Spiral of silence is a theory which explains how an individual is susceptible to the public opinion.

1. The Spiral of Silence
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
Presentation Andrew

2. Explains Growth and Spread of Public Opinion
• Who will you vote for
• Public Opinion - "attitudes one can express without running the danger
of isolating oneself”
• Spiral of Silence - increasing pressure people feel to conceal their views
when they think they are in the minority
• Quasi-statistical organ -a sixth sense that tallies up information about
what society in general is thinking and feeling (Media accelerates this
spiral)
“When a swing in the climate occurs for or against a party, a person, or a
particular idea, it seems to be sensed every where at almost exactly the same
time, by [everybody?]“

3. FEAR OF ISOLATION: THE ENGINE THAT DRIVES THE
SPIRAL OF SILENCE
• Fear of isolation the centrifugal force
• Swarthmore Psychologist Solomon Asch
• Will people call me stubborn- laugh at me- kick me out
of the group

4. “The worst sickness is not leprosy or
tuberculosis, but the feeling of being
respected by no one, of being unloved,
deserted by everyone.” - Mother Teresa
Back to slide no 4

5. Role of Mass Media
• Accelerate the muting of the minority
• Provides primary data to the quasi-statistical organ
• Influential media are often overestimate
• Pluralistic ignorance: mistaken idea of what the public's opinion
really is
• Selective exposure – selective perception
• TV more impactful than print

6. Poker Game Fable
• A farm worker regularly received his wages at
the end of the day on Friday. Each week he then
walked to the local tavern and lost all his money
gambling in a backroom poker game of five-card
draw. After a few months a friend took him aside
and advised, "Don't play with those guys any
more-they're cheating you blind." "Oh I know
the game is rigged," the farmhand replied, "but
it's the only game in town."

7. Building blocks of the model
Human ability to gauge trends of public sentiment.
Individuals' justifiable fear of isolation.
People's hesitancy to express minority views.

8. Advani a victim of the Spiral
• BJP’s senior leader Lalkrishna Advani did not support the party’s
dominant belief that Narendara Modi should be BJP’s prime
ministerial candidate.
• He did not voice it openly but the very fact he did not come out in
support initially was enough to imply that he did not support the
party’s idea.
• There were even other factions within the party which did opposed
Modi’s candidacy.
• But they including Advani were forced to keep silent due to the fear
of isolation from within the party.
• Advani later on came out supporting Modi – Advani was a victim of
the spiral of silence

9. Media and the Spiral of Silence
• “I have never found a spiral of silence that goes
against the tenor of the media, for the
willingness to speak out depends in part upon
sensing that there is support and legitimation
from the media” Ms Elisabeth

10. HARD CORE AND AVANT-GARDE: HOLDOUTS
WHO CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
• Early critics pointed out some people will never keep silent
• Remain at top of the spiral defying the fear of isolation
Hard core non-conformists:
• Already beaten down, they have nothing to lose by speaking out.
Avant Garde:
• “Those who belong to the avant-garde are committed to the future
and thus by necessity, are also isolated; but their conviction that
they are ahead of their time enables them to endure”
• Eg Gallileo went against the popular belief held that time that the
earth was not heliocentric.
• Do you belong to this category ? People who bring changes in the
society.

11. Limitations
• Fear of silence not the only reason for silence
1. Shyness, unwillingness to humiliate
2. Reliance on the Solomon Asch’s conformity experiment to prove
her point also seems questionable
3. People starting to speak even if one person support them against
the popular notion of the group.
Focusing on national climate rather than reference group
opinion
1. Nation exerts less pressure than do the attitudes of family, friends,
and other reference groups.
Ex Majority of Americans are for abortion but a person belonging to
the Roman Catholic church would not support the major belief of the
society. But would stick to the teaching of the church which goes
against the spiral

12. Resources
• A First Look at Communication Theory - Em
Griffin
• www.afirstlook.com