Blog Post #10: EOTO Terms and Concepts

The theory I studied was the spiral of silence. This theory is the "theory that people’s willingness to express their opinions on controversial public issues is affected by their largely unconscious perception of those opinions as being either popular or unpopular." This theory is rooted in the study of human communication and social psychology. Individuals recognize that their actions are individuals are aware that their actions are “seen by all” or “heard by all." It was "developed by German survey and communication researcher Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1960s and ’70s." The spiral of silence involves public opinion which is the opinions or behavior of the public without risking social isolation. This means that the theory is strictly social, is not involved in the legal process, and affects everyone regardless of social class. 

The theory arose with a surprising discovery regarding the 1965 German federal election campaign. The discovery was that most of the population's intended votes were tied between the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP) and the Christian Democratic Union–Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU). Within the last few weeks, the votes changed to be in favor of CDU-CSU. Long story short, CDU won based on public persuasion due to a visit by Queen Elizabeth II to Germany in May 1965. "Interestingly, while voters’ intentions remained unchanged over the course of many months, their expectations regarding the outcome of the election shifted dramatically during the same period." This election included the bandwagon effect and the votes shifted because of this. 

An important element of this theory is the fact that people are innate followers, meaning they will go with the crowd, because most people have a fear of isolation making them monitor their behavior and look for signs of disapproval. Due to the fear of isolation, people tend to refrain from speaking their own views. However, people who are confident theirs is a common opinion do so fearlessly; but there is still fear of isolation, in turn, this equals the spiral. On the flip side, they issue their own threats of isolation also known as "isolation pressure." Some examples of this are "criticizing someone, turning away from someone, scowling at someone, laughing at someone." 

This theory is unique because it is different with every generation and even with every group. For example, a group of activists might be very outspoken and not have a problem saying their opinion. However, they might make their enemies exercise this theory because aggression can make people exercise the fear of isolation too. 

The spiral of silence is one of the most cited and replicated theories in social sciences due to how applicable the theory is to society. However, there are many factors, such as media, that can deceive public opinion and change the rules of this theory. For example, people are more likely to speak out over social media because it is not a face-to-face confrontation with humanity, you can hide behind your screen. Conversely, public opinion stabilizes society and some conflicts are resolved by the spiral. This theory is crucial to society and can be both beneficial and detrimental.