Question Part (b)
Describe in your own words how the deviancy amplifications spiral operates to produce a ‘moral panic’. Illustrate with two examples.
According to Cohen, society is regularly subjected to moral panics. Moral panics are seen as an occurrence incited by a person or a group of people which can/has been presented to society in a stereotypical manner by the media. We witness moral panics almost every time we pickup a newspaper or turn on the TV. How do these occurrences turn into moral panic? Cohen described this process as the Deviancy Amplification Spiral. Cohen used the mods and rockers ‘disturbances’ as an example of how a small altercation was portrayed by the media as ‘a mob hell bent on destruction’ (OU page 23) this in turn caused more policing and more arrests which reinforced in the publics mind that there was a need for panic thus creating Cohen’s Deviancy Amplification Spiral (DAS).
The DAS operates by taking a smaller issue, pushing it to the forefront of peoples mind and highlighting the distinct danger until, usually, society become fearful. This usually leads to community leaders (politicians, churches etc.) becoming involved to ‘rectify’ the situation.
There are many modern examples of the DAS that creates moral panic in our society today. The first of my two examples is Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). The ‘subversive minority’ (OU page 25) in this case was Saddam Hussein in that he was portrayed to the western world as having control of the fate of millions of people. Society was lead to believe that lack of communication between governments could lead to the use of WMD by Saddam. The media played a large role in the societies perception and danger of the situation by making headlines out of the fact that weapons could be launched in 30 minutes inciting ‘moral panic’. Society was scared of the impact of WMD as described by the media. Media coverage voiced the fears that society had again via headlines but this time directed at the Government. The Government then responds by sending troops to war.
In this example the Government is seen as the protectors of society. It is important that they are seen to be addressing the situation – which the outcome showed.
The second example of the DAS that I will use is the Measles Mumps & Rubella (MMR) vaccine debate. The MMR vaccine was thought to have harmful side effects such as autism in children. Studies were carried out by researchers to this effect and the media presented the argument against MMR to the public. The media highlighted the ‘damaging’ side effects of MMR. This caused great concern for many parents of young children who had already had or were about to have the MMR jab. Such was the fear of the results of side effects, as reported by the media, that many parents opted not to have their children vaccinated. This in turn caused another moral panic via the scenario of unvaccinated children being in the majority and leading to a measles, mumps or rubella outbreak amongst young children as a result. Once the panic was in full swing the media called for an investigation in to these side effects caused by the vaccination. This was done by having the issue as headline news and subjects of debate programmes etc. The Government was forced to reassure the public of the safety of MMR vaccines. In this example of DAS the Governments role as ‘protector’ is uncertain. The Government encouraged parents in the first place to get their children vaccinated but many parents were unsure whether to trust them and were ‘weary’ of the Governments claims that the vaccines were still safe. To this end it is not 100% clear if this moral panic was subdued by the Governments assurances. We may not know the answer to this until a few years time.
The two examples I have given are similar in that they both cause a reaction from the Government but they differ in their outcome. The WMD example followed a clear path and gave a solution whereas the MMR scenario did not ‘console’ all those affected. The reassurance of the Government may not have been enough. This could lead to the moral panic being prolonged until a solution is found, thus continuing the DAS cycle and also reoccurring in society’s consciousness.
(word count 704)
References:
Cohen,S (1973) ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’, London, Paladin
Furedi, F (1994): ‘A Plague of Moral Panics’ (Living Marxism issue 73, November 1994) [Online] taken from , (Accessed 27th February 2004)
Mooney,G et al (2004): Introductory Chapter ‘Tales of fear and fascination: the crime problem in the contemporary UK’ (2004), p.23-25
Sands,L (1998), ‘Moral Panic’ [online] , (Accessed 27th February 2004)
