"Social norms have made it costly to express views that one considers to be controversial, and therefore people withhold those views," says James Gibson, a professor of government at Washington University in St. Louis who's studied public opinion for more than 40 years and was not involved in Populace's study.
"Self-silencing can lead to a lot more than just saying nothing," Rose said. "It can end up leading to this place where public consensus looks very different than private consensus."
In the final sprint of another bilious and barbed US presidential election season, where the final polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in a deadlock, it's clear the country is deeply divided. Public-opinion experts say polarization perpetuates self-censorship by creating an environment where the perceived costs of dissent are higher.
But the more we know about what we actually believe, the likelier we may be to meet in the middle. In reality, we very well might agree on a lot more than we admit to today.
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