Editor's note |
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Authors: | Yonah Alexander Editor‐in‐Chief |
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Affiliation: | 1. Vice‐President, International Communication Association;2. Member, American Political Science Association;3. Chair, Political Communication Section of the American Political Science Association |
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Abstract: | This study applies Elisabeth Noelle‐Neumann's spiral of silence theory to the controversial issue of whether children with AIDS should be allowed to attend public school. The study tests the theory's hypotheses in light of two content analyses of the media's treatment of the issue. The findings offer tentative and qualified support for Noelle‐Neumann's theoretical propositions about the relationship between individuals' perceptions of the issue and the media's tenor of the issue; particularly that of television. The findings suggest the need to address the role of other agents of influence, including reference groups, and to use time‐based data to unravel the causal order of the relationships. |
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Keywords: | Assessment of majority opinion conformity hypothesis fear of isolation hypothesis looking glass hypothesis media effects pluralistic ignorance projection hypothesis public opinion and AIDS spiral of silence |
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