The second speaker in this session at the 2026 International Communication Association conference in Cape Town is Jing Zhu, who begins by reintroducing us to the spiral of silence theory, and in this context asks what we mean by ‘opinion climate’: this is said to influence opinion formation and expression in individuals.
Contextual factors are critical in these processes, then, and one key such factor is stigmatisation. Some views are dismissed as representing low education or knowledge, gendered perspectives, or other aspects; this creates a fear of isolation, and may result in emotional arousal, limited expression efficacy, and other factors.
This project focussed on discussions about the ‘bride price’ practice in Chinese social media; it found that opinion distribution still influences individual expression, while stigmatisation also has notable effects. This is affected by various mediating factors. The project then addressed another controversial topic, euthanasia; here, stigmatisation was not significant, and mediation mechanisms were also different.
Issue involvement may moderate effects, therefore: the bride price debate was more closely tied to people’s everyday lives, while euthanasia is a more distant issue; this might create less stigmatisation in the latter case. Expression may also be more self- than impact-oriented in the latter case, further reducing external stigma. Opinion climates might vary considerably by topic or issue, therefore.
