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Spiral of

Silence

by

Elisabeth Noelle-Nuemann(1916-2010)

A German political scientist.

Most famous contribution is the model of the spiral of silence, detailed in The Spiral of Silence : Public Opinion – Our Social Skin.

The model is an explanation of how perceived public opinion can influence individual opinions or actions.

Alexis de Tocqueville

French political thinker

the holders of minority

opinions join the

masses, “more

frightened of isolation

than of committing an

error”

Spiral of Silence

Spiral of silence occurs when individuals hold an opinion but fail to express it.

Perception of minority viewpoint.

Self Censorship from fear of isolation

Spiral of Silence

The ones who perceive to be holders of a majority opinion form social groups.

These groups “punish” the “vulnerable” individuals who are perceived to be of a minority opinion by various means of silencing.

Spiral of Silence

Climate of opinion

Public opinion changes across time, inrelationship to people‟s monitoring of the„climate of opinion.‟

If the majority of people hold an opinionopposite one‟s, then one may be hesitantto voice one‟s opinion in public.

This is especially true if one perceivesthat one‟s opinion is likely to lose moresupport in the future.

Thus, if people who have opinions similarto one‟s also do not speak out in public,one will observe a decreasing amount ofpublicly voiced support for one‟s opinion.

Over time, one perceives that support forone‟s opinion spirals downward, hencethe name of the theory.

Public opinion - ‘pressure to

conform’

As social beings, most people are afraid of becoming isolated from their environment. They would like to be popular and respected.

In order to avoid becoming isolated and in order not to lose popularity and esteem, people constantly observe their environment very closely. They try to find out which opinions and modes of behaviour are prevalent, and which opinions and modes of behaviour are becoming more popular. They behave and express themselves accordingly in public.

Social Anxiety

Fear of being negatively

evaluated by others

Cognitive deficits

- negative self images

Public & Private Self

consciousness

Role of an operationalised fear of

isolation in the spiral of silence. The more a person

fears negative evaluation, the less discrepancy there will be between the person’s opinion and perception of the predominant opinion.

The more a person fears negative evaluation, the less likely he or she will be to discuss a minority opinion.

Fear of Isolation

Social animals dread isolation

Our social nature causes us:

◦ to fear separation and isolation from our

fellows

◦ to want to be respected and liked by them

Other Possible Reasons:

Efficacy:

◦ people may decline to voice an opinion

because they believe doing so will not

matter, not because they are experiencing

fear (the belief that performing a particular

behaviour will not achieve a desired

outcome).