Research Log A

Representing fear - moral panics in the press and online

Moral Panic:

"an instance of public anxiety or alarm in response to a problem regarded as threatening the moral standards of society." A1

Jock Young

A condition, episode, a person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests A2


 ways of coping are evolved or (more often) resorted to; the condition then disappears, submerges or deteriorates and becomes more visible. A3

 the panic passes over and is forgotten, except in folklore and collective memory; at other times it has more serious and long lasting repercussions and might produce such changes A4

Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-Yehuda

 includes a comprehensive analysis of the typical characteristics of many moral panics. Increasingly used as a frame for studying the phenomenon, this conceptualisation became known by some scholars as the attributional model, A5

1. Concern. There must be a measurable increase in the level of anxiety arising 

from the conviction that a group’s behaviours pose a substantial threat to 

society, a response seen by those who experience it as a reasonable reaction to a definite social menace. A6

2. Hostility. The source of the alleged social menace must be viewed with enmity 

or resentment as a readily identifiable group independently responsible for the danger its behaviours pose to society. A7

3. Consensus. Substantial agreement that a threat to society exists need not 

be achieved throughout society, but must be achieved within a segment of 

the public large or powerful enough to defuse opposition to its preferred definitions or policies. A8

4. Disproportionality. The intensity of public concern over a perceived social 

threat must be out of proportion to the measurable or demonstrable level of danger posed. A9

5. Volatility. Moral panics tend to arise suddenly and dissipate quickly, 

sometimes leaving behind enduring social change" A10