speech production and the actual execution of speech can be differentiated. The preparation phase does not represent speech per se but it resembles the setting up of the language production network. Only the fNIRS revealed a larger activation for overt, compared to inner, speech over bilateral prefrontal to parietal regions during the preparation phase. Findings suggest that the children’s brain can prepare the subsequent speech production. The preparation for overt and inner speech requires different domain-general executive control. In contrast to adults, the children’s brain did not show differences between inner and overt speech when a concrete linguistic content occurs and a concrete execution is required. This might indicate that domain-specific executive control processes are still under development.