Moral panics are characterized by an exaggerated, stylized folk devil perceived as threatening the social order, which attracts public hostility.

Evidence

The Emotional Psychology of Moral Panics: A Cognitive … (OSF)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Folktales can escalate into moral panics in troubled times. — Lynley Hood, A City Possessed, 77; Moral panics arise from cultural strains caused by social change and serve as mechanisms of social control reinforcing existing power dynamics. — Moral Panic | Social Sciences and Humanities | Research Starters; Cohen (1972, p. 9) defined moral panic as a condition where a group emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests, presented in a stylized way by mass media. — Moral Panic (+11 more)

Related

• Moral panics reflect deeper social tensions rather than real threats. (similarity 0.88)
• Moral panics arise from cultural strains caused by social change and serve as mechanisms of social control reinforcing existing power dynamics. (similarity 0.88)
• A moral panic happens when society reacts with exaggerated fear or anger to a group seen as a threat to moral values. (similarity 0.87)
• Cohen (1972, p. 9) defined moral panic as a condition where a group emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests, presented in a stylized way by mass media. (similarity 0.87)
• Moral panic is a social phenomenon where a group is portrayed as a significant threat to societal values, resulting in heightened fear and the push for new legislation. (similarity 0.87)
• Moral panics direct outrage at a single easily identified target when the real problems have more complex roots. (similarity 0.87)
• A moral panic is a widespread fear, most often an irrational one, that someone or something is a threat to the values, safety, and interests of a community or society at large. (similarity 0.86)
• Fuelling moral panics and creating folk devils are blunt public health tools with potential for consequences that bludgeon the vulnerable. (similarity 0.85)
• It was the first book to define the social theory of moral panic. (similarity 0.85)
• The concept of a permanent moral panic contradicts its definition. (similarity 0.85)
• Cohen documented moral panics as sudden threats or disorders involving mass hysteria, delusion, and panic. (similarity 0.85)
• Moral panics are often rooted in political struggles over values. (similarity 0.84)
• Moral panic is a widespread fear that some evil person or thing threatens the values of a community, first theorized by Stanley Cohen in 1972. (similarity 0.83)
• Stanley Cohen showed how a small event can grow into a national moral crisis through media exaggeration, public fear, and official control measures. (similarity 0.83)
• The creation of folk devils can kickstart a moral panic, with violent youth subcultures as the folk devils. (similarity 0.83)