Research
Moral Panics theory-
Theorist Stanley Cohen suggested in his book 'Folk Devil and Moral Panics', in 1972, that a moral panic occurs when a "condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat societal value and interests".
In other words, the moral panic in society represented in the media fuels further socially unacceptable behaviour.
A moral panic causes society to have mass hysteria, causing them to believe that whatever is occurring in the news is also happening everywhere. For example, some moral panics in Britain are:
- HIV/AIDs in the 1980's
- Asylum seekers in 2000's
- A fear of Nazi spies during world war two
- A clash between mods and rockers in the 1960's
Hypodermic needle theory-
The "Magic Bullet" or "Hypodermic Needle Theory" of direct influence effects was based on early observations of the effect of mass media, as used by Nazi propaganda and the effects of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. The theory suggests that passive audience has no choice but to be influenced by the media and therefore give in to buying products. This can happen all across the world.
