...influence mass opinion. The key, he claimed, was understanding the characteristics of mass consciousness: "In making up its mind its first impulse is usually to follow the example of a trusted leader. . . . But when the example of the leader is not at hand and the herd must think for itself, it does...

...Opinion was too theoretical and abstract. In Bernays' book Propaganda he wrote that the group mind's first impulse is usually to follow the example of a trusted leader. Bernays was particularly interested in using the details of the human unconscious to his advantage....

...experts trained in the care and feeding of public opinion, which he regarded as an irrational beast: "In place of thoughts it has impulses, habits, and...of the most firmly established principles of mass psychology."14 Bernays, who like most people in the entertainment business craved legitimacy, envisioned...

...whose behavior resembled that of a herd: "In place of thoughts it has impulses, habits and emotion. In making up its mind its first impulse is usually to follow the example of a trusted leader, but when the leader is not at hand, and the herd must think for itself, it does so by means of cliches,...