REFERENCE GROUP INFLUENCE ON OPINION EXPRESSION

This study investigates the role of reference groups in individual willingness for personal xpression, within the context of the Spiral of Silence theory. Reference group research as found important influences on individual opinion and behavior due to reference roup behavior. Individuals commonly and spontaneously consider referent others′ positions when making personal decisions. This interpersonal influence on individual behavior is missing from most research, if not theory, on public opinion, as in the case of the Spiral of Silence theory, where researchers have emphasized only strong mass mediated societal or intra-individual sources of social influence. The individual is often treated as if in social isolation, bereft of friendship and ommunity ties, open to the influences of societal forces. Reviews of the Spiral of Silence esearch in particular, and of public opinion research more generally, have urged the investigation of groups as important intermediaries in social influence settings. In this study, societal majority influence was compared to referent other majority nfluence in an experimental setting. Overall, when reference and societal majority opinions are made equally salient, the more important influence is clearly that of one′s reference group. Individuals with extreme opinions, however, seem altogether unaffected by social influence. Results and alternative explanations are discussed.