Communication Theory paper
Spiral of Silence theory

Brown. Sharon
Public Speaking

Spiral of Silence Theory I will be informing you about The Spiral of silence theory which describes the process by which one opinion becomes dominant because those who recognize their opinion to be in the minority are less likely to speak up out of fear of isolation. The debt of one's social environment may not always be correct with reality. First I will discuss the history of the Spiral of Silence theory, second I will explain a real life scenario relating to the theory, third I will apply the theory to my scenario and lastly I will conclude. I will be explaining theory spiral of silence It explains the creation of social norms at both the micro and macro level. "As a micro-theory, the spiral of silence inspects outlook expression, monitoring for people's trends like fear of separation, and also demographic variables that have been shown to influence people's will to publicly express opinions on issues, such as agricultural biotechnology.”(Neumann, 1984) “The spiral of silence occurs on a macro level if more and more members of the apparent minority fall silent. This is when public observations of the opinion of the environment begin to shift.” (Neumann, 1984) “In other words, a person's individual refusal to express his or her opinion, simply based on views of what everyone else thinks, has important moments at the social level. As one opinion gains the attention of the majority, the minority faces threat and fear of isolation from society.” (2013,Spiral of Silence Theory) As the opinion gains drive by the majority, the minority continues to be threatened and falls deeper into their silence. It remains until the minority no longer speaks out against it, and the opinion of the supposed majority ultimately becomes a social norm. (2013,Spiral of Silence Theory) The Spiral of Silence theory is key to the silent treatment its describe as an active process also the predication about public opinion in mass media which provides more coverage for the majorities in the society and gives very less coverage for minorities. (Neumann, 1984) In this social atmosphere, People have fear of refusal to direct their opinion or views and they know well what behaviors will make a better likelihood. It’s called “fear of Isolation”. Occasionally the minorities take away their spoken opinion from public debates to secure themselves from the majority. The Spiral of silence is very useful to smearing in states when trying to explain why people cover up or change their opinions. Well my situation was something personal I really didn’t want to share but since I’m older now and over it its like connects to the spiral of silence. One day when I was in the lunch room at school. I had just gotten my food from the lunch line. I placed my food tray down and started to sit next this girl in my grade. I have never had a problem with her that I know of. If I passed her in the hallway, I would always say hi. When I sat down, she immediately got up and moved like I was contagious or smelled. She was considered one of the “popular girls” in my grade, but I was still surprised she would be unnecessarily mean. The other girls sitting at nearby tables saw the incident and started to giggle and whisper looking at me. The popular girl didn’t say anything to my face, but she didn’t really need to her actions said it all. She was silently sending us all a message that she was too cool to sit with me. Her intentions of hurting me and elevating herself were clear. Also, when she sat down next to the other girls, they all whispered and giggled together while still looking at me. It doesn’t matter what type of bullying it is it always really hurts. Mission accomplished for the silent bully in the lunchroom. I went home and talked about it with my mom and dad because I was confused I never did anything to