diff --git a/activemodel/lib/active_model/model.rb b/activemodel/lib/active_model/model.rb
index 811332163bc..8445113b64b 100644
--- a/activemodel/lib/active_model/model.rb
+++ b/activemodel/lib/active_model/model.rb
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ module ActiveModel
 
     def initialize(params={})
       params.each do |attr, value|
-        self.send("#{attr}=", value)
+        self.public_send("#{attr}=", value)
       end if params
     end