In this work, Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann examines public opinion as a form of social control in which individuals, almost instinctively sensing the opinions of those around them, shape their behaviour to prevailing attitudes about what is acceptable. For the second edition, Noelle-Neumann has added three new chapters: the first discusses new discoveries in the history of public opinion; the second continues the author's efforts to construct a comprehensive theory of public opinion, addressing criticisms and defences of her "spiral of silence" theory that have appeared since 1980; the third offers a concise and updated summary of the book's arguments.

伊丽莎白·诺艾尔-诺依曼（Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann,1916年12月19日－）,德国政治学家,最有名的学说为沉默的螺旋理论,解释大众舆论如何影响个别意见及行为。

她在1935年在Göttingen大学获得了Abitur资格,并开始了对哲学、历史及新闻学的研究。并且曾在以下学术单位进行研究,包括Friedrich Wilhelm University,Königsberg Albertina University,以及the University of Missouri-Columbia。 她留在美国的时间自1937到1938并且于1940年在美国获得了公众意见领域研究的Phd concentrating。

1940 年她为在纳粹报纸Das Reich写作精简的文章。在1941 年6月8 日Das Reich发表了诺依曼的文章题为"谁通知美国?(Who Informs America)" 文中诉说犹太企业组织在美国媒体中的影响力。她写道 "犹太人操作了讯息内容,拥有这些美国媒体, 实际上垄断了广告商,能借由控制他们的广告收入来满足他们的愿望"。