(Not) Talking Politics: Motivations and Strategies for Avoiding the Expression of Political Opinions

Abstract

The notion that a healthy democracy requires a public who discusses politics is based on the assumption that discussions expose members of the public to the perspectives of others. The contentious nature of politics, and the propensity for political conversations to arouse emotions, however, suggest that people may prefer to withhold their true opinions during such encounters. Combining interpersonal and political communication theories, this study details the motivations and strategies used in avoiding the expression of political opinions. The sharing of political points of view is essential to democracy. This work uses qualitative and quantitative analyses to uncover how and why people avoid it.

Keywords:

• Conflict Avoidance
• Motivations
• Political Discussion
• Strategies
• Topic Avoidance

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Natalie (Talia) Jomini Stroud for her support in conducting this research. The author also wishes to thank the editors and reviewers for their valuable assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.