Opinion Occlusion

opinion occlusion

Etymology

opinion (Latin opinio, belief, conjecture) + occlusion (Latin occlusio, a shutting up, blockage).

Noun

opinion occlusion (uncountable and countable, plural opinion occlusions)

1. (social psychology) The suppression of a sincerely held view due to social pressure, conformity norms, or anticipated consequence. Distinguished from reticence in that the opinion exists but is actively withheld.

   The unanimous vote was less a consensus than a product of opinion occlusion, with several members privately dissenting.

2. (epistemology, media studies) The systemic sidelining of a viewpoint through agenda-setting, framing, or noise rather than direct censorship.

   Minority scientific positions may undergo opinion occlusion not by editorial suppression but by sheer volume of contradictory coverage.

3. Any force, mechanism, or structure that blocks or suppresses an opinion or range of opinions from expression or consideration, particularly those originating from an opposing viewpoint or rival ideological tradition.
4. (rhetoric, informal) Any mechanism, deliberate or structural, by which a genuine judgment is displaced in expression by a safer or more palatable substitute.

   His carefully worded non-answer was textbook opinion occlusion, saying everything except what he actually thought.

Related terms

• preference falsification
• epistemic cowardice
• pluralistic ignorance
• chilling effect

See also

• self-censorship
• groupthink
• alignment tax

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References

• Kuran, T. (1995). Private Truths, Public Lies. Harvard University Press.
• Gabriel, I. (2020). "Artificial Intelligence, Values, and Alignment." Minds and Machines, 30, 411–437.