Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann Research Articles

Facebook and the Spiral of Silence: Examining the Social Media Dynamics among Female Students in Pakistan

The aim of this study is to investigate the way in which female Facebook users engage in political discourse, aligning its inquiry with Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's seminal Spiral of Silence theory (1974). Focusing on key variables like participants' perceived opinion climate, willingness to express opinions, fear of social isolation, the research explores the dynamics within two distinct Facebook audience compositions: the expansive macro climate and the intimate micro-climate. The former encompasses a diverse range of connections, from old friends to online communities, while the latter involves daily interactions with friends, family, and significant others. Survey data (quantitative analysis) has been collected targeting university students in the federal capital and Rawalpindi. This study corroborates earlier findings, affirming the presence of the Spiral of Silence phenomenon on Facebook. Notably, it reveals that Pakistani women who use Facebook are more likely to express themselves in micro groups with friends and relatives compared to macro-Facebook communities with lots of individuals. The study confirmed that fear of isolation has a major impact on opinion expression in macro circles, and that opinion climate evaluation is significant for both circles.

The Meaning of Silence and its Functions in Politics

This study deals with one of the essential topics in English linguistics and politics silence, which plays a significant role in politics given the numerous functions it serves. Particularly, it examines and analyses the meaning and function of silence of some well-known current politicians, namely former US presidents, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The rationale behind this choice stems from that these political figures tend to have silent pauses for particular purposes such as disagreement, and insulting. Drawing on Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's "Spiral of Silence" paradigm and van Dijk's Critical Discourse Analysis, this study also seeks to answer the following main question: what types of silence can be deduced from former US presidents and how can we explain silence from this and other perspectives. It also reviews the interpretation of silence in different contexts and discusses the functions and types of this concept. Results this study has obtained from analysing the data show that silence can showcase a range of categories of communicative functions. This study presents evidence for a number of functions that can be conveyed by the use of silence in speech in political discourse. These include face-saving, affecting, evaluating and linking. Results also suggest that since speakers (politicians) do not identify specific victims by name, they may want to achieve victim equity. This is due to the possibility that bringing up a certain name could bring up issues related to race, religion, politics, etc. Additionally, a speaker could appear depressed while attempting to avoid mentioning the name of a certain family member. As a result, that family’s sorrow can deepen.

A Study Of Naqsh Faryadi In The Context Of "Spiral Of Silence Theory"

The spiral of silence theory is a political science theory proposed by the German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. According to the spiral of silence theory, individuals will be more confident and outward with their opinion when they notice that their personal opinion is shared throughout a group. But if the individual notices that their opinion is unpopular with the group they will be more inclined to be reserved and remain silent. During the mid-20th century, there was a series of social oppressions everywhere in the subcontinent which resulted in a terrible culture of silence, During this turbulent time Faiz Ahmad Faiz a renovated urdu poet joined The Indian progressive writer’s movement and gradually started raising his voice against social oppression, In his poetry different gradations can be observed in this regard, This article will present an in-depth analysis of these graduations under the light of upper mentioned socio-political theory.

Challenge of the spiral-of-silence theory

This article describes the state-of-the-art of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's theory of the dynamics of public opinion processes called the "spiral-of-allence-theory". The theory comprises several single hypotheses which relate to different fields of social sciences behavioral and attitudinal psychology, communication research and social theory. Its core assumption is the hypothesis that in dividuals have a fear of isolating themselves in public situations and thus tend not to ex claim their own opinions when they perceive the majority of their fellow citizens to hold the opposite point of view. Noelle-Neumann's ap proach has been discussed and criticised by scholars from different fields. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence up to now seems to underline that it has the potential to explain some of the variance in individual behaviour and in the dynamics of public opinion pro-V cesses.

Opinion expression on hazing: has the Spiral of Silence reached the Portuguese higher education?

