Folk Devils & Moral Panic Flashcards
What was Cohen interested in?
The truth behind the ‘mods vs rockers’ hype in the 1960’s.
What were the main findings of Cohen’s study?
The ‘violence’ that the media reported was actually minimal
The majority of young people at the seaside during the so called ‘riots’ were not mods or rockers
What were the conclusions of Cohen’s study?
When the media reports on deviant behaviour they construct a narrative which features a clear villain: the folk devil. in this case, the mods and rockers.
Minor scuffles were made into a major issue by the media. Police responded to future conflict more forcefully, creating more conflict.
People who had stories written about them started to play the part. Amplification of deviance.
Strength’s of the study?
Highlighted how moral panics occur- still relevant in modern day Britain eg. fear of immigrants and asylum seekers, rise of UKIP
Highlights how the media create deviance amplification. Given an insight into how media reports and negative public opinion can lead to the rejection of subcultures and people in those subcultures will identify stronger with them.
Weaknesses of the study?
Writes from an interactionist perspective, tendency to focus on the lower levels of social control such as the police without looking at the role of the state.
Interactionists do not focus on where the stereotypes come from.
When interactionists focus on the labelling of deviance they fail to examine the reasons for the deviant behaviour.
