The “Spiral of Silence” Revisited: A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between Perceptions of Opinion Support and Political Opinion Expression
Abstract
The key assumption of spiral of silence theory is that opinion climate perceptions affect political opinion expression. We meta-analyzed the strength of this relationship and clarified the impact of theoretically relevant moderators. Sixty-six studies collectively including more than 27,000 participants were located. We observed a significant positive relationship ( r = .10; Zr = .10) between opinion climate and opinion expression. This relationship was not weaker in online as compared with offline opinion expression environments. Also, the relationship did not vary by the number of the targets of opinion expression, the opinion of the targets, the opinion climate characteristics, and the design, measurement, and sample characteristics. The largest silencing effect ( r = .34), however, was observed when participants talk to their family, friends, or neighbors about obtrusive issues. Overall, our findings suggest that the relationship between opinion climate perception and political opinion expression is stronger and more robust than previously thought.
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Detrimental associations between digital media and political expression relate to the 'spiral of silence' idea.
“These detrimental associations relate to the ‘spiral of silence’ idea, that is, the notion that people’s willingness to express their political opinions online depends on the perceived popularity of their opinions (see relevant overview articles53,54).”
From A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy (2022) · cites this paper as [54]
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- Authors
- Matthes, J., Knoll, J., & von Sikorski, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Vienna (AT)
- University of Vienna, Austria
- Corresponding author
- Matthes, Jörg
- ORCID
- Matthes, Jörg
- Venue
- Communication Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-12-12
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-33
- ISSN
- 0093-6502 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-3810
- OpenAlex
- W2775519233
- Cited by
- 269
- References
- 104
- Citations by year
- 2026: 43 · 2025: 58 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 5
- FWCI
- 30.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Communication Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media Studies and Communication
- Social Sciences › Communication › Social Media and Politics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Keywords
- spiral of silence, interpersonal communication, political communication
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