Bernard Berelson
Encyclopedia
Bernard Reuben Berelson was an American behavioral scientist, known for work on communication
and mass media
.
He was a leading proponent of the broad idea of the "behavioral sciences", a field he saw as including areas such as public opinion
. In Chapter 14 of Voting (1954), he enunciated what has become known as Berelson's paradox on democracy
: while classical theories of its success assume voters committed to interest in public life, this fails to correspond with practical politics, while the system itself functions.
Berelson wrote a summary entitled The Great Debate on Cultural Democracy regarding the confrontation between mass society theorists and researchers for the media industries. Berelson asserted that the resolution of the debate was simple: just listen to mass communication researchers like himself as they develop useful answers to the issues raised by others.
. He majored in English at Whitman College
, graduating in 1934. He took a library science
degree at the University of Washington
in 1936, and an English master's there in 1937. A doctoral degree in the Graduate Library School at the University of Chicago
, under the influence of Douglas Waples
and completed in 1941, led him into the field of public opinion. From 1944 he was working in applied social research at Columbia University
. He returned to Chicago in 1946, and in 1952 became head of the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences set up by the Ford Foundation
at Stanford University
. He moved back to Chicago in 1957 and to Columbia in 1960.
He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1962. The same year, he joined the Population Council
, eventually becoming its President.
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
and mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
.
He was a leading proponent of the broad idea of the "behavioral sciences", a field he saw as including areas such as public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
. In Chapter 14 of Voting (1954), he enunciated what has become known as Berelson's paradox on democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
: while classical theories of its success assume voters committed to interest in public life, this fails to correspond with practical politics, while the system itself functions.
Berelson wrote a summary entitled The Great Debate on Cultural Democracy regarding the confrontation between mass society theorists and researchers for the media industries. Berelson asserted that the resolution of the debate was simple: just listen to mass communication researchers like himself as they develop useful answers to the issues raised by others.
Life
He was born in Spokane, WashingtonSpokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
. He majored in English at Whitman College
Whitman College
Whitman College is a private, co-educational, non-sectarian, residential undergraduate liberal arts college located in Walla Walla, Washington. Initially founded as a seminary by a territorial legislative charter in 1859, the school became a four year degree granting institution in 1883...
, graduating in 1934. He took a library science
Library science
Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...
degree at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in 1936, and an English master's there in 1937. A doctoral degree in the Graduate Library School at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, under the influence of Douglas Waples
Douglas Waples
Douglas Waples was a pioneer of the University of Chicago Graduate Library School in the areas of print communication and reading behavior. Waples authored one of the first books on library research methodology, a work directed at students supervised through correspondence courses...
and completed in 1941, led him into the field of public opinion. From 1944 he was working in applied social research at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He returned to Chicago in 1946, and in 1952 became head of the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences set up by the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. He moved back to Chicago in 1957 and to Columbia in 1960.
He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1962. The same year, he joined the Population Council
Population Council
The Population Council is an international, nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The Council conducts biomedical, social science, and public health research and helps build research capacities in developing countries. One-third of its research relates to HIV and AIDS; its other major program...
, eventually becoming its President.
Works
- What Reading Does to People. A Summary of Evidence on the Social Effects of Reading and a Statement of Problems for Research. (1940), with Douglas WaplesDouglas WaplesDouglas Waples was a pioneer of the University of Chicago Graduate Library School in the areas of print communication and reading behavior. Waples authored one of the first books on library research methodology, a work directed at students supervised through correspondence courses...
and Franklyn R. Bradshaw - The People's Choice (1944) with Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Hazel Gaudet
- Reader in Public Opinion and Communication (1950) with Morris Janowitz
- Content Analysis in Communication Research (1952)
- Voting: a study of opinion formation in a presidential campaign with Paul F. Lazarsfeld and William N. McPhee
- The Behavioral Sciences Today (1963)
- Human Behavior: An Inventory of Scientific Findings (1964) with Gary Steiner
- Geneva, 1965. Family planning and population programs. A review of world developments
- National Programmes in Family Planning. Achievements and Problems. (1969) editor
- Graduate Education in the United States
- "The Great Debate on Cultural Democracy"