Summary Of Scott Bonn's Analysis Of Moral Panic

Scott Bonn’s analysis of moral panic within societal groups discusses the conditions that allow authoritative figures to take advantage of the public and use them to fulfill their own political agendas. Analyzing research by renowned criminologist Stanley Cohen, Bonn uses this study to support his thesis for the conditions allowing moral panic to occur and how the media and political figures can benefit. Discussing society’s irrational fears targeted towards specific groups or threats, Bonn believes these fears to be a product of fear-mongering from state officials and media. In exchange, these figures gain the spread of their rhetoric and more attention. Bonn then lists the factors of the formation of moral panic within society: "folk devils"

Scott A. Bonn, the author of this article, is a criminologist with a Ph.D. and a professor of criminology at Drew University. As someone familiar with both criminal behavior and psychology, Bonn is extremely well-versed on this article's topic of mass panic and its usage as a form of manipulation. Having already written a critically acclaimed book on political propaganda called “Mass Deception: Moral Panic and the U.S. War on Iraq” it is evident that Scott Bonn is qualified and educated on this topic. Additionally, Bonn's being an entrusted source by several reputable media stations such as NBC, CBS, and A&E, further proves his dependability. Furthermore, this article’s accuracy is evident through its own reliable sources, citing research by renowned criminologist Stanley Cohen a professor and author of “Folk Devils and Moral Panic” and Gaye Tuchman professor of sociology and author of “Making News: A Study in the Social Construction of Reality”. The transparent usage of other qualified professionals in the field and their books as well as real-world examples within these novels prove the accuracy of this article. To summarize, Scott Bonn's article on the topic of manipulation by political figures using moral panic is trustworthy due to his own qualifications on this topic as well as the accuracy of his sources

Analyzing both historical and modern societal examples of mass hysteria, Small details the contributing factors of mass hysteria including: psychological stress, anxiety, and group pressure. Small remarks that in a state of panic or hysteria, humans tend to misread normal and often logical manifestations such as stomach pain or scratches on their vehicles as something much more severe, even more so when they are in a situation where groupthink is prevalent. This article goes on to remark the impact of hierarchy on mass hysteria as the public is more likely to follow, trust and agree with their leader. Small deduces that the physical manifestations of mass hysteria originate from an environment in which group dynamics are prevalent, concluding that it has the potential to appear anywhere in