Deviancy amplification and the creation of Moral panics

Question 1

Deviance

Answer 1

Any behaviour that violates social norms, and is severe enough that it receives disapproval from the majority of society. Deviance can be criminal or non‐criminal (can also involve lawful acts considered morally repugnant by a large segment of society)

Question 2

other

Answer 2

Any behaviour that violates social norms, and is severe enough that it receives disapproval from the majority of society. Deviance can be criminal or non‐criminal (can also involve lawful acts considered morally repugnant by a large segment of society)

Question 3

Main idea

Answer 3

The media can work to amplify (exaggerate the perception of) deviant behaviour and this amplification can result in a moral panic.

Question 4

Deviancy Amplification:

Answer 4

Refers to the way the media may actually create or make worse the very deviance they condemn by their exaggerated, sensationalised, and distorted reporting of events and their presence at them.

Question 5

Moral Panic

Answer 5

Refers to a wave of public concern about some exaggerated or imaginary threat to society, stirred up by overblown and sensationalist reporting in the media.

Question 6

AO2

Question 7

Cohen (1972) - Folk Devils and Moral panics

Answer 7

Argued that the media labelled the mods and rockers in negative and sterotyped way, and as a result they came to be seen as ‘folk devils’

The media uses sensational, sterotypical exaggerated language to write stories and headlines about a particular event or group.

• Results in a public anxiety, which is fuelled by influential commentators like bishops and politicians putting pressures on the authorities to intervene and can lead to greater police involvement.

Question 8

Hall et al (1978)

prolific image of ‘mugging’

Answer 8

Hall argued that British society’s extreme reaction to the crime of ‘mugging’ constitutes much more than a response to rising violent crime rates.

He argued that the prolific image of ‘mugging’ and the ‘mugger’ in British media was not just an exaggeration and amplification of the crime but also revealed the nation’s racism, and demonisation of the urban, specifically Black, youth.

Question 9

Interactionist prespective

Labelling can lead to what?

Answer 9

Believe that labelling can lead to a certain groups being victimised as criminals, resulting in people from this group being more likely to be charged with a criminal offence.

• Result in individuals being singled out as deviant which could result in a self-fulfilling prophechy.
• Argue that targeting of certain groups by agents of social control can actually lead to deviancy amplification.

Question 10

AO3

Question 11

Marixist views being critisied

Answer 11

For failing to acknowledge that moral panics can be the product of real concerns in society.

• also seen to take an over-conspirationrial view where members of the ruling class get together and decide on a course of action that creat es moral panic, but there is not evidence that this has occured.

Question 12

Crituqes agaisnt interactionists prespective

Answer 12

Fail to explain why certain people are labelled as deviant and other people are not and how they fail to explore power relations behind the labelling process.

Question 13

Pluralist critque

Answer 13

They argue that moral panics occur because the media is reflecting the values and concerns of their audience and that the media cannot create such panics if the stories do not match the prespectives of their audience.

Question 14

Who are you using to support?

Answer 14

Cohen (1972) - Folk Devils and Moral panics

Hall et al (1978)

Internationist prespective

Question 15

Who are you using to critque?

Answer 15

Marxists being critised

Critques agaisnt interactionalist prespective

Pluraists critque.