This paper proposes that central bank independence alone is insufficient to explain low inflation. It argues instead that central bank independence may be interconnected with public attitudes towards inflation via a historical feedback process that has led to an anti-inflation culture and public consensus on monetary stability in countries with low inflation rates. Using survey data from European Community members over the period 1976-1993, I find supportive evidence of the existence of a stability culture in low-inflation countries. In their assessment of the importance of price stability, people living in countries with a low inflation record appear to be more sensitive to an increase in the actual inflation rate than people in higher-inflation countries.