Preview

Spiral of Silence

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1520 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Spiral of Silence
Name: Edmund Marcio Lugao
Diploma in Mass Communication
Subject: Communication Theory

Introduction:

I do not like V-neck but I am a Gay and what say you? I do not use handbags similar to those used by women and what say you? “Gay men have muscular bodies and like to show off by wearing V-neck and sleeveless clothes. They prefer tight and light coloured clothing. They like to carry big handbags similar to those used by women and so on.” In a seminar in Penang on Sunday,
Sep 16, 2012, Deputy Education Minister Mohd Puad Zarkashi said not many people understood or knew the early "symptoms" of homosexuality, bisexuality and transgender inclinations to prevent its spread. The Malaysian Government Education Minister has endorsed a list of the identifiable gay and lesbian guideline for the schools and parents to prevent the spread of what it perceives as a phenomenon among teenagers, especially students. In that seminar, the majority of the audience are teachers. In that situation, are them practicing the Spiral of Silence?

Content:

We will always choose to remain silence if someone evaluate their views fall in the minority.
According to Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann (1916 – 2010) (Appendix I) “Spiral of Silence” been introduced as an attempt to explain in part how public opinion is formed. She wondered why the
Germans supported wrong political positions that led to national defeat, humiliation and ruin in the
1930s-1940s. The description of Spiral of Silence is audience will be unwilling to publicly express their opinion if they believe they are in the minority. They will also be more vocal if they believe they are a part of the majority. Thus, the more marginalized you become, the less you speak and so spiral into a fully marginal position. This works because we fear social rejection. and that when a person appears to be rejected, others will back away from them, fearing being rejected because they associate with the rejected person. It also



References: 2) The Graduand Google Blog. Spot (©2008) (http://thegraduand.blogspot.com/2008/04/spiral-of-silence-theory-elisabeth.html) 3) Spiral of Silence Theory. Changing Minds.org (©2012) (http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/spirals_silence.htm) 4) Noelle-Neumann, E. (©1984). The Spiral of Silence. University of Chicago, Chicago (http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/spirals_silence.htm) 5) Noelle-Neumann, E. (©1984). A First Look at Communication Theory - Spiral of Silence 7th Edition

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    “I’m more oppressed than you” only leads to competition for attention, resources, and theoretical supremacy.…

    • 5658 Words
    • 23 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nationalism was an important and integral factor in the downfall of the Weimar Republic and in turn, the ensuing failure of democracy in Germany in the period 1918-1934. The sense of loyalty and devotion to ones nation, which the German citizens had felt in their militaristic past, was ultimately devastated by WWI and its consequences. Although nationalism was a major cause of the failure of democracy in Germany, there were many other factors adding to the stress upon the countrys government at this time. This included the Treaty of Versailles, the Reparations Bill, the occupation of the Ruhr and hyperinflation. Several attempts to install nationalistic beliefs back in the government occurred, the most important of these being the Kapp Putsch by the right-wing nationalists and the Beer Hall Putsch by the right-wing Nazi party. The disillusionment felt by the people and their need to restore pride in their nation influenced many factors that led to the failure of democracy, and to the rise of the Nazi political party and its leader Adolf Hitler.…

    • 1837 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Individual rights are more important than the wishes of the majority. I think that the majority has a point, because this is a democracy. It is based on the majority vote. This country is not based on what a single person wants.…

    • 311 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Miranda V. Arizona

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The majority does not perform the greatest ability to protect all members of a society. In the case of Miranda v Arizona, the courts had to decide whether or not a man was deprived of his freedoms while in police custody. Basically Miranda v Arizona completely changed the way police apprehend and interrogate suspects. However it was not only Miranda, but many other instances where the majority has not protected all minorities. Vignera v New York was another similar instance where a suspect was forced to sign statements and an inculpatory statement, while being questioned by police, without knowing he was entitled to legal representation. In California v Stewart, local police held and interrogated the defendant for 5 days,…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    majority and that “A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority” (Thoreau 231) are…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    com worksheet

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Match the communication theories with their descriptions by placing the letter of the description in the blank.…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Public opinion is made from what we hear on the news and what we read in the newspaper.…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    • Marginalised - This is when people do not feel they are not part of society for example,…

    • 2194 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sound of Silence

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages

    From the darkness (my old friend) onwards it carries that theme and loneliness along. "In restless dreams I walked ALONE"…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Going against the majority, and or against what is expected of one by society, is not an easy task. For example, “when the Millikin University football team decided to protest the national anthem by remaining inside the locker room - instead of on the sidelines… Connor [Brewer] chose to stand - alone” (Starnes 1). Going against the majority means that you will have to stand alone, sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally. To stand alone…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Being a minority is a very difficult task anywhere but it becomes an even more difficult task for a person who lives in a country that is going into a depression and wants someone to blame. There is going to be a lot of…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Beyond Silence

    • 1350 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Lara is the daughter of Martin and Kai, a couple whom are both deaf and rely heavily on their hearing daughter to navigate through their daily lives. She translates television for her mother and even translates at her own parent- teacher conference (quite favorably to herself). When her little sister Marie is born, the responsibility of communicating spoken word falls into Lara's lap as well. With her constant efforts to link the worlds of the hearing and the deaf, she falls behind classmates in her reading skills which leads to constant taunting from her peers. Although being very level headed and mature beyond her years, Lara finds mischief throughout her young life.…

    • 1350 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Public opinion holds an essential role in society. It mediates and accommodates social integration and social change. As a normative force it nurtures integration and stability. As a mechanism of aggregate foresight it paves the way to social and political change. Public opinion is thus a multidimensional phenomenon. In addition to its evaluative attitudinal fact, it comprises a strong normative component, a prospective informational one, and an expressive behavioral element (Shamir & Shamir, 2000). A fuller understanding of public opinion thus entails not only the tracking of the majority opinion, but also of the normative opinion - the opinion perceived to be the majority opinion. Similarly important are people’s expectations of future events and developments, as well as overt verbal symbolic and behavioral expressions of opinion.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    stares them in the face and they can't see it. Their selfishness and fear is…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    communication

    • 1638 Words
    • 5 Pages

    that communication is the understanding not of the visible but of the invisible and hidden.…

    • 1638 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays