spiral of silence

1. Wake up
folks..
&
Welcome

2. Spiral of
Silence
by

3. 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

4. Alexis de Tocqueville
French political thinker
 the holders of minority
opinions join the
masses, “more
frightened of isolation
than of committing an
error”


5. 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


6. 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.

7. Spiral of Silence

8. Climate of opinion

9. 




Public opinion changes across time, in
relationship to people‟s monitoring of the
„climate of opinion.‟
If the majority of people hold an opinion
opposite one‟s, then one may be hesitant
to voice one‟s opinion in public.
This is especially true if one perceives
that one‟s opinion is likely to lose more
support in the future.
Thus, if people who have opinions similar
to one‟s also do not speak out in public,
one will observe a decreasing amount of
publicly voiced support for one‟s opinion.
Over time, one perceives that support for
one‟s opinion spirals downward, hence
the name of the theory.

10. Public opinion - ‘pressure to
conform’

11. 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.


12. Social Anxiety
Fear of being negatively
evaluated by others
 Cognitive deficits
- negative self images
 Public & Private Self
consciousness


13. 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.


14. 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

15. 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).