opposing opinions presentation power point[1][1]

7/27/2019 Opposing Opinions Presentation Power Point[1][1]

1/30

THE SPIRAL OF SILENCE, BANDWAGON EFFECT, & FEAR OF ISOLATION

APPENDIX E


2/30

CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT &

PURPOSE OF STUDY

College students and their reaction to an unfamiliar

environment is a broad topic that yields little scientific

conclusion.

The research that is going to be discussed will be based upon

measurements of political ideology held by current college

students. We hypothesized using the spiral of silence theory to

statistically identify those faced with new social surroundings

and whether the unfamiliar confrontation of opposing opinions

by peers would cause an individual to react differently and

subsequently modify their behaviors ranging from topic

avoidance to completely succumbing to the bandwagon effect.

We are looking to quantitatively measure whether or not thoseAPPENDIX E


3/30

SPIRAL OF SILENCE, BANDWAGON EFFECT, FEAR OF ISOLATION

APPENDIX E


4/30

SPIRAL OF SILENCE

THEORYcreated by Elisabeth Noelle-Nueman states:

the term sp iral of si lence refers to the inc reasing

pressure people feel to conceal their views when they

think th ey are in the mino r i ty(Noelle-Nueman 372).

APPENDIX E


5/30

It has been suggested that if most people fear social isolation it is not isolation from

some general amorphous public but only from specific groups to which they are

attracted and want to belong (Lasorsa, 1991, p. 131).

The direct reaction of the students acknowledgement to the opposing opinionfrom peers and their decision to not involve themselves based on the fear that

the groups reaction to minority opinion will inevitably cause judgment,

seclusion, and isolation from your group.

Much empirical evidence supports Noelle-Neumann's belief that people may be so

affected by their perception of what others thinks of a message that they feelpressured to conceal their real opinion. In the presence of a hostile climate of

opinion, one may very well be hesitant to speak out, as Noelle-Neumann repeatedly

has shown. (Lasorsa 132).

College students who have opposing political opinions/beliefs to the majority ofpeers may be faced theoretically with circumstances that cause them to alterAPPENDIX E


6/30

Individuals base their perceptions of majority opinion on cuesfrom the environment. Therefore, those opinions having the mostvisible (vocal) adherents may appear to an observer to be morewidely held than may actually be the case.(Glynn 453)

The tendency to talk among the winning faction and thetendency to be silent among the losing faction is evident bothamong those who are politically interested and among those whoare not.(Lasorsa 134)

College students who affiliate themselves with social circles that express oppositiontoward their personally pre-established political constructs are more prone toassimilate, succumbing to the bandwagon effect.

Conceptual Definition: Opposition is identified as the conflict created by

majority opinion of the social group members in contrast to the beliefsbeing measured in response. APPENDIX E


7/30

THE CONFORMITY HYPOTHESIS: Wil l iam J. Gon zenbach

Individuals fear isolation from the majority and thus conform to what they perceive to

be the dominant opinion. (Gonzenbach 633)

OPINION EXPRESSION AVOIDANCE: A nd rew HayesAccordingto spiral of silence theory, if you are not confident that the opinion climate

is friendly to your position you might feel uncomfortable providing your opinion and

perhaps you would even refrain from doingso.(Hayes 788)

DIRECTLY COORELATES TO HYPOTHESIS 3

Independent Variable: Fear of isolation from the peers

ConceptualDefinition: Fear of isolation is defined by a psychological variable

representing a negative emotional state associated with the prospect of voicing ones

opinion about a given topic (Neuwirth, Frederick, & Mayo, 2007, p. 452).

Dependent Variable: Decision to engage in opinion expression avoidance

Conceptual Definition: Decision to engage in expression avoidance will be defined byAPPENDIX E


8/30

Considerations for Measurement

Given the opportunity to express an opinion, people do so by factoring in

expectations about likely outcomes based on (a) their past history of

interactions (reflected in traits), (b) the fear engendered by the controversy

surrounding the issue itself, and (c) more immediate situational factors

associated with the particular and unique circumstances of speakingout(Neuwirth 452)

Fear of isolation is significantly linked to avoidance strategies such as

lying, making neutral comments but not revealing ones true belief, saying

nothing, and general (i.e., lying and neutral comments combined)

Avoidance.(Neuwirth 459)

Thepeople with whom one identifies provide the best social reality tests:

The perceived, expected or believed agreement of similar others in thesame situation implies that our behavior is a function of the objective

APPENDIX E


9/30

INDEPENDENT, DEPENDANT, OPERATIONAL,CONCEPTUAL

APPENDIX E


10/30

RESEARCH QUESTION

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: Holding opposing political ideologies

Operational Definit ion: Opposing political ideology will be measured by a

5 point Likert scale that will establish the participants perception of

opposing political ideology

Conceptual Defin i t ion: Opposing political ideologies is when the a student

political ideology differs from their peers

DEPENDENT VARIABLE: The altered behaviors and their socialinteractions.

Operational Definit ion: A 5 point Likert scale that will determine and

illustrate the alterations in communication behaviors and social interactions.

Conceptual Defin i t ion: An alteration in communication behavior will beAPPENDIX E


11/30

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: Receiving support from their peers with

regard to their political ideology

Operational Def ini t ion: 5 point Likert scale that will determine if the participant

feels as if they receive support of their political ideology

Conceptual Defini t ion: received support will be defined by an individual perceives

that their opinion will be favored by or consistent with the vast majority.

