Social panic - Wikipedia

A social panic is a state where a social or community group reacts negatively and in an extreme or irrational manner to unexpected or unforeseen changes in ... Socialpanic FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch Asocialpanicisastatewhereasocialorcommunitygroupreactsnegativelyandinanextremeorirrationalmannertounexpectedorunforeseenchangesintheirexpectedsocialstatusquo.AccordingtoFolkDevilsandMoralPanicsbyStanleyCohen,thedefinitioncanbebrokendowntomanydifferentsections.Thesections,whichwereidentifiedbyErichGoodeandNachmanBen-Yehudain1994,includeconcern,hostility,consensus,disproportionality,andvolatility.Concern,whichisnottobemistakenwithfear,isaboutthepossibleorpotentialthreat.Hostilityoccurswhenanoutrageoccurstowardthepeoplewhowereapartoftheproblemandagencieswhoareaccountable.[1]Thesepeopleareseenastheenemysincetheirbehaviorisviewedasadangertosociety.Consensusincludesadistributedagreementthatanactualthreatisgoingtotakeplace.Thisiswherethemediaandothersourcescomeintoaidinspreadingofthepanic.Disproportionalitycomparespeople'sreactionstotheactualseriousnessofthecondition.Volatilityiswhenthereisnolongeranymorepanic.[2][page needed] Contents 1Causes 2Themedia 2.1Exaggerationanddistortion 2.2Prediction 2.3Symbolization 3Reaction 4Criticism 5Seealso 6References Causes[edit] GrassRootModeldescribesthatsocialpaniccommonlyoccursfirstthroughthepeopleinsociety.Thefeelingthatsomethingmeaningfulisthreatenedisdispersedthroughouteveryoneinsociety.Thissenseofpanicnotonlydisplaysitselfthroughthepeoplebutalsothroughareassuchasthemediaandpoliticalgroups.Themediaservesasawaytopresentthepublicopinionabouttherealityofthesituation.Thistheorystatesthatthemediacan'treportconcernwherenoneoriginallyexists.Themediaandpoliticiansaremerelyanoutletfordisplayingwhatpeopleareexpressing.Furthermore,themediacanaffectthewaythepublicseessituations.Anexampleofthistheoryishowpeoplecausesocialpanicsduetonuclearpower.AftertheThreeMileIslandaccident,wheretherewasanuclearmeltdown,peopleevacuatedtheirhomeseventhoughnoworkersorresidentslivinginthatareawereinjuredorkilled.Theonlyreasonpeopleinthatareawereawareofwhatwasgoingonwasduetothesocialpanicthatpeoplecausedwhentheyreactedtothesituation.Thispanicwascausedbythegeneralpublic,notbyelitesorinterestgroupasinthemodelsexplainedbelow.[3] TheElite-EngineeredModelexplainsthatsocialpanicsareexaggeratedorinventedproblemscreatedbyelitesorpeoplewhoareconsideredhigheramongothersinsociety.Thesetypeofpeopleproducefearamongtheotherclassesoveranissuethatisnotconsidereddangeroustothesociety.Thereasonfortheseactionsistoredirecttheattentionawayfromtheproblemsthatimpacttheeliteorthoseinpower.Thepeoplewhoareconsideredelitecouldbesomeonewhorunsacompanyorisveryrich,astheymayhaveconnectionswiththemediaandarefamiliarwithpoliticiansthatcanmakeproposalsintheirfavor.AnexamplethatillustratesthistheorycanbeseenintheRussians,specificallytheCzars,whoturnedthefocusawayfromtheangerofpovertybyspreadingaJewishconspiracy.ThiscausedmobstoformandkillJewishcommunities.Thiscapacityoftheelitestocontroldirectionallowsthemtoaccomplishtheirowngoals.Theywanttocontinuetobenefitfromtheeconomicandpoliticalinequality.