ABSTRACT Previous studies have associated initiation practices, also known as hazing, with conformity, fear, apprehension, anxiety, submission, coercion, desire for group integration, and acceptance. Therefore, students undergo several types of influences or pressures. We argue that the social environment surrounding the hazing in Portuguese universities has all the conditions to raise a spiral of silence. We tested and confirmed Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann’s Spiral of Silence theory. Our empirical analysis is based on questionnaires to a sample of 350 students from two Portuguese institutions. We addressed several additional relevant variables, namely ones derived from the Theory of Planned Behaviour, and Communication Apprehension. Our results show that students who are against hazing and perceive a majority opinion in favour are less likely to express their opinions. We were also able to identify some identifying features of the avant-gardes: the minority that challenges the status quo. These are students who show a willingness to communicate, pay attention to the media, and come from families with higher educational backgrounds. We argue that top-down public policies about hazing are likely to fail. It will be better, in a bottom-up approach, to identify and support the avant-gardes

Spiral Of Silence Theory Versus Perkembangan Masyarakat Suatu Penjelasan dan Kritik Teori

<p><em>Spiral of Silence Theory</em> (Teori Spiral Keheningan) yang dikemukakan oleh Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann mengisyaratkan adanya keengganan seseorang untuk mengemukakan pendapatnya yang mungkin tidak sama dengan pendapat dari kebanyakan orang. Dalam perjalanan waktu, teori ini secara terus menerus mengalami proses pengujian pada saat teori tersebut digunakan oleh kalangan akademisi maupun masyarakat umum untuk menerangkan, meramalkan, menjelaskan fenomena komunikasi yang terus berkembang dan bervariasi. Seiring dengan kemajuan teknologi komunikasi dan informasi serta munculnya berbagai macam bentuk media baru telah berdampak kepada semakin meningkatnya keberanian orang dalam mengemukakan pendapatnya yang berbeda dengan pendapat dari kebanyakan orang. Dalam kondisi ini, Teori Spiral Keheningan ini tidak mampu secara lengkap dan akurat menjelaskan fenomena komunikasi yang menjadi perhatiannya. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa teori tersebut memiliki keterbatasan dalam menjelaskan fenomena. Kelemahan ini menjadi pembuka jalan bagi para ahli untuk melahirkan pemikiran baru dalam melakukan modifikasi teori maupun melahirkan teori baru. Teori yang tidak dapat lagi menjelaskan fenomena secara lengkap akan merubah teori tersebut menjadi sebuah asumsi saja.</p>

Trump: mídia, opinião pública e a espiral do silêncio

Após o desfecho de uma eleição presidencial histórica que consagrou Donald Trump como 45º presidente dos Estados Unidos, muitos cientistas políticos voltaram a analisar toda a trajetória da candidatura dos presidenciáveis para entender o que levou as pesquisas de opinião a apontarem um resultado diferente. Nesse sentido, esse trabalho busca explorar os acontecimentos desse pleito desde o lançamento das candidaturas nas primarias, sob a ótica da teoria da espiral do silêncio da Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann e conceitos adjacentes, buscando interpolar o papel da mídia, o perfil do eleitorado e a influência desses fatores na opinião pública desta eleição.

Communication Studies as Social Science: trajectories of the evolvement and institutionalization of the socio-scientific paradigm in German Communication Studies, 1960s – 1980s

The article focuses on the processes of the founding of German Communication Studies as social science from the 1960s to the 1980s. At the beginning of the 1960s, German “Publizistikwissenschaft”; was a discipline on the edge. It suffered from an acute lack of academic staff as well as methodological and theoretical innovations. Therefore, the discipline was no longer supported by German higher education politics. The eventual rescue of the discipline came from outside. The extension of the cognitive identity of “Publizistikwissenschaft”; towards empirical socio-scientific communication studies was initiated by career changers and outsiders with more awareness for the need of modern social sciences. In the 1960s, Fritz Eberhard, Gerhard Maletzke, Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, Henk Prakke, Otto B. Roegele and others initiated a debate about the redefinition of the discipline’s subject, including empirical methods and sociological theories. Thus, they induced an empirical turn of the discipline and prepared the institutionalization of the socio-scientific paradigm in German Communication Studies in the 1970s and 1980s.

Partial retraction notice

The following article has been partially retracted and a previously published electronic version has been removed for legal reasons at the request of Dr Ralph Erich Schmidt. If you have a concern about this, please contact SAGE. Splichal S (2015) Legacy of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann: The spiral of silence and other controversies. European Journal of Communication 30 (3): 353–363. doi: 10.1177/0267323115589265 The retracted part of Slavko Splichal’s article reviewed Jörg Becker’s biography of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. Since this biography was published in Germany in 2013, Jörg Becker has retracted a series of statements in the legally binding form of cease-and-desist declarations subject to penalty.

