Online Opinion Expression about Women Serving as Judges among University Students in Egypt and Kuwait: An Integrative Study of the Spiral of Silence and Uses and Gratifications

2021 ◽  
pp. 193124312110520
Author(s):  
Ali A. Al-Kandari ◽  
Edward Frederick ◽  
Mohammed M. Hasanen ◽  
Ali Dashti ◽  
Amal Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
University Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Social Utility ◽  
Spiral Of Silence ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
Opinion Expression ◽  
Integrative Study ◽  
The Spiral Of Silence

This study integrates the Spiral of Silence and Uses and Gratifications theories to examine the willingness of university students to express on Twitter their opinions about a controversial issue, women serving as judges in Kuwait and Egypt. The analysis of a survey of 640 respondents showed that they used Twitter for information seeking, opinion formation, opinion reinforcement, and social utility in discussions, and for its democratizing capability. Democratization was the only motive to predict the expression of opinion online. When the Kuwaiti and Egyptian samples were analyzed separately, the democratization motive predicted opinion expression for the Kuwaiti students but not for the Egyptian students. Interaction effects between motivations and size of the respondent's social network on Twitter were found to predict the online expression of opinion. For example, the variable assessing the size of a respondent's social network interacted with information seeking motivation and also with opinion reinforcement to predict opinion expression online.

scholarly journals Uses and Gratifications of Political Information: Student Perceptions of Information from the 2014 Tunisian Elections

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 36-44
Author(s):  
Steven D. Sheetz ◽  
Andrea Kavanaugh ◽  
Hamida Skandrani ◽  
Edward A. Fox
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Political Information ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Information Providers

People use diverse sources of information to obtain political information. We apply uses and gratifications theory (UGT) to illustrate how the use of different political information sources influences perceptions of information satisfaction related to the Tunisian elections of 2014. An online survey of 175 university students in Tunisia, with a 58% response rate. We use partial least squares structural equation modelling to test our research model of hypotheses relating content, process, and social gratifications to information satisfaction. We find that content, process, and social gratifications constructs combine to explain 41% of the variance in information satisfaction. Content gratification has the strongest influence (p=.505) followed by similar levels of influence of process (p=.163) and social (p=.140) gratifications. Social gratifications are partially mediated by process gratification. Limitations of our study include our online survey method and our sample of university students. However, our respondents experienced the uprising, the election campaigns, and voted in the elections, suggesting their perceptions are valid, if not generalisable to all of Tunisia. Practically our study suggests that individuals searching for political information should 1) determine how they’ll know information is accurate, 2) maximize the number of different activities for information-seeking rather than focusing on the frequency of a few activities, and 3) know that information sharing contributes to information satisfaction. The dominance of content gratifications, i.e., information reliability and accuracy, is important for information providers, such as, government and political leaders. Our study provides evidence that UGT is useful in the novel context of emerging political situations.

scholarly journals Are American’s Attitudes Toward GM Science Really Negative? An Academic Examination of Attitudes and Willingness to Expose Attitudes

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-131
Author(s):  
Taylor K. Ruth ◽  
Joy N. Rumble ◽  
Alexa J. Lamm ◽  
Traci Irani ◽  
Jason D. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Genetic Modification ◽  
Spiral Of Silence ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Spiral Of Silence ◽  
Insight Into

The purpose of this study was to reexamine attitudes toward GM (genetic modification) science and explore whether tenets of the historic spiral of silence theory still exist to explain attitudes and willingness to expose attitudes. A national survey of 1,050 U.S. residents revealed the majority of respondents had positive attitudes toward GM science; however, these respondents were no more willing to express their attitudes compared to those with neutral or negative attitudes. The findings from this study did not fully support the spiral of silence but provided insight into public opinion formation and measurement.

