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How do public opinions expressed in private differ from opinions expressed in public?

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Portrait print of Jacques Necker by Henri Grevedon after Joseph-Sifford Duplessis, showing Necker in 18th-century attire with a lace cravat and curled hair, facing slightly right. — public opinion Jacques Necker, print by Henri Grévedon after a painting by Louis-Joseph-Siffrède Duplessis, 1822; in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

In the study of public opinion, the discrepancy between private beliefs and public expression is often driven by a fear of social isolation.12

Sociologically, individuals constantly monitor their environment for signs of approval or disapproval. When people perceive their views to be unpopular or morally contentious, they frequently refrain from expressing them in public to avoid criticism, scorn, or social exclusion. This phenomenon, known as the spiral of silence, can lead to a situation where an opinion dominates public discourse simply because those who disagree remain silent, even if they constitute a majority.1

In contrast, private opinions are those held by individuals that may not be shared openly due to these social pressures. In restrictive environments, such as authoritarian states, this gap can be extreme; individuals may harbor deep opposition to a government but remain silent even among friends and family for fear of reprisal. Consequently, while private views may be widely shared, they fail to coalesce into an active public opinion if the perceived social cost of expression is too high.2