1986
DOI: 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1986.tb00274.x
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The Sociology of Moral Panics: Toward A New Synthesis

Abstract: There are two alternative theoretical perspectives developed in the sociological study of a moral panic: the moral perspective and the interest perspective. Usingas illustration a May 1982 national moral panic about drugs that occurred in Israel. thisarticle argues that both perspectives must be used and integrated into onecoherent model for a better and fuller sociological explanation of moral panics. The article provides a detailed account of the Israeli panic and an analysis clustered along two axes. One ax… Show more

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Cited by 75 publications
(23 citation statements)
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References 17 publications
(6 reference statements)
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“…Given the present results it is perhaps not surprising that protecting children from corrupting influences has often been the focus of moralistic movements that seek to censure behaviors that many people consider personally offensive, including homosexuality, obscene content in art and literature, and recreational drug use (Ben-Yehuda, 1986;Biesel, 1997;Gilbert, 1988;Herman, 1997;Springhall, 1998). The present results suggest that parents may be a ready-made constituency for moral entrepreneurs who seek to mobilize moral outrage to enact restrictions on other citizens' personal freedoms.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 86%
“…Given the present results it is perhaps not surprising that protecting children from corrupting influences has often been the focus of moralistic movements that seek to censure behaviors that many people consider personally offensive, including homosexuality, obscene content in art and literature, and recreational drug use (Ben-Yehuda, 1986;Biesel, 1997;Gilbert, 1988;Herman, 1997;Springhall, 1998). The present results suggest that parents may be a ready-made constituency for moral entrepreneurs who seek to mobilize moral outrage to enact restrictions on other citizens' personal freedoms.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 86%
“…Panics purportedly emerge when society's deeply held moral values are threatened. The reaction to the deviant group constitutes "boundary maintenance" and Downloaded by [University of Arizona] at 12:08 11 June 2016 represents a collective effort to reinforce socially approved behaviors (Ben-Yehuda 1986;Cohen 1972;Gusfield 1963;Trebach 1982).…”
Section: Understanding the Gang Panic In Nevadamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…How can we account for the end of the gang crisis? Two complementary perspectives, drawn from the moral panic literature, provide insight into such questions (Ben-Yehuda 1986). Antiogang Legislation, 1989-1994b 19891991199219931994 Additional penalty for procurement of solicitation of minor to commit certain violations as agent ( The first perspective focuses on the timing of moral panics and requires us to consider the social, political, and economic motivations behind the creation and cultivation of the gang crisis in Las Vegas.…”
Section: Understanding the Gang Panic In Nevadamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Gus eld (1963,1981), Ben-Yehuda (1986), Hawdon (1996), and others have discussed how drug use has led to moral panics in the past. These accounts, however, fail to consider the role policy rhetoric assumes in the life-course of a moral panic.…”
mentioning
confidence: 97%