What are Moral Panics?

• Cohen (1972) created his study of 'Folk Devils and Moral Panics'
• Cohen created his study of 'Folk Devils and Moral Panics' in 1972
• Cohen (1972) popularised the term 'Moral Panic' in his study of the media's response to youth deviance
• Cohen (1972) used Interactionist Methodology to observe fights between 2 Youth Subcultures, the Mods & the Rockers, and he examined the media's response to the event
• Cohen (1972) argued that the media labelled the Mods & Rockers in a negative & stereotyped way, leading to them to become 'Folk Devils'
• Cohen (1972) highlighted the role of the media in defining the situation and argued that they had created a greatly exaggerated picture of the conflict between the Mods & Rockers
• Cohen (1972) highlighted as a result of the Moral Panic of the Mods & Rockers was the reinforcement of regular police forces with soldiers as though the issue was as serious as an invasion by a foreign power and yet later, these social groups were more or less forgotten about but still remembered as 'Folk Devils'
• Cohen (1972) used the concept of the Deviancy Amplification Spiral to explain his viewpoint - The media sensationalized small-scale fights between these youth subcultures at seaside resorts, creating a Moral Panic by portraying them as violent and uncontrollable - The 'Folk Devils' (the Mods and Rockers) were demonized as threats to social order - This led to increased police presence and public outrage, which, in turn, amplified the perception of deviance, even though the actual incidents were relatively minor