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%T La opinión pública y los imaginarios sociales: hacia una redefinición de la espiral del silencio %A Dittus, Rubén %J Athenea Digital: Revista de Pensamiento e Investigacion Social %N 7 %P 61-76 %D 2005 %K Public Opinion %= 2009-11-04T13:53:00Z %> https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-64535 %X This article critically examines the 'spiral of silence' theory of public opinion. I examine the claims that humans possess a biological desire for peer acceptance & a fear of peer rejection, & I argue that both these claims have an essentialist connotation. I argue that an individual's 'social self-protection', which allegedly reflects the so-called fear of isolation, is better understood as an institutional reaction sustained by the mass media (which acts as the symbolic re-creator of reality), & by the emotions (which act as devices of social control). In other words, I argue that public opinion is merely a social imaginary, like the emotions or the news, elevated to the category of institution. Finally, I argue that this legitimation has been facilitated by a hegemonic discourse. %C ESP %G es %9 journal article %W GESIS - http://www.gesis.org %~ SSOAR - http://www.ssoar.info