Editing Moral panic (section)

==Cohen's model of moral panic==
{{Infobox book
| italic title      = no
| name              = Folk Devils and Moral Panics
| exclude_cover     = yes
| author            = [[Stanley Cohen (sociologist)|Stanley Cohen]]
| published         = {{plainlist|
* 1972 (1st ed., MacGibbon and Kee)
* 1980 (2nd ed., Basil Blackwood)
* 2002 (3rd ed., Routledge)
}}
}}
First to name the phenomenon, [[Stanley Cohen (sociologist)|Stanley Cohen]] investigated a series of "moral panics" in his 1972 book ''Folk Devils and Moral Panics''.{{sfn|Cohen|2011|p={{page needed|date=August 2022}}}} In the book, Cohen describes the reaction among the British public to [[Mods and rockers|the seaside rivalry]] between the "[[Mod (subculture)|mod]]" and "[[Rocker (subculture)|rocker]]" youth [[subculture]]s of the 1960s and 1970s. In a moral panic, Cohen says, "the untypical is made typical".{{sfn|Cohen|2011|p={{page needed|date=August 2022}}}}

Cohen's initial development of the concept was for the purpose of analyzing the definition of and social reaction to these subcultures as a [[social problem]]. He was interested in demonstrating how agents of social control amplified [[Deviance (sociology)|deviance]], in that they potentially damaged the [[Identity (social science)|identities]] of those labeled as "deviant" and invited them to embrace deviant identities and behavior.<ref name="Critcher-2017" /> According to Cohen, these groups were labelled as being outside the central core values of [[consensual]] society and as posing a threat to both the values of society and society itself, hence the term [[folk devil|''folk devils'']].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Killingbeck|first1=Donna|year=2001|title=The role of television news in the construction of school violence as a 'moral panic'|url=http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol8is3/killingbeck.html|journal=Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture|volume=8|issue=3|pages=186–202|access-date=21 November 2016|archive-date=3 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803090800/https://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol8is3/killingbeck.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Setting out to test his hypotheses on mods and rockers, Cohen ended up in a rather different place: he discovered a pattern of construction and reaction with greater foothold than mods and rockers{{snd}}the moral panic. He thereby identified five sequential stages of moral panic.{{sfn|Cohen|2002|p=9}}

Characterizing the reactions to the mod and rocker conflict, he identified four key agents in moral panics: [[mass media]], [[moral entrepreneur]]s, the culture of [[social control]], and [[Public|the public]].<ref name="Crossman" /><ref name="Critcher-2017" /><ref name="Mannion-2019" />

In a more recent edition of ''Folk Devils and Moral Panics'', Cohen suggested that the term ''panic'' in itself connotes [[irrationality]] and a lack of control. Cohen maintained that ''panic'' is a suitable term when used as an extended metaphor.{{sfn|Cohen|2011|p={{page needed|date=August 2022}}}}

=== Cohen's stages of moral panic ===
Setting out to test his hypotheses on mods and rockers, Cohen discovered a pattern of construction and reaction with greater foothold than mods and rockers{{snd}}the moral panic.{{sfn|Cohen|2002|p=9}}

According to Cohen, there are five sequential stages in the construction of a moral panic:<ref name="Crossman" />{{sfn|Cohen|2011|p={{page needed|date=August 2022}}}}<ref name="Mannion-2019" />

# An event, condition, episode, person, or group of persons is perceived and defined as a threat to societal values, safety, and interests.
# The nature of these apparent threats are amplified by the mass media, who present the supposed threat through simplistic, symbolic [[rhetoric]]. Such portrayals appeal to public prejudices, creating an [[evil]] in need of social control ([[folk devil]]s) and victims (the moral majority).
# A sense of [[social anxiety]] and concern among the public is aroused through these symbolic representations of the threat.
# The [[gatekeeper]]s of morality{{snd}}[[News editor|editors]], religious leaders, politicians, and other "moral"-thinking people{{snd}}respond to the threat, with socially-accredited experts pronouncing their diagnoses and solutions to the "threat". This includes new laws or policies.
# The condition then disappears, submerges or deteriorates and becomes more visible.

Cohen observed further:{{sfn|Cohen|2002|p=9}}

<blockquote>Sometimes the object of the panic is quite novel and at other times it is something which has been in existence long enough, but suddenly appears in the limelight. Sometimes the panic passes over and is forgotten, except in folk-lore and collective memory; at other times it has more serious and long-lasting repercussions and might produce such changes as those in legal and social policy or even in the way the society conceives itself.</blockquote>

=== Agents of moral panic ===
Characterizing the reactions to the mod and rocker conflict, Cohen identified four key agents in moral panics: [[mass media]], [[moral entrepreneur]]s, the culture of [[social control]], and [[Public|the public]].<ref name="Crossman" /><ref name="Critcher-2017" /><ref name="Mannion-2019" />
* Media – especially key in the early stage of social reaction, producing "processed or coded images" of deviance and the deviants.{{sfn|Cohen|2002|pp=44–48}} This involves three processes:<ref name="Critcher-2017" />
*# [[exaggeration]] and [[distortion]] of who did or said what;
*# [[prediction]], the dire consequences of failure to act;
*# symbolization, signifying a person, word, or thing as a threat.
* Moral entrepreneurs – individuals and groups who target deviant behavior
* Societal control culture – comprises those with institutional [[Power (social and political)|power]]: the [[police]], the [[court]]s, and local and national politicians. They are made aware of the nature and extent of the 'threat'; concern is passed up the [[Chain of Command|chain of command]] to the national level, where control measures are instituted.
* The public – these include individuals and groups. They have to decide who and what to believe: in the mod and rocker case, the public initially [[distrust]]ed media messages, but ultimately believed them.