8. Stanley Cohen's theory of Moral Panics

Stanley Cohen

Stanley Cohen was a South African born British sociologist who created the theory of Moral Panics.

Cohen's work was heavily inspired by labelling theory and his theory of moral panics stemmed from analysing the media's response to a fight breaking out in the 1960's whcih stemmed his PHD thesis surrounding the medias response to events.

Cohen was more interested in the reaction to the fight then the fight itself, which stemmed his research and creation of the concept of moral panics.

Sociology Short Cuts: Crime and Deviance - Part 1: Moral PanicsA short film examining the concepts of moral panic and deviancy amplification through both a classic and contemporary lens. Stan Cohen talks about the origins ...

What is a Moral Panic?

A Moral Panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often irrational, that an evil person, group or thing threatens society in some way.

Cohens research of the clash between Mods and Rockers showed how the media can portray an incident in such a way that creates an exagerrated narative surrounding what actually happened, which can lead to a social division which didn't previously exist.

Essentially, Moral Panics are where the media portrays a group as a threat to society's values by misrepresenting them in a negative way. This then leads to the creation of labels and stereotypes which can negatively impact those involved.

Cohen also found often that young people who were labelled as a result of the Moral Panic often enacted the Self Fullfilling Prophecy.

Folk Devils

Folk Devils are groups or individuals who are portrayed in folklore or referred to in the media as deviant or delinquent.

Folklore: Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes material culture, such as traditional building styles common to the group.

The stages of creating a 'Folk Devil'

An individual or group is singled out as a threat due to their behaviour, beliefs or apperance.
These people are vilified by the media and members of society who describe or portray them in an unfair or exaggerated manner.
The public responds to the Folk Devils in a way that is out of preportion to the actual level of threat posed by the "Folk Devils". Often demanding something be done to punish or stop the action being taken by these "Folk Devils"
Finally there is a response by politicians or formal agencies. This can be through the introduction of new laws or increased policing which aims to be seen as an enforcement of the publics beliefs as a response to the threat posed by the "Folk Devils"

Task to complete

Make a flow chart or diagram of the steps involved in the creation of a "Folk Devil"

There is a diagram on page 143 in your textbooks you may wish to use if you're stuck!

Modern Day Moral Panics?

In our world of 24/7 media coverage the creation of a Folk Devil is as accessible as ever. However due to the rapid pace of modern social media

Some recent examples of Moral Panics in Australia have included the fear surrounding Sudanese Gangs, Asylum Seekers and Same Sex Marriage.

Motorcycle Groups

A common example of an ever-present Moral Panic are groups of people who ride motorcycles together. Often these groups are associated with crime organisations and organised crime however the legitmacy of these claims is questionable at best.

Whilst some motorcycle groups such as the infamous Hell's Angels or Banditos may be a One Percenter Group, A group known for commiting illegal activities. Most motorcycle groups are harmless at worst and help society in a miriad of ways at best.

An example of this is the Brotherhood Christian Motorcycle group who are active participants in society and help spur societal change through volunteering. They still wear their own patches and have thier own designs, but arent committing any crime.

These outlier groups who commit crime drive the moral panic surrounding motorcycling groups.

The impact of Moral Panics on individuals

Moral Panics have the potential to, and often do, cause immense distress and trauma to those labelled as deviant.

Due to Moral Panics groups of people can be over policied or assumed to be committing crime solely on the basis of their physical characteristics.

Moral Panics alongside the inital distress can have long lasting, damaging impacts. Being subjected to consistent prejudice and discrimination can have serious, long lasting negative psychological impacts.

Moral Panics addtionally can destroy social connections as they force people to become outsiders in society. Society can learn to hate people as a result and exclude them or neglect their needs.

Moral panics can also promote social change positively however by raising the idea of outdated social norms.

Tasks to complete:

Complete Question 1 of Activity R and fill out the table.
Extend the table and complete it for the following Moral Panics: Sudanese Gangs, Asylum Seekers, Same Sex Marriage and The War on Drugs.
For each of these you may need to research them and build out the table.
Complete the following questions on page 149: Q8 and Q9 then Q4 for extended response.

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