People who sense their view is in the minority fall silent, making it appear rarer than it is.
Noelle-Neumann's 1974 theory. The mechanism is a feedback loop: perceived minorities fall silent, which shrinks the perceived support further, which silences more.
In practice
- A staff survey finds 60% opposed to a change that nobody objected to at any of the four consultation meetings.
- A team meeting where the first two speakers agree produces apparent unanimity, and the four dissenters each conclude they are alone.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Communication & Media
- Essay
- Theories of what stands between an event and its audience