Bernard Berelson facts for kids

Bernard Reuben Berelson (born 1912, died 1979) was an American scientist who studied how people behave. He was well-known for his work on how people communicate and how information spreads through things like TV, radio, and newspapers (called mass media).

He was a strong supporter of studying "behavioral sciences." This field looks at why people act the way they do. It includes understanding what the public thinks about different topics.

Berelson also wrote about a big discussion called The Great Debate on Cultural Democracy. This debate was between people who worried about how mass media affected society and those who researched media for different industries. Berelson believed the answer was simple: listen to researchers like him who could find useful solutions.

Life Story

Bernard Berelson was born in Spokane, Washington. He went to Whitman College and finished his English degree in 1934. Later, he earned a degree in library science from the University of Washington in 1936. He also got a master's degree in English there in 1937.

In 1941, he earned his doctoral degree from the Graduate Library School at the University of Chicago. His studies there led him to focus on public opinion. In 1944, he started working on social research at Columbia University.

Berelson went back to Chicago in 1946. In 1952, he became the head of the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences. This center was set up by the Ford Foundation at Stanford University. He returned to Chicago in 1957 and then moved to Columbia University in 1960.

In 1962, Berelson was chosen as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This is a special honor for important thinkers. In the same year, he joined the Population Council, an organization that studies population issues. He later became its President.

Important Works

Bernard Berelson wrote many books and articles. These helped people understand how communication works and how public opinion is formed. Here are some of his notable works:

• What Reading Does to People (1940): This book, written with others, looked at how reading affects people and society.
• The People's Choice (1944): With his colleagues, Berelson studied how people decide who to vote for during an election.
• Content Analysis in Communication Research (1952): This was the first textbook about content analysis. This is a method used to study and understand messages in communication, like in books, speeches, or news articles.
• Voting: a study of opinion formation in a presidential campaign (1954): This book explored how people's opinions are shaped during a presidential election.
• Human Behavior: An Inventory of Scientific Findings (1964): In this book, written with Gary Steiner, Berelson summarized many scientific discoveries about human behavior.

His work helped shape how we understand communication, public opinion, and human behavior today.