An Insight Into the Spiral of Silence Theory of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
Tran Minh Ngoc Phan
University of Kentucky
Abstract
This paper provides an insight into the theory of Spiral Silence by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. The three main premises of this theory being social isolation pressure, people’s “sixth sense” which allows them to sense the public opinion, and the decisive influence of social media on people’s willingness to express their true thoughts. In this paper, one will take a closer look into these three premises by utilizing examples and analyses.
An Insight Into the Spiral of Silence Theory of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann – a German political scientist whose most well-known piece of work is the theory of Spiral of Silence, in which she explained how both the outside and inside forces can alter one’s willingness to voice his or her own opinions. The phrase “Spiral of Silence” itself refers to the tendency of people to remain silent thinking that their ideas are in the minority. This model follows three premises including the fear of isolation, people’s awareness of how their actions can increase the possibility of them being socially isolated, a “quasi-statistical organ” (Griffin, 2008), which can also be referred to as the sixth sense, is the human’s ability to discern the public opinions, and the power of mass media in controlling what people see which has the utter ability to shift the public’s view towards or against an opinion and provide a sanctioned idea of what the majority of people are thinking. Although the fact that people possess different ideas for different topics which indicates whether they are in the majority or minority, this theory does not only apply to any specific topic-based groups of people, but to each and everyone in the community. This essay will provide a more detailed discussion on this theory of Spiral of Silence with specific examples as well as analyses.
People by nature have a fear of being isolated that it is undoubtedly intimidating to stand up against big groups of people and try to give them an insight to an idea that may be completely opposite to their own. As a result, they will consider silence as a safer choice to avoid the danger of being excluded. For instance, during the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend, Kevin Durant, the 2014 NBA MVP expressed his displease in a response to a question about MVP voting on whether he deserved to retain his job. He stated:
“You guys get too much power to vote on stuff (that), quite frankly, I don't think you know a lot about, not as much as we know about it. We play against these guys, we battle against these guys, we know what they say on the court, we know how they handle their teams, how they approach the game. Our vote should count. Our opinions should count. I don't think you guys know as much as we do and I don't see why you have more power than we do.”
Although there was very likely that he had a good reason behind his outcry on what he felt was biased and unfair, Durant was advised, and later changed his mind, to apologize and stay quiet for the present. This explains the theory of Spiral of Silence in the context of the influences from mass media, which will be discussed later in this essay, and the fear of isolation when people have ideas that do not fit into their surrounding environment, and as a part of a less superior group, “those people become hesitant or fearful to express their true thoughts.” (Akil II, 2015). Despite the fact that by remaining silent, Durant would be able to avoid social isolation and pressure during this time period, allowing this theory to continue in practice may create a toxic environment not only for these athletes, but also for the community in the long run. Another example for this premise being the “Diffusion of Responsibility” (Burkley, 2009), which refers to the situation where “the more bystanders there are, the less responsible each individual feels” (Burkey, 2009). On October 24th, 2009, a 15-year-old girl was raped outside a homecoming dance in Richmond, California in front of as many as 15 witnesses. Tragically, these witnesses failed to intervene the situation or call the police, some of them even recorded the assault using their mobile devices. This raised the question of how these bystanders could do nothing in such situations. As reported from some of the eyewitnesses, their failure to help and seek help during the incident resulted from “the concern over being labeled as a snitch” (Burkey, 2009). As the majority of people were ignoring the seriousness of said situation, each and everyone from the witness group also refused to take actions towards the incident for the fear of themselves being negatively affected. This has left not only a directly adverse effect on the victim, but also the lasting feelings of guilt among the bystanders involved in the situation.
Another premise of this theory being the human’s sixth sense that allows them to gauge the climate of the public’s opinion and adjust theirs accordingly. This, in my opinion, also derives from the first premise where social isolation is the reason behind this silence. As described in The Spiral of Silence (Noelle-Neumann, 1980), public opinions were referred to as “attitudes one can express without running the danger of isolating oneself.” (Noelle-Neumann, 1980) that in the case where one can sense the trends of public sentiment at any given moment, one may make the conscious decision to act accordingly in fear of being negatively judged by the “dominant” audience. Olga Mecking once wrote in The Spiral of Silence Theory Explains Why People Don’t Speak Up on Things That Matter (2017): "When people with racist, xenophobic, homophobic, or otherwise prejudiced views feel that they're in the minority, it means that oppressed groups may feel more comfortable expressing themselves, like the way LGBTQ people feel more comfortable coming out in states where same-sex marriage is legal." This example shows how being aware of the level of supports one get can determine the possibility of one expressing his or her voice.
The mass media is also a powerful engine that drives the spiral of silence, especially in the digital era we are living in. Although it has been discussed that humans being quipped with a “quasi-statistical organ” can predict which side is safer to follow in a given situation using direct observations, mass media are still the main tools we use to get updates on our surroundings. This gives media the power to control what we see and provide us the sanctioned idea of what the majority of people are thinking. One example for this is that during the 1991 Gulf War, a survey was distributed by the US government to measure the level of supports for the war. The result indicated that most people was not supportive; however, the media, which was supportive of the situation, portrayed a completely different picture. Thus, people who were opposed to the war, despite the fact that there were many of them, did not speak up against it as they were under the impression that they were the minority. This shows how much power the media have over the society these day; despite being one of the most useful and irreplaceable means of communication in the modern era in which we are living, mass media are likely to be misused for mischievous purposes.
It is obvious that the practice of this theory is harmful to the society as a whole in the long run where opinions other than ones that belong to the majority group are no longer appreciated; until the point where freedom of speech is eliminated, and collectivists take the lead with conformation to groups.
This spiral effect, which was developed by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, is experienced so much that it is no longer only a regular issue in the community. This theory of Spiral of Silence focuses on three main points, with the first one being the fear of social isolation, followed by the human’s sixth sense, which is also known as “a quasi-statistical organ” (Griffin, 2008), and the dictating role of mass media. In short, the further an individual feels his or her opinions lie in the majority group, the more likely he or she will conceal them. The spiral is strengthened as the less people are willing to stand up against the aforementioned fears to make their voices heard. The media also plays the key role in dictating the public’s opinion, which can be easily misused in favor of certain groups or individuals for malevolent purposes. This theory is believed to be detrimental to the community in the long run where the elimination of the freedom of speech is an individual choice, and the mass media is given the utter power to control whether or not an opinion is worth listening to.
References
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Akil II, B. (February 2015). Athletes and the Spiral of Silence. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/communication-central/201502/athletes-and-the-spiral-silence
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