Expression of Concern

The Journal Editor(s) hereby issue an expression of concern for the following review article: “Legacy of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann: The spiral of silence and other controversies” by Slavko Splichal, European Journal of Communication, 2015, Vol. 30(3), 353–363. DOI: 10.1177/0267323115589265 . An investigation is currently in process in relation to this article in response to a threat of legal action submitted to the European Journal of Communication in which it is claimed that the article contains false allegations and defamatory statements. These claims do not reflect the views of the editors of European Journal of Communication who remain fully confident of the integrity and expertise of Professor Splichal. The journal is committed to publishing ethical works of high integrity. This relies on all those involved behaving ethically. Authors, reviewers, editors and interested readers should consult the ethics section of SAGE and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) website for guidelines on publication ethics. SAGE Publications is committed to defending our authors’ rights to express their opinions.

Partial retraction: Legacy of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann: The spiral of silence and other controversies

The following article has been partially retracted and a previously published electronic version has been removed for legal reasons at the request of Dr Ralph Erich Schmidt. If you have a concern about this, please contact SAGE. Splichal S (2015) Legacy of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann: The spiral of silence and other controversies. European Journal of Communication 30 (3): 353-363. doi: 10.1177/0267323115589265 The retracted part of Slavko Splichal’s article reviewed Jörg Becker’s biography of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. Since this biography was published in Germany in 2013, Jörg Becker has retracted a series of statements in the legally binding form of cease-and-desist declarations subject to penalty.

Opinion Formation in an Open System and the Spiral of Silence

A new model is formulated of the sociological effect of the spiral of silence, introduced by Elisabeth NoelleNeumann in 1974. The probability that a new opinion is openly expressed decreases with the difference between this new opinion and the perceived opinion of the majority. We also assume that the system is open, i.e. some people enter and some leave during the process of the opinion formation. An influence of a leader is simulated by a comparison of two runs of the simulation, where the leader has different opinion in each run. The difference of the mean expressed opinions in these two runs persists long after the leader’s leave.

Enlightenment of “The Spiral of Silence” Theory to Enterprise Crisis Management

formation of network society multiplies crisis spreading of enterprises, so crisis management in network times has become a significant task for enterprises to discover and study. Herein we claim The Spiral of Silence Theory continues to play a role in network spreading, which provides enterprise crisis management with a new perspective. th Century, as excellent representation of high technology international network and information high way provide people with capacious space for production, living and activity, and our society gradually steps into network society. Modern enterprises have to bear crisis consciousness, i.e. think of danger in times of peace and prepare for a rainy day, in mind and sufficiently consider and emphasize enterprise crisis management in order to win business competition. We propose in this paper that The Spiral of Silence Theory provides enterprise crisis management with a new perspective. 1. Brief Introduction of The Spiral of Silence Theory The Spiral of Silence was primarily shown in the paper published on Journal of Communication Research by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, German sociologist, in 1974. She generalized this theory comprehensively in the book The Spiral of Silence: Public Opinion—Our Social Skin published in 1980. This theory is based on the following case. Allensbach Research Institution of Germany made a study in 1965 on the coming national selection. During the research process, the two Parties always run neck and neck in the selection. first estimate result showed the two Parties both have opportunity to win. However 6 months later, i.e. 2 months before the selection, the winning possibility of the Christianity Democracy Party to the other Party is 4:1. last 2 weeks before the selection, the Christianity Democracy Party won 4% of votes, but the Society Democracy Party lost 5% of that. In the selection of the same year, the Christianity Democracy Party won finally leading with 9% over the other one. concept of the spiral of came from the confusion brought by this selection, and scholars have been trying to interpret it. basis idea could be described as follows: Avoid social punishment due to isolation. People tend to observe surrounding before pointing out an idea. A person is likely to an opinion boldly and actively if one feels that one is in the or opinions; while he is likely to turn to be silent or echo due to environmental pressure if one feels that one is in the minority or opinions. emphasized by public media are underground and spread widely, so they are easily perceived as or opinions. During the spiral expanding of silence of disadvantageous opinions and voice of advantageous opinions, advantageous majority opinions in social life—consensus, comes into being. Neumann proposed a hypothesis: most of individuals will choose public media opinion to avoid isolation from holding particular attitude and belief. One is not willing to his own opinion for fear of isolation. Actually this cognition almost exists in everyone's mind both in western and eastern society, especially for the Chinese people experiencing Culture Revolution. However Professor Neumann caught this phenomenon and proposed hypothesis: dominant and increasingly supported are more advantageous, while the opposite side tends to lose step by step. Thus, the situation of one party with but the other with turns out to be a spiral process which constantly establishes main opinion from one opinion. If public media participate in this process, the spiral will be formed more quickly and obviously. Neumann claimed not until 18 th

