Predicting the spiral of silence on a controversial public issue

The "spiral of silence"; hypothesis asserts that media presentations of social issues are often regarded as the barometer for public opinions by the audience. In particular, audiences whose opinions do not coincide with their perceived majority opinion tend to maintain their silence rather...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Howard journal of communications Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 129 - 141
Main Authors Lin, Carolyn A., Salwen, Michael B.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.1997
Subjects
controversial public issue
English Language
Language Usage
Mass Media Effects
Official English
Public Opinion
Social Problems
spiral of silence
United States of America
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Summary:The "spiral of silence"; hypothesis asserts that media presentations of social issues are often regarded as the barometer for public opinions by the audience. In particular, audiences whose opinions do not coincide with their perceived majority opinion tend to maintain their silence rather than speak out. The present study assesses how different types of perceived public opinion and media climates may affect the spiral of silence dynamic. The issue examined here involves public debate over whether the U.S. should declare English as the official language. Findings from 2 cities provide support for the silence spiral hypothesis.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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content type line 23
ISSN:1064-6175
1096-4649
DOI:10.1080/10646179709361747