• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.42
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• pp.168-204
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• 2008

According to the spiral of silence theory, perception of opinion climates influences willingness to express one's opinion. This study examines the relationship between opinion perception and opinion expression in different regions and issues. The results show that one's opinion and the intensity of opinion affect the expression of opinion about national and regional issues in Busan and Gwangju. People who perceive their opinions as majority are more willing to express theirs about national and regional issues in Gwangju, but not in Busan. Regression analyses show that perceived public opinion does not predict the expression of opinion in both cities. People who perceive their opinions more favorable about regional issue have lower intention to express their opinions than people who perceive their opinions same as others'. In summary, one's opinion and perception bias about controversial issues are important variables influencing expression of opinion, and the influence of perceived public opinion on opinion expression varies in different regions with different distribution of public opinion. This study found 'new hardcores' who perceive their own opinion as minor but more valuable and have the intention to speak out in places more difficult to express.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.217-231
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• 2014

This study begins with a review of commonly discussed dimensions of public risk perception that may influence public opinion toward risks. Factors that have been revealed by the literature to have substantial impact on risk perception, such as demographic background, trust, and media environment, are also discussed. Meanwhile, we evaluate two well-known research models in the realm of risk analysis: 1) the psychometric paradigm, and 2) the social amplification of risk framework (SARF). Based on a literature review, this study suggests that, besides the psychological and social approach, models of risk perception and risk communication research should shift to a more comprehensive one by considering the interrelations between laypeople and the environment. This study proposes a research model from the perspective of social cognitive theory (SCT) as a potential framework for future studies: 1) in the societal environment, individuals' risk perception and information seeking behavior, which is determined by risk perception will be influenced by trust in regulators and interpersonal trust; 2) in the media environment, individuals' risk perception and information seeking behavior will be influenced by individuals' perceived information characteristics. Knowledge about risk accumulated through information seeking will change risk perception in a longitudinal process.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.39
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• pp.178-223
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• 2007

The polarization of public opinion by regionalism is one of biggest problems in Korean society. This study attempts to examine the polarization of public opinion between two typical cities representing regionalism and explore the factors influencing on the polarization. The results show that the polarization of public opinion is based on the perceived public opinion rather than the real public opinion. The polarization of public opinion is greater with regional issue than national issue. In general, citizens of Pusan have a conservative bias in estimating other Pusan citizens' opinion and a liberal bias in estimating Gwangju citizens' opinion, whereas citizens of Gwangju have a looking-glass perception in estimating other Gwangju citizens' opinion and a conservative bias in estimating Pusan citizens' opinion. There are no significant differences of the real public opinion and the perceived opinion across three generations. But within each generation, the tendency of public opinion polarization is found between regions and is not shown to change over generations. Regression analyses show that individual's opinion and region are highly predictable variables that explain the perceived public opinion and the perception bias such as false consensus and pluralistic ignorance.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.172-195
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• 2015

Multiple nationwide opinion surveys, carried out by the government (cabinet office), major media (national newspapers and NHK), the National Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, have revealed that the Fukushima nuclear accident has heightened people's perception of disaster risks, fear of nuclear accidents, and increased recognition of pollution issues, and has changed public opinion on nuclear energy policy. The opinion gap on nuclear energy policy between specialists and lay people has widened since the disaster. The results of the Japanese General Social Survey data show that objections to the promotion of nuclear energy are strong among females, and weaker among young males and the supporters of the LDP. These findings are similar to the data collected after the Chernobyl accident. People who live in a 70km radius of nuclear plants tend to evaluate nuclear disaster risks higher. Distance from nuclear plants and the perception of earthquake risk interactively correlate with opinions on nuclear issues. Among people whose evaluation of earthquake risk is low, those who live nearer to the plants are more likely to object to the abolishment of nuclear plants. It was also found that the nuclear disaster has changed people's behavior; they now try to save electricity. The level of commitment to energy saving is found to relate to opinions on nuclear issues.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.182-200
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• 2023