In Memoriam: Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann

Journal Article In Memoriam: Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann Get access International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Volume 22, Issue 2, Summer 2010, Pages 151–152, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edq011 Published: 28 May 2010

Espiral do silêncio

One of the most important and curious lines of the so-called field of research in communication has been developed since 1972 by the German Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. Born in 1916, Noelle-Neumann specialized in Demoscopy in 1940. Demoscopy is a term not yet worded except in specialized works. It is a composite: demos (people) + copy (literal translation), which means researching the opinion of the public to make it known. Put another way, the demoscopy is the research of public opinion under scientific organization.

German Publizistikwissenschaft and its Shift from a Humanistic to an Empirical Social Scientific Discipline

German mass communication research today describes itself as an empirical social scientific discipline, but it has not always been so defined. For several decades Publizistikwissenschaft had considered itself as one of the humanities. But at the beginning of the 1960s, a scientific debate started about the discipline’s subjects, its methods and tasks. The forum for this debate was in the scholarly journal Publizistik. This article identifies the arguments and rhetorical repertoires employed by two scholars from opposite sides of the debate, Emil Dovifat and Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, to convince the scientific community to side respectively with either the social science or the humanities camp. It is shown that an array of arguments were utilized, from the political meanings and ethical aspects of media, to epistemological reasoning. Furthermore, it is surprising to see how dramatic and emotional the rhetorical repertoires were. The article also presents the biographical, historical and political context of the development of Germany’s Publizistikwissenschaft.

Editorial

Journal Article Editorial Get access Wolfgang Donsbach, Wolfgang Donsbach Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Seymour Martin Lipset, Seymour Martin Lipset Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Michael W. Traugott, Michael W. Traugott Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Robert M. Worcester Robert M. Worcester Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Volume 16, Issue 2, June 2004, Pages 113–114, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/16.2.113 Published: 01 June 2004

The Political Relevance of Social Research

Journal Article The Political Relevance of Social Research Get access Wolfgang Donsbach, Wolfgang Donsbach Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Seymour Martin Lipset, Seymour Martin Lipset Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Robert M. Worcester Robert M. Worcester Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Volume 15, Issue 3, September 2003, Pages 237–238, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/15.3.237 Published: 01 September 2003

Homosexuals and the Military: An Analysis of the Spiral of Silence

This study examines Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's spiral of silence theory in terms of the controversial issue of whether homosexuals should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military. The study tests the theory's hypotheses in light of a content analysis of the media's treatment of the issue. The findings offer tentative and qualified support for Noelle-Neumann's theoretical propositions about the relationship between individuals' perceptions of the issue and the media's tenor of the issue. The study departs from previous research by examining the influence of the media at different stages in the spiral of silence model. Results suggest that the mass media may have separate but similar effects on perceptions of majority opinion and personal opinions. Results further reveal that, in certain situations, individuals who feel that their position is beginning to lose public support may feel compelled to voice their opinions.

Political correctness and academic principles: a reply to Simpson

The author discusses Christopher Simpson's (1996) article, “Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's ‘Spiral of Silence’ and the Historical Context of Communication Theory.” He questions the relevance of biographical data for the evaluation of scientific theories and methods, and analyzes the rhetorical structure of Simpson's arguments. He concludes that Simpson's claims about the influence of Noelle's biography on her scholarly work are not grounded in evidence.