[4] TheInterest-GroupModelaremadebypeopleininterestgroupswhodirectthepublic'sfocusonactionsthatareintendedtobemorallynegativeandbeadangertosociety.Theywantthemtorecognizeaproblemthataffectsthemdirectly.UnlikeintheElite-Engineeredmodel,theinterestgroupsaretheoneswhocreatesocialpanic.Interestgroupsbelievetheyareprovidingapublicservicebecausetheywillbenefitfromwhattheyaredoing.Theydothisbyusingthemediatoinfluencepublicopinion.Iftheyaresuccessfulindoingthis,itwillcallattentiontotheirparticularinterestgroup,gainthetrustofsocietyandwealth,andbemoreadvancedthanopposinginterestgroups.Anexamplethatdemonstratesthistheoryiswhenpoliticians,inordertogetreelected,usedtheissueofdrugabuseintheUnitedStatestocausesocialpanic.However,eventhoughtheywantedtoremaininofficetheystillbelievedthatdrugusewasaproblemtheywantedtoaddresstothepublic.[3] Themedia[edit] Themediaplaysacrucialpartindeliveringsocialreaction.AccordingtoStanleyCohen,therearethreeprocessesthatthemediaexpresses:Exaggerationanddistortion,prediction,andsymbolization. Exaggerationanddistortion[edit] Inthisprocess,themediacan"over-report"withtheirchoiceofwords.Forexample,theword"disturbance"canbeusedtomeanhavinganoisecomplaintduetoloudmusicnextdoorandagroupofpeopleactingviolentlybythrowingrocksandsettingvehiclesonfire.Thewordingofthestoriescanmakeaminorproblemseemmoreseriousthanitreallyis.Thiscanmakepeopleoverreactinresponsetorelativelyminorproblemsandmayleadthemtobelievethatdisturbances,actsofterrorism,riots,andinstanceshavethesamemeaning.[2][page needed] Furthermore,theheadlinesusedbythemediamightcausesocietytoactirrationallytoastoryaboutminorissues.Theycanbemisleadingandcanreportinformationthathasnothingtodowiththeactualstory.Negativewordssuchas"violence"canbeusedwhentherewasnoviolenceinvolved.Themediacanalsopointtospecificcharacteristicsthatarethereasonforthecrimethatwascommitted.Forexample,astorycandiscussamurder,buttheheadlinemightfocusonthehoodietheculpritwaswearing.Emphasizingthehoodiewilldrawattentiontowhatthepersonwaswearinginsteadofthemurderthattookplace.Thiscausespeopletobecomeparanoidandoverreactwhentheyseesomeonewearingclothingthatlookssuspicious.[citationneeded] Prediction[edit] Thisiswherethemediaspeculatesthatanincidentmightoccuragain.Themediacanreportthataneventwilloccurinthefuture,whichisnotalwaysthecase.Peopleinvolveddescribewhatshouldbedonethenexttimeithappensandwhatprecautionsshouldbetaken.Predictingthefuturecancausepeopletoconstantlythinkaboutwhatcouldgowrongandleadtocatastrophe.Thiscancausemajorstressandcausepeopletohavesocialpanicsmoreoften.[citationneeded]However,therearecertainsituationswheremakingpredictionsisnecessaryforsecurity,suchashurricanes,earthquakes,andothernaturaldisasters. Symbolization[edit] Thisinvolvesstereotypes,wordsandimagesthatpossesssymbolicpowersthatcancausedifferentemotions.Symbolizationcanbedescribedinthreeprocesses.Itincludeswordssuchas"deviant"and,asCohenwouldsay,"itbecomessymbolicofacertainstatus."[2][page needed]Bythishemeansthatthewordrepresentssomethingmeaningful.Thentheobject,whichcanincludeclothing,representstheword.Therefore,theobjectcanalsosymbolizethestatus.Neutralwordscansymbolizeaneventoremotion.Forexample,peoplecanhavespecificfeelingsconnectedtotheword"Hiroshima"thatremindthemofthebombingthatoccurredthere.Furthermore,theuseoflabelsgiventoapersonorwordputstheminacertaingroupinsociety.Thoseindividualsthatareinthatgroupareviewedandinterpretedbasedontheirlabel. Symbolization,exaggerationanddistortionaresimilarinthesensethattheybothusemisleadingheadlinesthatcreatesnegativesymbols.Forexample,imagescanbeposedtoseemmoredramaticorintensethantheyreallyare.Throughbothoftheseprocedures,itiseasytocausepeopletocometoconclusionsthatthenewsandphotographsalwaysdisplayreality.