A recent nationwide survey reported that South Koreans perceive large corporations as the party that should be the most responsible for tackling climate change. This public opinion result offers insight into the argument that defining who is responsible for the climate change issue can guide campaigners and policymakers in designing effective communication strategies. This study examines how attributing responsibility to large corporations can affect behavioral intention to support government policy and regulation via a moderated mediation model of the perceived risk of climate change and corporate social responsibility (CSR). A nationwide online survey of 295 South Koreans was conducted. The findings reveal an indirect effect of responsibility attribution on behavioral intention through risk perception. Moreover, perceived CSR moderated the causal link between risk perception and behavioral intention, such that South Koreans reported higher levels of behavioral intention when they reported higher CSR. However, perceived CSR failed to moderate the indirect effect. These findings have implications for communication processes and policymaking to address climate change problems in South Korea.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.52-70
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• 2014

Gathering polling items about China and Japan from 1937 to 2011, we examine how Americans think about these two powerful East Asian countries. Our study investigates American attitudes from two perspectives. First, we analyze the content of polling items asked in the US about China and Japan to track changes in salient issues over a period of over 60 years. Second, by tracking repeated items, we show how American attitudes toward China and Japan have changed over time, both in long-term general favorability, and shorter-term perception of geopolitical, ideological, and economic threat in response to historical events.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.293-306
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• 2021

The news and views of Pakistani television channels are extensively shared on digital media for information or analysis where the general public discusses overt and covert agendas by mentioning their factual and presentational style. This study contributes to the contemporary studies of media perception through focus group interviews with 72 randomly selected master's and bachelor's students studying Media and Communication at the School of Media and Communication Studies, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan to provide information about the feelings and observations of future journalists and media literates. In summary, the findings of our research exposed the negative perception of Pakistani electronic media among the participants due to what they perceived as biased, inaccurate, and unethical reporting.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.39
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• pp.284-323
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• 2007

This study aims to examine the relation between opinion perception and opinion expression by issue types by analyzing online poll results and respective bulletin boards. To find out how opinion poll results affect the public opinion perception cues and opinion expression through the internet, the study applied a method of content analysis to the online contents provided by Naver.com, one of the most popular portal sites in Korea. A total of four issue types, along with 2,250 messages were chosen for analysis. The study results revealed that internet users perceived opinion atmosphere through the poll results and expressed their opinions depending on the issue types. In case of an issue where majority views are manifested as online poll results, users tended to follow that majority views by retaining their initial opinion. Majority opinion by the poll results held a dominant position in bulletin board. The results partially support Noelle-Neuman(1994)'s spiral of silence theory in the context of computer-mediated communication contrary to the belief that anonymity in the cyberspace tends to encourage participation of minority opinion group. According to the findings, people when they perceive their opinion as that of minority are discouraged to express their views even when they are online.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.274-303
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• 2023

The third-person perception phenomenon can consistently be found in opinion poll news, but it remains unknown what determines the degree of the third-person perception (TPP) about specific election poll news. We investigated how respondents' preferred candidate's status in the poll affects the perceived impact of polling news on both themselves (PMI1) and on others (PMI3) as well as TPP (PMI3 - PMI1). We also examined the effect of subjective political knowledge and the perceived level of political knowledge of others on TPP. An online experiment was conducted in the context of a gubernatorial election in South Korea, in which the leading candidate in the poll and the question order (self-question first vs. other-question first) were manipulated. The results indicated that PMI1 and PMI3 were greater when the respondent's preferred candidate was leading in the poll. TPP did not differ depending on subjective knowledge, but it was greater when the others were non-experts (vs. experts). Lastly, question order was found to be a method factor that affected both PMI1 and PMI3. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.434-445
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• 2015

In reading news stories online, people are exposed to others' comments to a news story. In spite of popularity of comments to a news story online, the understanding of why and who posts a comment is still lacking. To complement scarcity and have a better understanding of comment-posting online, this study examined psychological factors which affect the likelihood of posting a comment to a news story online. In particular, three variables were considered: The first variable was communication efficacy, that is, an individual's belief about communication practices and systems, under the supposition that the people who have greater levels of communication efficacy are more likely to post a comment. The second variable was perception of public opinion, to test that when and if people judge their position of the issue as favored by the majority, they tend to post a comment. And finally, the tone of existing comments was included, to test if the tone of comments affects the willingness to post a comment. The results showed that firstly, people at a high level of communication efficacy are more likely to post a comment compared to people at the low level of communication efficacy. Secondly, the perception of public opinion partly influenced the willingness to post a comment. Especially, when people believe communication systems contribute to develop society and also when judged that their opinion is the majority's opinion, they are more likely to post a comment. Finally, the tone of the comments influenced the willingness to post a comment only on the condition that people are confident of the communication practice and are exposed to emotional comments.