Spiral of Silence Survey

The spiral of silence survey operationalizes Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's 1974 theory that people who perceive their opinion to be in the minority grow reluctant to express it for fear of social isolation, which makes the apparent majority seem ever stronger — a self-reinforcing spiral. The method measures individuals' own opinions, their perception of the opinion climate, their fear of isolation, and their willingness to speak out, then models how these combine.