[2][page needed] Reaction[edit] Aftertheeventsof9/11,peoplewereleftinfearofcrisisoccurringagain.AccordingtoRobertWuthnowinhisbookBeVeryAfraid,peoplehaverespondedaggressively,spendinglargeamountsofmoneyinfightingterrorism.TheUnitedStateshasspentbillionsandtrillionsondefenseandhomelandsecurityrespectively.However,theproblemliesinhowwereact.[5][page needed] Sincepeoplehavebecomemoredefensive,thefocusneedstobeonthecorrectwaytoactinsteadofanimproperresponse.Asmentionedearlier,predictingabouttheendlesspossibilitiesaboutwhatcanhappencanbejustdangerousasthethreatitself.Peopledon'tbelievetheycandefendthemselvesfromfutureterrorist'sattacks.IndividualswereconstantlyremindedoftheconcernandfeartheyshouldbeexperiencingbythetremendousamountofmediacoverageandbooksbeingpublishedaftertheSeptember11attacks.[6]Theeventcaused"personalengagement"throughoutthecountry.InBoston,peoplequestionedothersabouttiestheyhadwithOsamabinLaden.Theseattackswereunlikeanyotherattackssincepeopleexperiencedthemfirsthandwhetheronthenewsorinperson.ThenaturalresponseofAmericansduringthistimewastotakeaction—facingthefearofterrorism,whetherbytakingrevengeorthroughurgingcaution. Criticism[edit] AngelaMcRobbieandSarahThorntonclaimthatStanleyCohen'sworkonmoralpanicisoutdatedandarguethatmoremoderninformationisrequired.McRobbiesuggeststhatideaofmoralpanichasbecomesocommonthatthemediaknowinglyandmindfullyusesit.Thorntonarguesthatthemediaoriginallycausedmoralpanicsinadvertently;however,themedianowmanipulatesitonitsown.[7] YvonneJewkesacknowledgedproblemsandformedconceptsaboutmoralpanic.Tobeginwith,shedescribedthetermasvagueandthefailuretoclarifythepositionofthepublic"asmediaaudiencesorabodyofopinion".[1]Shegoesontoexplainthatthesocialpanicsarenotgladlyreceivedbythegovernment.Thereisalsonoproofthatsocietyhasanextensivesocialanxietysurroundingthem.Jewkew,asalsomentionedbyMcRobbie,believesthatmoralpaniciswidelyusedbythemedia.Sheconcludedthatinorderforthistobecomea"soundconceptualbasis"itneedstoberevisedandcarefullyimproved. Seealso[edit] Deviancyamplificationspiral Moralpanic Socialanxiety References[edit] ^abCritcher,Chas(July2008)."MoralPanicAnalysis:Past,PresentandFuture"(PDF).SociologyCompass.2(4):1127–1144.doi:10.1111/j.1751-9020.2008.00122.x. ^abcdCohen,Stanley(2002).Folkdevilsandmoralpanicsthecreationofthemodsandtherockers(PDF)(3rd ed.).London:Routledge.ISBN 0203828259. ^abGoode,Erich;Ben-Yehuda,Nachman(2009).Moralpanics :thesocialconstructionofdeviance(PDF)(2nd ed.).Chichester,U.K.:Wiley-Blackwell.pp. 52–72.ISBN 978-1-4051-8934-7. ^Victor,JeffreyS.(January1998)."MoralPanicsandtheSocialConstructionofDeviantBehavior:ATheoryandApplicationtotheCaseofRitualChildAbuse"(PDF).SociologicalPerspectives.41(3):541–565.doi:10.2307/1389563. ^Wuthnow,Robert(2010).Beveryafraid:theculturalresponsetoterror,pandemics,environmentaldevastation,nuclearannihilation,andotherthreats.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.ISBN 9780199730872. ^Rothe,Dawn;Muzzatti,StephenL.(November2004)."EnemiesEverywhere:Terrorism,MoralPanic,andUSCivilSociety".CriticalCriminology.12(3):327–350.doi:10.1007/s10612-004-3879-6. ^"DeallTrosedd ::UnderstandingCrime:MoralPanics".www.14-19nw.org.uk.Retrieved1November2016. 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