Journalism 614: Opinion and Perception II: Spiral of Silence

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Journalism 614Opinion and Perception II Spiral
of Silence
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What is Public Opinion?

• Any opinion held by a majority of citizens?
• Democratic view - The General Will
• Any opinion about public affairs?
• Liberal Democratic view - All are valid
• Only reasoned opinion about issues?
• Elitist view - Only informed opinions count
• Each of these is about forming preferences and
  expressing those views

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Another definition

• Public opinion is any opinion that can expressed
  publicly without sanctions
• Can state without fear of social isolation
• Here, public opinion is a matter of visibility
• Minority opinions must be seen for those who hold
  them to feel comfortable expressing themselves
• This is about the perceptions of the opinion
  climate and the ability to speak out without risks

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Media Influence

• Direct Method - Communication events, arguments,
  and opinions that change the mind of audience
  members
• Indirect Method - Present indicators of what
  already seems to be public opinion
• Media convey an impression of how accepted an
  opinion may be now or in future

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Spiral of Silence

• Societal norms can be intimidating
• Understand public opinion as a tangible force
• Intense social pressure can be brought to bear on
  the person who dares to test the boundaries
• Perception of distribution of opinion shapes
  willingness to express opinions
• People express opinions more confidently when
  they see they are in the majority or gaining
  ground
• People are unwilling to express opinions that run
  counter to their perception of majority view

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Opinion Expression

• What opinions can be expressed?
• Opinions that do not risk fear of social
  isolation
• Opinions that are publicly visible
• Can be a minority opinion, but minority must
  speak out and act as if it is, or will be,
  majority
• People have a quasi-statistical organ
• A sixth sense that provides information about
  what society is thinking and feeling
• Constantly scan the environment to gauge the
  climate of opinion and future trends.

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Fear of Isolation

• Fear of social isolation is the key force that
  drives the spiral of silence
• Group pressure has tremendous influence
• We dont like to be excluded for our views
• Theory about obedience to authority in World War
  II - citizens in Nazi Germany
• Noelle-Neumann was Nazi Party member
• She worked for Goebbels, head of Nazi Propaganda
• Wrote for Das Reich, but later withdrew/recanted

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Social Influence

• Considers effects of group settings on attitudes,
  opinion expression, behavior
• Largely based on experimental research
• Solomon Aschs work on social conformity
• When do we go along with the group?
• Stanley Milgrams work on social compliance
• When do we obey authority?

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Asch Conformity
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Conformity

• The Asch studies
• Unambiguous situation
• Small group setting (10-12)
• Uniform incorrect assessment
• Over one-third concur with incorrect assessment -
  go along with the group

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Minority Influence

• Judgments about color of slides
• Consistent incorrect assessment by minority
• Portion of subjects agree in error
• Implication
• Minority opinion can exert power
• Bandwagon vs. Siding with the underdog

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Milgram Obedience
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Obedience

• Subjects randomly assigned the role of
  "teacher" and asked to administered shocks to
  "pupils for incorrect responses
• Pupils were actually part of the experiment.
• Act out the effects of progressively higher
  shocks
• What proportion will continue to the highest
  level when prodded by the supervisor?
• Highest voltage switches (450 volts) were marked
  with labels of Danger Severe Shock and then
  XXX

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Setup and Scenario

• Voltage Confederate Response
• 75 Grunts
• 120 Shouts in pain
• 150 Refuses to continue
• 200 Blood-curdling screams
• 300 Refuses to answer
• 330 Silence
• Objection Supervisors response
• First "He's fine. go on.
• Second "The experiment requires
• you to go on.
• Third "It is absolutely essential to go
  on.
• Fourth "You have no choice. You
• must go on."

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Response of Subjects
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Milgrams Obedience Experiment

• Different subjects, locations ()
• Decrease proximity of authority (-)
• Increase connection to student (-)
• Involve obedient others ()
• Involve disobedient others (-)

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When to Speak or Keep Silent

• Conformity and compliance have great social power
  over individuals
• Those in minority positions tend to keep quite if
  they do not sense support
• Not that they change their minds
• Duck their heads and keep their own council

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Summary

• People have the ability to gauge trends of public
  sentiment
• People justifiably fear social isolation
• People are hesitant to express minority
  viewpoints, especially if losing ground
• But where do they get their perceptions?

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Media Influence

• Mass media work jointly with majority opinion to
  silence minority views
• Mass media, particularly TV, suggest what others
  are thinking through portrayals
• People look to the media to see if there is
  support and legitimization for views
• Index the media to gauge current climate
• Provide the words and phrases that people can use
  to defend a certain point of view

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Critiques of Spiral of Silence

• Hardcores - the minority that remains vocal in
  defiance of threats of isolation
• Bill Maher, Dixie Chicks, War Protesters
• Pluralistic ignorance and Projection - we tend to
  misestimate the prevalence of our views
• Quasi-statistical organ doesnt work so well
• Weak support outside of WW II Germany
• Maybe only operates in totalitarian regimes
• The ability to find like-minded views online