Moral Panic
Definition
A period of intense, media-driven public anxiety about a group or behaviour perceived as an exceptional threat to social order. Coined by Stanley Cohen in 1972, the concept identifies the amplifying role of media, folk devils, and moral entrepreneurs in constructing crime problems beyond their empirically observed scale.
- Coined by
- Stanley Cohen
- Year
- 1972
- Key work
- Folk Devils and Moral Panics
- Core mechanism
- Media amplification of a perceived threat
- Key actors
- Folk devils, moral entrepreneurs, media
Common questions
What was Cohen's original case study?+
Cohen analysed British media coverage of clashes between Mods and Rockers youth subcultures at English seaside resorts in the 1960s, showing how reporting exaggerated the scale and threat of the violence far beyond what actually occurred.
How is a moral panic identified in later research?+
Researchers typically look for disproportionality between media-reported threat and measured harm, volatility in how quickly public concern rises and falls, and the emergence of a clearly identified folk devil blamed for the problem.
Why does this concept matter for crime reporting analysis?+
It gives criminologists and journalists a framework for questioning whether a surge in crime coverage reflects an actual rise in offending or a media-driven amplification cycle, which affects policy responses and public perception of risk.
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Explained in these topics
- Crime, Deviance and the Limits of CriminalisationA wave of public alarm, amplified by media coverage, that a group or activity threatens social values, often producing new laws or harsher enforcement dispropo...
- Cultural Criminology and Visual CriminologyStanley Cohen's term for an exaggerated, media amplified public reaction to a group or event perceived as a threat to social values, a mechanism cultural crimi...
- The Legislature, Lawmaking, and the Decision to CriminaliseA term coined by sociologist Stanley Cohen for an episode of intense, often disproportionate public alarm about a group or activity, frequently amplified by me...
- Media, Crime, and Emerging Challenges