Spiral of Silence in Health and Risk Messaging

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherice Gearhart
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Spiral Of Silence ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Communication Environments ◽  
Opinion Expression ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Spiral Of Silence

The spiral of silence theory provides insight into the ways in which perceptions of public opinion can lead to changes in opinion expression behavior. Conceptualized in a political communication context, the central claim of the theory is that individuals’ fear of social isolation motivates them to continuously evaluate the climate of opinion through both experiences with the media and interpersonal communication. Upon assessment, individuals either find themselves in a situation where their opinion aligns with the majority or minority. Accordingly, those who find their opinion does not align with the dominant opinion are likely to conceal their opinions while those who find their opinion aligns with the majority are more likely to express them. Empirical research testing the spiral of silence theory has predominately focused on measurement of focal variables and methods of empirical testing. Advances have been made in regard to micro-level factors, such as creating universally applicable measures of psychological attributes. However, limited work has explored macro-level factors, such as appropriateness of issues, application to computer-mediated communication environments, and tools used to identify circumstances vulnerable to spiral of silence effects. Nonetheless, the practical value of the spiral of silence theory for health and risk communicators can be utilized by modifying campaign efforts to anticipate and counteract fluxes in public opinion.

The “Spiral of Silence” Revisited: A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between Perceptions of Opinion Support and Political Opinion Expression

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Matthes ◽  
Johannes Knoll ◽  
Christian von Sikorski
Keyword(s):  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Spiral Of Silence ◽  
Political Opinion ◽  
Climate Perception ◽  
Opinion Expression ◽  
Sample Characteristics ◽  
The Spiral Of Silence ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The key assumption of spiral of silence theory is that opinion climate perceptions affect political opinion expression. We meta-analyzed the strength of this relationship and clarified the impact of theoretically relevant moderators. Sixty-six studies collectively including more than 27,000 participants were located. We observed a significant positive relationship ( r = .10; Zr = .10) between opinion climate and opinion expression. This relationship was not weaker in online as compared with offline opinion expression environments. Also, the relationship did not vary by the number of the targets of opinion expression, the opinion of the targets, the opinion climate characteristics, and the design, measurement, and sample characteristics. The largest silencing effect ( r = .34), however, was observed when participants talk to their family, friends, or neighbors about obtrusive issues. Overall, our findings suggest that the relationship between opinion climate perception and political opinion expression is stronger and more robust than previously thought.

scholarly journals DIMENSIONALITY AND EFFECTS OF INFORMATION MOTIVATION ON USERS’ ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORK ADVERTISING ACCEPTANCE

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-187
Author(s):  
IMRAN ANWAR MIR
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Online Social Network ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Multidimensional Model ◽  
Uses And Gratifications Theory ◽  
Marketing Literature

ABSTRACT Social media has produced substantial changes in the communication landscape. Online social network sites (SNS) grew as a common platform for online social interaction. SNS firms generate revenue from the advertising appearing on SNS. Their survival depends on users’ approval of such social network advertising (SNA). Marketing literature indicates that users accept advertising if it is consistent with their motivations for using social media. Information seeking is the most recognized SNS motivation. Yet, research on evaluating the influence of SNS information motivation on users’ approval of SNA is scarce. Based on SNS uses and gratifications theory, this study proposes a multidimensional model that shows the influence of SNS information motivation on users’ approval of SNA.

scholarly journals Why so quiet? Exploring inhibition in digital public spaces

2021 ◽  
pp. 026732312110173
Author(s):  
Hilde Sakariassen ◽  
Irene Costera Meijer
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Impression Management ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
Spiral Of Silence ◽  
The Spiral Of Silence

Social network sites have been considered as important arenas for public debate, but as a large proportion of users do not actively participate, there is a need to further our understanding of a phenomenon as hidden, unnoticed and invisible as non-participation. We argue that inhibition is a valuable socio-psychological lens to study non-participation, usefully extending the conceptual framework of political communication regarding non-participation, and offering a more precise way of theorising the intent behind this apparent passivity. Using representative survey data collected in Norway in 2017 ( N = 2064), we first sensitise the multi-layered concept of inhibition through combining different dominant approaches: the spiral-of-silence theory, the harsh debate climate, political efficacy, and specific properties of social network sites related to identity and impression management. Second, we show that inhibition functions as an in-between concept balancing participation and non-participation in social network sites. Through factor analysis principal component factor (PCF), we integrate established theories that allow us to define overarching dimensions of inhibition, demonstrating that it is a complex phenomenon not easily understood through one specific theoretical perspective.

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