The spiral of silence theory is a political science and mass communication theory which states that an individual's perception of the distribution of public opinion influences that individual's willingness to express their own opinions.

Developed by German survey and communication researcher Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1960s and ’70s, the spiral of silence theory more broadly attempts to describe collective opinion formation and societal decision making regarding issues that are controversial or morally loaded.

2023年7月26日 · The spiral of silence theory is a model of communication that explains the dynamic process by which individuals’ willingness to express their opinions publicly may change in response to the perceived majority or minority viewpoints (Noelle-Neumann, 1974).

Originally proposed by German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in 1974, Spiral of silence is the term meant to refer to the tendence of people to remain silent when they feel that their views are in opposition to the majority view on a subject.

Through this Spiral of Silence theory Neumann indirectly explains the Jews status during World War II under Nazi’s control. Here, Adolf Hitler dominated the whole society and the minority Jews became silent due to the fear of isolation or separation.

2023年10月19日 · The Spiral of Silence theory states that we are more willing to communicate our ideas to others if we believe that most people in the group hold the same view, that is, if we believe that our opinion is in line with the perceived majority opinion.

2014年8月26日 · This report explores the degree to which social media affects a long-established human attribute—that those who think they hold minority opinions often self-censor, failing to speak out for fear of ostracism or ridicule. It is called the “spiral of silence.”

2025年1月23日 · The spiral of silence is a compelling theory in communication and psychology that explores how individuals perceive public opinion and its impact on their willingness to express their own views. Developed by German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1970s, this concept provides valuable insights into social behavior, media ...

2020年2月8日 · The idea of the spiral of silence suggests that people remain silent when they think their views are different from majority viewpoints. According to the theory, this unwillingness to speak out is due to fear of social isolation .

2017年3月10日 · In The Spiral of Silence, public opinion was defined as “attitudes one can express without running the danger of isolating oneself.” According to Noelle-Neumann, most people have an uncanny ability to gauge which opinions are popular at any given moment and act accordingly — which means that people with minority opinions, fearing social ...