Fear of Isolation Triggers Motivated Perceptions of Consensus
Author(s)
Morrison, Kimberly Rios
Abstract
Based on assumptions from spiral of silence theory and social psychological research, two surveys tested whether fear of isolation would motivate people to perceive higher levels of consensus for their opinions, perhaps through biased exposure to the opinions of similar others. Study 1 demonstrated that participants with a high fear of isolation had greater estimates of consensus than did participants with a low fear of isolation, particularly if they reported that the issue of naturalization was important to them personally. Study 2, in addition to replicating the findings from Study 1, indicated that the relationship between fear of isolation, importance, and perceived consensus was partially mediated by attention to opinion climate. Implications of fear of isolation and issue importance, as well as mechanisms behind consensus estimates, are discussed.
IssueNo
Pages
1-34
Article
Article Not Available
Source
The Ohio State University, School of Communication
