Willingness to Express one's Opinion in a Realistic Situation as a Function of Perceived Support for That Opinion
Abstract
We examined how people's willingness to speak their opinions in a real situation varied as a function of perceived support for those opinions. When given a list of six potential topics to discuss with a real group of people, the participants reported a greater willingness to discuss a topic if they perceived greater support for their own opinions on that topic. The relationship we observed was much larger than the average correlation reported in a recent meta‐analysis (Glynn, Hayes, and Shanahan 1997). Methodological and psychological explanations for the discrepancy are discussed.