ACTUAL AND PERCEIVED UNITED-STATES PUBLIC-OPINION - THE SPIRAL OF SILENCE DURING THE PERSIAN-GULF-WAR

This study analyzes actual and perceived support for the Persian Gulf War in the United States. Data were collected from 292 residents of Ne w Castle County, Delaware, during the 1991 Gulf War. Results show that support for the war was not the strong consensus reported in mainstre am media. In fact, 53.1 percent of the respondents fell within the neu tral, disagree, or strongly disagree ranges of a support for the war s cale. Only 6.6 percent of the respondents were in the strong support r ange. However, responses were significantly higher on an item measurin g perceived support for the war. Consistent with Noelle-Neumann's spir al of silence theory, perceived public support for the war was a signi ficant predictor of support for the war even after 13 variables were c ontrolled. The alternative explanation that subjects were 'projecting' their own perceptions onto the public, is discounted by the finding t hat liberals, moderates and conservatives did not differ in their perc eptions of public support.