Moral Panic

Explain how 'moral panic' increases fear of crime. The term 'moral panic' refers to a condition that our society is subjected to in situations that supposedly believed to be a violation of the norm. This assignment intends to establish how 'moral panic' increases fear of crime within society. In considering various studies and statistics, it will examine the differences of crime committed and reported from the post-war onwards to present day and our likelihood of being victims. By identifying the causes, characteristics and cycle of moral panic, it will illustrate the influences it has on our society, followed by a conclusion. There have been many debates about the level of crime existence in the past with comparison to recent years. Claims that in the post-war era crime hardly existed were based on the structure of society, which was characterized by stronger family values; communality and civility, where people had more respect for the authorities and fear of crime was less of an issue. Furthermore, it is common practice for middle-aged in every generation to believe their early years were much safer then today's and the young generation who are responsible for the decline of morality and increase of crime (Pearson, 1983). However, a letter written by Daniel Defoe in 1730 to the Mayor of London, not only proves that our society has always been characterized by a culture

  • Word count: 1019
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Moral Panic.

Moral Panic Firstly I would like to examine the definition of moral panic and then go on to discuss an example in order to demonstrate its cycle and characteristics. According to Goode & Ben-Yehuda (1994) "A moral panic is characterised by a feeling held by a substantial number of a members of a given society, that evil-doers pose a threat to society and to the moral order as a consequence of their behaviour and, therefore, "something should be done about them and their behaviour". The term 'moral panic' suggests a dramatic and rapid overreaction to forms of deviance or wrongdoing believed to be a direct threat to society. They tend to occur at times of social upheaval when people are struggling to adjust; there is a general feeling of lack of control and declining standards. At these times people tend to group into a kind of social collective, further defined by identify victims on which all that is wrong of society may be blamed. This helps them feel better and more assured. They have someone to blame for everything that is wrong, a scapegoat or 'folk devil' as describe by Stanley Cohen. The cycle of moral panics begins as suggested with a deviant or criminal act, which is generally considered to be a threat to the fabric of society. The media identify and exaggerate the deviancy in simplified terms, sometimes selectively misrepresenting and occasionally even

  • Word count: 1098
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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Moral panic - panic of the other

Moral panic - panic of the other Moral panic is a widely used and often misinterpreted concept in social sciences. The term was invented by the British sociologist Stanley Cohen the late sixties. Cohen defined moral panic as a form of collective behaviour during which: "A condition, episode, person or group emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests; its nature is presented in a stylised and stereotypical fashion by the mass media; the moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians and other right thinking people; socially accredited experts pronounce their diagnosis and solutions; ways of coping are evolved or (more often) resorted to; the condition then disappears, submerges or deteriorates and becomes visible " (Cohen 1972: 9). Cohen was using this term for a phenomenon in Great Britain in his book Folk Devils and Moral Panics primarily about the rockers who vandalised in a small town in the early 60'. American scholars quickly adopted, used (and often overused) this term. Goode and Ben-Yehuda presented and analysed various moral panics through history and tried to search for common indicators. According to their definition "A moral panic is characterised by the feeling, held by a substantial number of the members of a given society, that evil-doers pose a threat to the society and to the moral order as a consequence of their

  • Word count: 1406
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Teenage Prgnancy and Moral Panic

Teenage Pregnancy and Moral Panic Background, context and history of moral panic and teenage pregnancy. Teenagers have been seen as the cause of the problem and the victims for numerous moral panics including rave culture, mods and rockers and in more recent year's hoodies and a number of violent related 'problems' such as knife and gun crime. My focus is on the long running issue of teenage pregnancy and how in today's society the teen mother is seen as a folk devil and a stereotypical character. Jock Young first coined the term, 'moral panic' whilst talking bout the social reaction of drug takers in Notting Hill. Stanley Cohen then explored the concept further. Moral panic has been defined as the "intensity of feeling expressed by a large number of people about a specific group of people who appear to threaten the social order at a given time." (1972, Pg 9) Cohen Also stated that a moral panic has begun when "a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests."(972, Pg 9) Those who start a panic do so when they fear a threat to prevailing social or cultural values, are known by researchers as "moral entrepreneurs", while the people who supposedly threaten the social order are known as a "folk devil". The moral panic of teenage mothers came in to existence in the late 1970's and peeked in the 1980's

  • Word count: 1439
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Moral Panic and media folk devils.

oursework Moral Panic and media folk devils. * Introduction In this study I will first define what a moral panic is, then I will use previous studies from independent sources to find previous opinions and ideas and also what moral panics we have had (and are in the middle of) from the post war period onwards to present day. After this I will conduct my own study on the subject. * Hypothesis. My hypothesis for my study is that most people will agree that moral panics and folk devils are based mostly on rumours and fear influenced by the media. I believe this as many of the previous moral panics are now perfectly acceptable, and also due to media influence linking real life tragedies to other media as a scapegoat, such as shootings in America being influenced by computer games. Also I think that older people will be more concerned with moral panics than the younger generation as they have greater exposure to media, have a lesser interest in the subjects which start panics and have younger relatives and children. * Definition. The phrase moral panic can be defined as The Chambers Dictionary moral panic: the idea that 'a condition, episode, person or group of persons' (Cohen 1972) becomes defined as a threat to 'societal; values and interests' This can be simplified and explained as: When the media or government uses scapegoats to pass on the blame to a minority group or

  • Word count: 9883
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Describe what is meant by the term 'moral panic', using your own words as far as possible - Cite at least one example of a 'moral panic'.

