This document provides an overview of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's Spiral of Silence theory. The theory posits that people are less likely to express minority views due to fear of isolation. It suggests the media plays a role in shaping public opinion and silencing minority views. However, committed activists or "hard cores" can shift public opinion over time by sustained advocacy. The document outlines the key concepts of the theory including the role of the media and assessments of public opinion.

1. Dr. Marquita L. Byrd
marquita.byrd@sjsu.edu
Communication Studies
Multicultural Communication
San Jose State University

2. Chapter Overview
 SST at a Glance
 Introduction
 The Court of Public Opinion
 Assumptions of SST
 The Media’s Influence
 The Train Test
 The Hard Core
 Integration and Critique

3. German political scientist contributed the
famous model called “Spiral of Silence”.
Through this Spiral of Silence theory
Neumann indirectly explains the Jews
status during World War II under Nazi’s
control. Jews were a minority and silenced
through extermination. While Adolf Hitler
dominated the whole society there were
many Germans who did not support his
regime, but became vocally silent for fear
for their lives and the lives of their children.
However many resisted though other
means
1916-2010

4.  People with a minority viewpoint remain in the
background
• Communication will be constrained
 People with a majority viewpoint become more
encouraged to speak

5.  Noelle-Neumann founded and directed Allensbach Institute
 The Spiral of Silence: Public Opinion-Our Social Skin, separates
public opinion into
• Public
• Opinion
 Public opinion is the attitudes and behaviors expressed in public in
order to avoid isolation

6.  Media have profound effects on public opinion
 Mass media work with majority opinion to silence
minority beliefs
 Fear of isolation prompts those with minority
views to examine beliefs of others

7.  The fear of isolation causes individuals to try to
assess the climate of opinions at all times. The
fear of retribution, the fear of physical harm, the
fear of punishment, the fear of annihilation.
• Individuals receive information about public opinion from
 Personal observation
 The media

9. The media are
• Ubiquitous (everywhere)
• Cumulative (add up)
• Consonant (match each other)
People experience the climate of public
opinion through the mass media
• Movies, TV programs, news, entertainment
programs, books, social media, magazines

10.  An assessment of the extent people will speak out
 The question: At the beginning of a 5-hour train ride, a
person sits next to you and starts discussing the
problems of food safety. Would you talk or not talk about
the topic to the person?

11. Findings
 Supporters of the dominant opinion are more willing to
speak out
 Men from large cities, aged 45-59 are more willing to
speak out
 Various ways of speaking out exist
 People share their opinions more with those who agree

12. Findings, continued
People will voice an opinion if it aligns with
current trends
People draw the strength of their
convictions from a variety of sources
People engage in “last-minute swings”

13.  A vain Emperor who cares for nothing except wearing and displaying clothes hires two
swindlers who promise him the finest, best suit of clothes from a fabric invisible to
anyone who is unfit for his position or "hopelessly stupid". Finally the swindlers report
that the suit is finished, and they mime dressing him. The Emperor's ministers cannot
see the clothing themselves, but pretend that they can for fear of appearing unfit for
their positions. The Emperor marches in procession before his subjects. The townsfolk
play along with the pretense not wanting to appear unfit for their positions or stupid.
Then a child in the crowd, too young to understand the desirability of keeping up the
pretense, blurts out that the Emperor is wearing nothing at all and the cry is taken up
by others. The Emperor cringes, suspecting the assertion is true, but continues the
procession.
The one who speaks out, the lone
voice or committed few can
change public opinion across time.

14.  Usually small groups of people who commit themselves
to sustained, focused resistance again some type of
oppression. (Could even be one person)
 The hard core moved public opinion on AIDS, gay
marriage, use of marijuana, civil rights, women’s rights,
and rights of the disabled.

15. If the minority opinion becomes loud
enough and institutions of power bask
them then the majority voice becomes less
powerful
The hard core (minority voices) moved
public opinion on AIDS, on segregation,
gay marriage and rights of the disabled.

17.  New media
cyber space, computers, cell phones,
social media, desktop publishing, self-
publishing,
 Public access channels (radio and
television)
 Minority newspapers
 Minority TV stations and channels
 Counter culture news such as Al Jazeera

18.  Problems with the theory
• Does not address resistance
• Greatly understates the consequences of speaking out (isolation
is the least painful)
• Dated due to new media
 Strengths of SST
• Provides lens for looking at the relationship among majority
• and minority opinions and the media
• Employed in studies on many topics