Public Opinion (book)

Public Opinion

Title page of the first edition
Author	Walter Lippmann
Language	English
Subject	Public opinion
Genre	Nonfiction
Publisher	Harcourt, Brace & Co.
Publication date	1922
Publication place	United States
Text	Public Opinion at Wikisource

Public Opinion is a book by Walter Lippmann published in 1922. It is a critical assessment of functional democratic government, especially of the irrational and often self-serving social perceptions that influence individual behavior and prevent optimal societal cohesion.^[1] The detailed descriptions of the cognitive limitations people face in comprehending their sociopolitical and cultural environments, leading them to apply an evolving catalogue of general stereotypes to a complex reality, rendered Public Opinion a seminal text in the fields of media studies, political science, and social psychology.