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Spiral of Silence

Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's theory: People with minority opinions become silent when they perceive they're outnumbered, amplifying majority dominance even when opinions are initially balanced.

Vocal A
0%
Vocal B
0%
Silent
0%
Dominance
Even

How Silence Spirals

Each person has a private opinion (A or B). They become silent if their local environment shows strong support for the opposing view.

Bright: Vocally expressing opinion
Dark: Silent (self-censoring)
Red vs Blue: Opinion A vs B

High pressure → Minority quickly silenced!