Moral panic

A disproportionate public reaction to a group or behaviour presented as a threat to society’s values.

A widespread, exaggerated reaction to a group or behaviour presented as a threat to society's values or social order.

Exaggerated reporting may contribute to a moral panic, in which a group is portrayed as a major threat to society. Young offenders may become folk devils: a group blamed for wider social problems. The concern is not that every reported incident is invented, but that its scale or significance may be exaggerated.

A disproportionate reaction, fuelled by media coverage, that presents a group or behaviour as a threat to society.

Distinguish Albert Cohen’s explanation of status frustration from Stanley Cohen’s work on moral panics.

Link Becker to labelling and deviant careers, and Cohen to moral panics and the mods and rockers.

Do not assume that every label produces further deviance or that every public concern about crime is a moral panic.

A moral panic is a disproportionate public reaction to behaviour or a group presented as threatening society’s values. The targeted group becomes a folk devil: a supposed source of danger and blame.

An exaggerated public reaction to a group or activity presented as a threat to society's values and order.

An exaggerated public reaction to a group or behaviour presented as a serious threat to society.

Widespread fear and an exaggerated reaction to a group or activity portrayed as threatening society’s values.

Definition

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AQA GCSE Sociology · 8192

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Eduqas GCSE Sociology · C200