DEPENDENT VARIABLE: The willingness to express

Operational Def ini t ion: A 5 point Likert scale that will be measuring the willingness

of the participant to enter into a conversation with conflicting opinions.

Conceptual Def ini t ion: Willingness will be defined as whether the individual is

willing to have or enter an open conversation expressing their true opinions.APPENDIX E


12/30

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE:Affiliation themselves with social circles that express

oppositions toward their pre-established political construct

Operational Definit ion: This will be measured with a 5 point Likert scale that will establish the

participants perception of opposition in social arenas and will quantitatively measure their

reaction to conflict.

Conceptual Def in i t ion: Opposition is identified as the conflict created by majority opinion of the

social group members in contrast to the beliefs being measured in response.

DEPENDENT VARIABLE:Assimilate among peers, succumbing to the band wagon

effect

Operational Definit ion: 5 point Likert scale will be used to identify levels of assimilation the

student would engage in when responding to paralleling social situations that present a conflict

of antagonistic manner from peers. APPENDIX E


13/30

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: Fear of isolation from the peers

Operational Definit ion: This will be measured by a 5 point Likert scale that illustrate when a

student fears isolation.

Conceptual Defin i t ion: Fear of isolation is defined by a psychological variable representing

a negative emotional state associated with the prospect of voicing ones opinion about a given

topic (Neuwirth, Frederick, & Mayo, 2007, p. 452).

DEPENDENT VARIABLE: Decision to engage in opinion expression avoidance

Operational Definit ion: A 5 point Likert scale that will demonstrate the student lack of

expression of their opinion and what actions they would or would not conduct.

Conceptual Defin i t ion: Decision to engage in expression avoidance will be defined by lying,

making neutral comments, saying nothing, and/or general avoidance but not revealing their

true beliefs. APPENDIX E


14/30

MEASUREMENTS & SURVEY TYPE

APPENDIX E


15/30

5 point Likert scale: Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree

Face to face survey

o

Closed ended questions

Non Probability sample:

o Volunteer and Convenience sample

o Queens Students

APPENDIX E


16/30

BASIC PEARSON CORRELATION

Association between two interval or rationalvariable

Interval :

Likert Scale

APPENDIX E


17/30

DEMOGRAPHICS & DATA COLLECTION

APPENDIX E


18/30

5 participants

Made changes to consent form

We added a part of the question we accidently

omitted.

APPENDIX E


19/30

APPENDIX E


20/30

APPENDIX E


21/30

APPENDIX E


22/30

APPENDIX E


23/30

INDEPENDENT

Holding opposing politicalideologies

DEPENDENT

The altered behaviors andtheir social interactions

Do college students who have opposing political ideologies to

fellow peers alter their communication behaviors and social

interactions?

APPENDIX E


24/30

INDEPENDENT

Receiving support fromtheir peers with regard to

their political ideology

DEPENDENT

The willingness to express

Students who receive little or no support of their political ideas

from their peers are less willing to express their opposing

opinions to their peers.

APPENDIX E


25/30

INDEPENDENT

Affiliation themselves withsocial circles that express

oppositions toward their pre-

established political construct

DEPENDENT

Assimilate among peers,succumbing to the band

wagon effect

College students who affiliate themselves with social circles thatexpress opposition toward their personally pre-established political

constructs are more prone to assimilate, succumbing to the

bandwagon effect

APPENDIX E


26/30

INDEPENDENT

Fear of isolation from thepeers

DEPENDENT

Decision to engage inopinion expression

avoidance

A college students fear of isolation from peers is has an impactin the decision to engage in opinion expression avoidance.

APPENDIX E


27/30

APPENDIX E


28/30

Queens University students.

Have peers of opposing and similar political ideology

However when a peer has opposing political ideologycollege students tend to slightly alter theircommunication behaviors and social interactions

College students express only a little opposition towardstheir peers who oppose their pre-establish political

construct 50/50 on the Bandwagon effect

Fear of isolation has some but little influence

When confront with opposing opinions majority collegeAPPENDIX E


29/30

LIMITATIONS

Questionnaire

Hypothesis 1:

o Lack of correlation

Sample:

o Too small

o Few lower classmen

o Few Hayworth & GraduateStudents

RECOMMENDATIONS FORFUTURE RESEACHERS

Focus group

Ask better questions

toward bang wagon effect Pre-test on respondents

evaluation of the studied

subject

Find a correlation with aHypothesis 1

APPENDIX E


30/30

Glynn, C. J., Hayes, A. F., & Shanahan, J. (1997). Perceived support for one's

opinions and willingness to speak out. Public Opinion Quarterly, 61(3), 452.

Gonzenbach, W. J. (1992). THE CONFORMITY HYPOTHESIS: EMPIRICAL

CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE SPIRAL OF SILENCE'S FIRST LINK. Journalism

Quarterly, 69(3), 633-645

Hayes, A. F. (2007). Exploring the Forms of Self-Censorship: On the Spiral of Silence

and the Use of Opinion Expression Avoidance Strategies. Journal Of Communication,57(4), 785-802. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2007.00368.x

Lasorsa, D. L. (1991). Political Outspokenness: Factors Working Against the Spiral of

Silence. Journalism Quarterly, 68(1/2), 131-140.

Neuwirth, K., Frederick, E., & Mayo, C. (2007). The Spiral of Silence and Fear of

Isolation. Journal Of Communication, 57(3), 450-468. doi:10.1111/j.1460-

2466.2007.00352.x

APPENDIX E

opposing opinions presentation power point[1][1]

Documents