Social Capital and the Spiral of Silence

This study explores the role of social capital in the spiral of silence process and investigates whether (1) individual-level indicators of social capital are associated with willingness to express opinions, (2) individual-level indicators of social capital are associated with the perception that others support one’s opinions, and (3) perceived support for one’s opinions mediates the proposed relationship between individual-level social capital and willingness to express opinions. Three commonly examined individual-level indicators of social capital were analyzed—civic engagement, trust, and neighborliness. Results of a representative survey conducted on Guam showed that civic engagement had a direct effect on willingness to express opinions. Neighborliness and trust had direct positive effects on perceived support for one’s opinions, which in turn, were positively related to willingness to express opinions. Implications were discussed. It was over four decades ago when Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann first introduced public opinion researchers to the spiral of silence theory. A key proposition of this theory is that a positive relationship exists between citizens’ perception that the majority supports their opinions and their willingness to express those opinions (Noelle-Neumann, 1974). This key proposition has been supported by various studies for a wide range of issues (e.g., Glynn & McLeod, 1984; Gozenbach & Stevenson, 1994; Scheufele, 1999). However, two meta-analyses have shown the relationship between perceived support for one’s opinions and All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Francis Dalisay, PhD, School of Communication, College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Cleveland State University, MU 233, Cleveland, OH, USA. E-mail: [email protected]. by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from by gest on Sptem er 7, 2013 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from outspokenness to be weak at best (Glynn, Hayes, & Shanahan, 1997; Shanahan, Glynn, & Hayes, 2007). This has increased skepticism regarding the key proposition of the spiral of silence and stimulated a renewed interest in augmenting the theory. As a result, researchers have shifted their focus to other variables that might affect outspokenness—which include, among others, one’s interest in politics (Kim, Han, Shanahan, & Berdayes, 2004), attention to news (Lee, 2007), efficacy (Huang, 2005), communication apprehension (Neuwirth, Frederick, & Mayo, 2007), willingness to self-censor (Hayes, Glynn, & Shanahan, 2005), and dispositional fear of isolation (Matthes, Hayes, & Shen, 2009). In the backdrop of the growing body of spiral of silence research, recent studies have established social capital as a variable that enables citizens to develop norms of trust and reciprocity, which are necessary for successful engagement in collective activities (see Putnam, 2000). For example, research shows that social capital is associated with higher levels of political participation (e.g., La Due Lake & Huckfeldt, 1998). Despite the growing literature on social capital, few studies have examined whether it serves as an antecedent of political outspokenness. Research on social capital is important because social factors beyond one’s assessment of public opinion may affect individuals’ willingness to express opinions. Scholars have criticized the spiral of silence for treating the individual as socially isolated, and failing to account for affiliation in social groups (Kennamer, 1990; Oshagan, 1996). Oshagan (1996), for instance, found that individuals rely on reference groups to assess the climate of opinion. Individuals are likely to express opinions when their opinions align with those of their reference groups, and less likely to do so when they do not. The present study argues that social ties are essential when examining the spiral of silence process. Given that extant research suggests social capital facilitates political participation (La Due Lake & Huckfeldt, 1998), and that people tend to seek out others who agree with their opinions (McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Cook, 2001), which ultimately reduces diversity in their social networks (Portes, 1998), we expect individual-level indicators of social capital to play an important role in the spiral of silence. Specifically, our study analyzes three commonly examined individual-level social capital indicators—civic engagement, trust, and neighborliness (e.g., Beaudoin & Thorson, 2004; Beaudoin, 2007; Brehm & Rahn, 1997; Shah, 1998)—and their relationships with willingness to express opinions and perceived support for one’s opinions. We argue that greater social capital is related to a greater willingness to express opinions and higher levels of perceived support for one’s opinions. Furthermore, we examine a mediation model whereby perceived support for one’s opinions is hypothesized to transfer the prior effect of social capital on willingness to express opinions. I N T E R N A T I O N A L J O U R N A L O F P U B L I C O P I N I O N R E S E A R C H 326