DD100 TMA 07 Question Part (b) Describe what is meant by the term 'moral panic', using your own words as far as possible. Cite at least one example of a 'moral panic'. The term moral panic is a concept introduced by the social sciences to help understand certain problems that arise in society from time to time. Periodically society is faced with a problem that threatens the moral standards of the day. Geoffrey Pearson in his book Hooligan came up with the idea that the older generation of every period look back on their younger days as a time of morality, comparing it with the immorality of the present day youth. The institutions responsible for law and order in whichever time period the narrative is referring to are unable to contain the crime problem. The notion of a moral panic attempts to understand such claims. Stanley Cohen used the notion of moral panic whilst examining the disturbances between the mods and the rockers' in Clacton in 1964. In his view the media reaction was excessive, generating widespread public concern and causing the authorities to react stronger in later incidents and ultimately fuelling the original problem. The initial clashes between mods and rockers' in 1964 were relatively small. The press arrived the following day and proceeded to interview participants and members of the public. As seen in TV07, interviewees who were there

  • Word count: 750
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Moral Panic. How much concern in how many individuals constitutes a genuine case of moral panic? Why do some panics occur among certain segments among the public but not others?

"What we can learn from debates of penal populism is first and formost that attitudes about crime and punishment are not rational, and the causes of crime have to be found, not primarily in its sanctioning system of punishment, but in the macro conditions of society rather than in individual micro considerations." Societies everywhere have at time been gripped by moral panics and yet, as Cohen (1972) says, they have received insufficient systematic attention. Focusing on moral panics in the guest lecture raises questions in my head. How much concern in how many individuals constitutes a genuine case of moral panic? Why do some panics occur among certain segments among the public but not others? Moral panics frequently erupt in our modern society, a fact that should cause us to question their sophisticated and tolerant towards nonconformity. It is entirely likely that moral panics serve as a mechanism for simultaneously strengthening and redrawing society's moral boundaries, the line between morality and immorality, just where one leaves the territory of good and enters that of evil. When a society's moral boundaries are sharp, clear, and secure, and the central norms and values are strongly held by nearly everyone, moral panics rarely grip its members, nor do they need to. However, when the moral boundaries are fuzzy and shifting and often seem to be contested, moral panics

  • Word count: 457
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Make some brief notes on what social scientists mean by the term moral panic

Claudia Green R5484033 Question Part (a) Make some brief notes on what social scientists mean by the term 'moral panic' * Society made aware of danger in society * Media can present in stereotypical manner * Media helps escalate seriousness - control how public perceive "danger" * Exaggerated facts (sometimes rumours???) * Society feels threatened/in danger * Community Leaders (or authoritarians/symbols of moral values in society) come up with solutions * Can lead to Action Groups as a direct result? (Lesley Sands 1998) Group of people or person that comes into public awareness and creates fear of some sort as a result of being stereotyped by the media. 'The moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians & other right thinking people' (Cohen, 1973) People that have become a symbol for moral values will feed the need to seek and propose solutions. Rectify and/or keep society out of danger from person(s) causing threat and/or fear. Socially Constructed Media plays a major part in moral panics. Newspapers daily warn us of 'threats'. Sensationalism leading to hysteria among the public. (Word count 157) 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

  • Word count: 997
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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The term moral panic is a popular expression yet it has been widely misused.

The term moral panic is a popular expression yet it has been widely misused. Moral panic1 is where society has yet to accept the changes in life by groups which has been classified as deviants.2 Goode and Ben-Yehuda's definition of moral panic is characterised by a feeling held by a substantial number of a members of a given society, that evil-doers pose a threat to society and to the moral order as a consequence of their behaviour and, thus, "something should be done about them and their behaviour".3 Stanley Cohen however defines moral panic as an episode in which a person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests by the media in a stereotypical way.4 He used the term "moral panic" to characterise the reactions of the media, the public and agents of control5, to youth disturbances as there always have been an overreaction by these groups which are in fact somewhat trivial, both in terms of the nature of the offence and the amount of people involved.6 However, the question is focused on the relationship between media and crime in relation to moral panic. The mass media7 have come to play a fundamental role in modern society yet it has thoroughly influenced society by way of stereotyping "groups"8 as scapegoats are needed for sensational headlines. Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan (1950, 1951) argued that the media influence

  • Word count: 1774
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Describe the concept of a 'Moral Panic' and explain how this may impact on publics perceptions of crime

Describe the concept of a 'Moral Panic' and explain how this may impact on publics perceptions of crime Most people use second hand information as their core source of information about crime, this source of information usually being the media. When carrying out sample research in Birmingham, Susan Smith (1984) discovered that 52% of people obtained most of their information about crime from the media, 36% obtained it from hearsay or alleged experiences of friends and neighbours, 3% from their own experiences, and 1% from the police service themselves (cited in Jones, 2001; 8). However the media tend to exaggerate upon areas of criminal activity causing a moral panic. 'A moral panic is a semi- spontaneous or media generated mass movement based on the perception that some individual or group, frequently a minority group or subculture, is dangerously deviant and poses menace to society. These panics are generally fuelled by the media, although not always caused by, media coverage of social issues... These panics can sometimes lead to mob violence... (newsfilter.co.uk). Some of the governing models of moral panics include Jock Young (1971) and Stanley Cohen (1972). Stanley Cohen fabricated the idea of moral panics in his book Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972), whilst Jock Young concentrated more on the correlation of deviance amplification and drug taking. The main feature

  • Word count: 2109
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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