Moral Panic Research Paper

Moral panic What is moral panic? Moral panic is a form of collective behaviour that from one day to the other considers a certain group of people dangerous. The reasons might vary from fake rumours to real (exaggerated) facts. The period of a moral panic usually ends with social actions either in form of attacking the "other" (in the case of a Satanic Ritual) or in changing the law (pornography on the Internet).

In human societies there will always be issues or problems that occur which cause some form of reaction from those who feel that their values or societal equilibrium is being threatened. Stanley Cohen and Jock Young led the way in explaining the notion of moral panics and how they are formed and their consequences on society. There have been numerous of these moral phenomena over the years, which have gripped society in a vice lock of terror and more often than not, ignorance. This essay will discuss the concept of the moral panic and look at the case of HIV/AIDS which caused a huge conflict of morality within society. This essay will also analyse the failings of health organisations, politicians, and the

A moral panic can be defined as the common characteristics of social problems that suddenly emerge, cause problems for

When a fatal disease becomes known to a society but lacks explanation our instinct as humans is to jump to conclusions, whether they are logical or not. We bargain with our faith, we search for any evidence to support our conjectures, we deny the truth of the disease, and we place blame on each other. All of these desperate acts of justification are driven by fear—fear of the unknown. The combination of fear and ignorance that pushes people to make conclusions is readily notable in the AIDS epidemic of Haiti. Haitians reacted to AIDS in a similar manner as other cultures, but there are also differences that are specific to their community. Like many cultures, Haitians reasoned the occurrence of AIDS with explanations beyond the scope of medicine, with diseases that were known to them, or were instead in complete denial. The uniqueness of the occurrence of AIDS in Haiti was that there was no direct cause that could be addressed. Thus, while under significant scrutiny as the origin of AIDS, Haitians reacted to the epidemic by blaming the existence of AIDS on poor socioeconomic status, on sorcery, and on other people or countries.

Mass hysteria is a phenomenon that transmits collective allusions of threats through a population in society as a result of rumors and fear. The Crucible by Arthur Miller accurately portrays mass hysteria that took place during the Salem witch trials of 1692. People were accused based on revenge or other malicious motives and to make the situation worse, nothing about the trials was logical. After a few people were accused, fear set into the town and everyone was viewed as a witch until proven innocent. Mass hysteria not only happened during the Salem witch trials, but right after the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001 as well. Mass hysteria ties into both the accusations made in The Crucible and the islamophobia that set in after 9/11.

A moral panic is the public’s response to problems that seem threatening to the society. Moral panics are used by the media, however people are likely to panic out of proportion due the way it is upheld.

As mentioned earlier Stanley Cohen (1972) is one of prominent sociologists that devised the term ‘moral panic’. He defined the concept as ‘A sporadic episode which, as it occurs, subject’s society to bouts of moral panic, or in other terms, worries about the values and principles which society upholds which may be in jeopardy’ (Cohen, 1987; 9). The term ‘moral panic’ was introduced by Stanley Cohen (1972) in his book entitled ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’.

“Believe in yourself. Do not let doubt, fear, panic, hysteria or even extreme faith to get in your way” is a quote by Ruben Papian. Mass hysteria occurred in LeRoy, New York and also in Salem, Massachusetts. Mass hysteria is a situation where many people suffer from similar symptoms. Mass hysteria can lead to a disorder called conversion disorder. Conversion disorder is a mental condition that turns into a physical problem over time. Conversion disorder could cause you to have blindness numbness, paralysis you and also cause fits with no reason at all. This disorder is commonly found in people who have been in stressful situations that could affect their mental health. The girls in LeRoy, New York and Salem were suffering

Challenge: Select and describe a “moral panic” against a perceived deviance. Analyse the role of the “moral entrepreneur” and “folk devil” in your selected case. Finally, explicate what it demonstrates about individuals and their socialization. (Length: 2 000 words)

This book displays the historical encounters and effects of the Ebola virus have had on past lives and how the virus functions to destroy its host.

Oftenly people within a culture create its own organizing principles and definitions when certain things occur that affect a community and/or society simultaneously, one of them being moral panics. Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-Yehuda introduces us to the concept of moral panics and what they consists of in their article “Moral Panics: Culture, Politics, and Social Construction”. According to the author 's, moral panic is an exaggerated response or concern by the public to an issue that is seen as threatening the moral standards of society, however the harm exposed may be minimal to none, usually ignited by the media, higher officials, action groups and so forth . Moral panic has become a well-known word often used to categorize social problems that we are exposed to today. Here, we see some examples of the three theories: the grassroots model, the elite-engineered model, and the interest-group theory, and how they are present in our lives today.

Moral panics do not occur spontaneously, they are a result of an intricate interplay of behaviours and responses (Muzzatti & Rothe, 2004: 329). The media and moral entrepreneurs often tend to stir up the general public in defining deviant behaviour (Becker, 1963: 147). Subsequently, President Bush can be labelled as a moral entrepreneur, owing to his actions and ideals after the 9/11 attack.

A moral panic develops in a society when there is some type of threat looking to harm the society in some way. The threat of a nuclear attack by the USSR and its possible plan to control society through communism aided in the development of a moral panic during the Cold War era (Cold War History). American fears continued to grow as the relationship between the two countries became very tense (Hadley). During the Cold War era, the public

These headlines − from google news − are both explanatory in what Stanley Cohen meant in his definition of moral panics. Sociologist Stanley Cohen defines the concept of moral panics as a wide-spread panic created within society, predominantly by the media, that holds threat over social and cultural norms and values in that society. There is some debate on whether Stanley Cohen’s concept is of relevance and if the subject

Moral panics take place when the media outlets take a fairly ordinary event and turn it extraordinary. Cohen states that in a moral panic the media identifies a particular group as a folk devil (1972). Essentially folk devils can be identified as a threat to society's values. This is see when the media presents the group in a negative stereotypical fashion and again exaggerate the scale of the problem. Moral panics have three distinguishing characteristics. In Bonn’s article, Who Benefits From Public Fear, he states that one characteristic of moral panic includes a focused attention, whether real or imagined, of certain individuals or groups that are transformed into what Cohen referred to as “folk devils” by the mass media (2015). Additionally there is a noticeable gap between the concern and object risk poses. Typically this threat is less than generally perceived because of how the media outlets represent the threat. The level of concern over time fluctuates greatly. The usual pattern begins with the introduction of the threat, followed by an increase rise and then peak in public concern, which then therefore, and regularly unexpectedly, dies down. _________________________