Spiral Models of Media Effects

History

Findings regarding the effects of media on belief reinforcement and selective exposure date back at least to classic work in the 1950s on political campaigns by Bernard Berelson, Paul Lazarsfeld, and colleagues, upon which Klapper built his argument. Since this time, scholars such as Vincent Price, William Eveland, and their colleagues have argued that media exposure may lead to additional information seeking, even selective choice of media content, which can reinforce political media effects. Jane Brown asserted the same relationship in regard to sexual content on young people.

The most important predecessor of contemporary spiral models, however, is Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's spiral of silence theory. This theory, in brief, argues that many individuals—even a majority—may hold political and social views inconsistent with what is considered generally normatively acceptable and portrayed as such in the mass media. As a result, this theory proposes, these individuals hesitate to express their views publicly and never learn that their views are in fact widespread, resulting in the dominance of certain public opinions despite widespread private disagreement.

Spiral of silence proposes an unusual special case: When it is not possible to find media content consistent with one's views, the ability to develop a shared social identity with the potential for impact on the larger society is inhibited. However, in the era of cable television, specialty magazine publication, and most importantly, the Internet, the requirements for a uniform media environment may rarely be met. Processes suppressing individual expression like the one proposed in the spiral of silence, then, may most likely be found at present in authoritarian societies with highly restricted access to alternative information sources. However, the important technical contributions of spiral of silence theory to subsequent theorizing—notably, a focus on longitudinal process, the interplay of mediated and interpersonal communication, the [Page 925]social impacts of psychological processes, and recurring influences that tend to strengthen or weaken effects—should be acknowledged, whatever one's assessment of the specific hypotheses of the theory. Moreover, the theory underscores the central importance of access (or lack thereof) to media content that reflects one's beliefs and values in the construction and maintenance of ideology and social identity and in facilitating interpersonal communication.

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